First Book of the Year 2017

I will begin the new reading year with a Japanese novel, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, a book that my daughter, Jasmine, recommended to me.  I've been meaning to read it for a while now, and I've kept it on the top of a stack of books in my room as a reminder.  (I couldn't resist reading a few pages of it on New Year's Eve.)

This is the third time I've participated in The First Book of the Year, hosted by Sheila from Book Journey.  What is your first book of 2017?

First Book of the Year: 2016

The first one should be extraordinary, or at least special in some way.  Although I'm a tad late, I'm excited to participate in The First Book of the Year, hosted by Sheila from Book Journey, for the second consecutive year.  After giving it some thought, I chose to start my reading year with Paradise Drive by Rebecca Foust.  Press 53 Poetry series editor Tom Lombardo calls Paradise Drive  "a collection of irony and metaphor, metonymy and synecdoche, with a dose of synesthesia" in the introduction.  That sounds like a great way to "kick-start" my 2016 reading!  I'm participating in the book tour for this collection of contemporary sonnets with Poetic Book Tours, and my review of it will post later this month.  Today I began the book and have read several of the poems, which are quite insightful and eloquent.  I'm pictured above with the book, and with my darling dog, Daisy; I've included an additional photo of the book as well.

Happy New Year to all!  What is your first book of 2016?  Your comments are welcomed.

First Book of the Year 2015

I am a master at slow reading.  This is not because I wish to decelerate the pace of modern life, but simply due to the frenzy of the holiday season.  I've had a wonderful but busy time with family and friends, and consequently I did not have as much reading time.  This morning I slept in, and decided to participate in this marvelous meme, created and hosted by Sheila from Book Journey, First Book of the Year, at the last second, although I've kept it in the back of my mind since I first read about it (the adorable button is reason enough to join in).

My first book of 2015 is a novel by Lynne Hugo, A Matter of Mercy, which I'm reading for a TLC book tour.  I started this book a few weeks ago, and I'm still reading it (I have a few more chapters to go).  Please stay tuned for my review of it later this month.

Happy New Year!  I hope that 2015 will be a healthy and fortunate year for us all. Thanks for reading!