Book Beginnings & Friday 56 4/17

On Fridays I participate in two memes that give a little taste of what a book will be when it is read. I like to use a book I haven't started, often an ARC I've accepted for review. I find it gets me excited to read the book. A couple of weeks ago I showcased Richard Montanari's The Doll Maker. The general consensus in the comments was that it would be a creepy read. It definitely didn't disappoint in that arena, or in the solving of the mystery. MY REVIEW went up yesterday if you want to find out more. 

This week I am featuring The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan. From the title and book cover I am expecting a cute, light book about a bakery/baker or cafe.
Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillon at Rose City Reader. "Prologue: April 1964 Imagine your perfect home: a gamekeeper’s lodge or rambling farmhouse, the walls wreathed in wisteria, brick warmed by the sun. Picture the garden: bees drunk on the nectar of hollyhocks, the air shimmering with summer. An apple tree rustles and drops early fruit." [Sounds like the perfect home to me. I'm probably correct in my first impression.]

Freda @ Freda's Voice is our host for the Friday 56, where participants are asked to turn to page 56 or 56%.  on an e-reader, and share a few sentences. "Karen shakes her head, recalling the concrete of her urban school playground, the shards of glass glinting on the tarmac, the fetid litter bins, the graffiti on the walls.

A playground where she learned to trade herself for cigarettes, and use the cigarettes to stave off hunger." [Now I'm a little depressed. I enjoy reading books about people overcoming odds, but I wasn't expecting that to be the theme of this book. Hopefully it's just one little piece of the story.]

Take some time to visit Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice to read some other book snippets and maybe find something new to read.