Thursday, May 31, 2018

First Line Friday: Mona Lisa Edition


First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books.

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"A genius immortalized her. A French king paid a fortune for her. An emperor coveted her. Poets lauded her. Singers crooned of her. Advertisers exploited her."

I suppose the day I finally make it to the Louvre to view (and ugly-cry about) the only item known to exist that was at one time owned by Eleanor of Aquitaine, I could stop by and check out Mona Lisa as well.

Have you seen the painting in person? If so, was it everything you thought it would be?

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Reading!
Sarah

34 comments:

  1. I mean, I'd like to see it I suppose if I was there, but it's never been a priority, like oh my gosh I haveta see the Mona Lisa! Still, I imagine it probably IS amazing to see it in person!

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    1. Right. I won't make a trip to Paris JUST for the Mona Lisa alone. I know some people have said it was actually so different than they imagined, but even so I feel like I do need to see it at some point.

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  2. I have actually seen the Mona Lisa! Before I had seen it, lots of people were telling me what an anti-climax it often is for people because it's not as big as they're expecting and it's behind a glass frame and so on, and I so kind of went in expecting to be disappointed and found it exactly as I had originally thought it would be. Lol! I guess it's a lot smaller than many of the paintings in the Louvre, but it was still just as amazing to be standing there looking at the real thing.

    I'm featuring the first line from 'A Solace of Water' by Elizabeth Byler Younts this week, but as Ronie Kendig has just released the new and revised edition of Wolfsbane (one of my all-time favourite books!) I'm going to share the first line of that here:

    Blood dripped into his left eye.

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    1. That's been my experience also - friends who have seen it have been disappointed even more by the glass it sits behind than the actual size of it. I don't think I will make a special trip just to see it, but I will check it out when I got there for Eleanor's rock crystal vase!

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  3. Over on my blog I'm featuring the first line from Tara Johnson's "Engraved on the Heart". Here I'll share the first line from chapter 14.
    "Keziah wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and eased her bedroom door open, wincing at the gentle creak that echoed down the dark hallway."

    Do be sure to drop by my blog page and enter the giveaway!
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  4. Happy Friday!

    My FLF comes from a book I will be reading shortly, Room on the Porch Swing by Amy Clipston......

    Allen Lambert rolled onto his side and yawned. His eyes blinked open , and his large but dark bedroom came into clear focus. The green numerals on his battery-operated digital clock read 2: 12. What had awakened him so early?

    Have a great weekend and happy reading!😊📚

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  5. I have not seen the Mona Lisa, but the Louvre is on my bucket list!

    More than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer is on my reading agenda this weekend, so I'll share the first lines from that: 1879--Fannin County, TX
    "Don't lose heart, children. We have several strong families lined up in Bonham. I'm sure we'll find good homes for each of you."

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. The Louvre is part of my larger bucket list, in which most of the list centers around visiting places associated with Eleanor of Aquitaine - not many of those left anymore but I aim to see every last one of them with my daughter (also named Eleanor), and so I think the Mona Lisa will be a happy by-product of the trip.

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  6. PROLUGE
    May 1, 1815

    BEAWORTHY, DEVONSHIRE, ENGLAND
    We observed the first of May as we always did. - The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen

    Have a great weekend!

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  7. I've never been to Paris, nevermind the Louvre. Considering the crowd and the size of the actual portrait, I don't know that it would be worth it. There's so much to see in Paris that standing in line for hours to see a small wooden painting that I've essentially "seen" hundreds of times before -- at high resolution -- would be anticlimatic. But then I could say "Yeah, I stood in line for an hour to see the Mona Lisa", which is some kind of accomplishment.. :p

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    1. There is so much to see at the Louvre in general, but I feel like once you are there in the museum, you almost have to see it, right? And I will definitely be there someday, to see Eleanor of Aquitaine's rock crystal vase. So...yeah, bragging rights are a plus I suppose!

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    2. The Louvre is MASSIVE. When I was there you had to buy entry tickets into *sections* of it. I spent a very enjoyable 5-6 hours wandering through the amazing neo-classical statue bit. I must've taken hundreds of pictures of statues!

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    3. I do the same thing, take hundreds of pictures of every little bit I can, so I can remember it when the memories start to fade. I feel like I took a picture of every inch of Stirling Castle when Mom and I visited. It was so beautiful, I did not want to let anything escape my memory.

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  8. I haven't seen the painting in real life, and probably never will, cause that involved travelling :D but this sounds like an interesting book :)

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    1. You don't like to travel?! It is my favorite thing, which is why it is so unfortunate that I chose such a poorly paying profession (education). BUT, I do love to travel all the same and one day will go to the Louvre to see Eleanor's vase so I suppose I could take a peek at the Mona Lisa as well.

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  9. I'm not exactly an art enthusiast I'm more interested in natural wonders but I appreciate the skills/gifting/talent of those who create art :)

    I just finished reading A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter... "Graham, the Viscount Wharton, heir to the earldom of Grableton, pride of the Cambridge fencing team, coveted party guest, and generally well-liked member of both Brook's and White's, was bored."

    Happy reading!

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    1. Me too! I am not a visual artist in any way shape or form, but I do appreciate others who can create things that I can't even imagine. Happy Reading!

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  10. I would love to see the Mona Lisa in person but haven't. Bucket list!
    Hope you have a great weekend!

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  11. I saw the Mona Lisa some years ago. There was quite a crowd around it/her so I couldn't get too close. But what I saw didn't impress me too much. So much smaller than I thought it would be and the glass in front of it kind of took something away from the experience!

    But my first line(s):

    "The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind. Very few of us realise with conviction the intensely unusual, unstable, complicated, unreliable, temporary nature of the economic oranisation by which Western Europe has lived for the last half century. We assume some of the most peculiar and temporary of our late advantages are natural, permanent, and to be depended on, and we lay our plans accordingly."

    The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes.

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    1. I've heard that from so many friends who have traveled there also, which in itself is kind of disappointing because for all the hubbub, you expect it to be this big, grand painting. But since I will be at the Louvre crying over Eleanor of Aquitaine's vase, I suppose I could take a quick look at the Mona Lisa, if for nothing else than bragging rights!

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  12. Happy Friday! My first line is from Mail-Order Bride Switch by Dorothy Clark:

    "Garret Stevenson kicked the snow off his boots, climbed the steps to the roofed platform of the Union Pacific Railroad station and stopped."

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  13. If I had a bucket list, the Louvre would definitely be on it! One of my current reads is A Proposal to Die For, the first Lady Alkmene Cosy Mystery by Vivian Conroy:

    'Marry me.' The whispered words reached Lady Alkene Callender's ears just as she was reaching for the gold lighter on the mantelpiece to relight the cigarette in her ivory holder.

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Yvette, I hope you enjoy your weekend and happy reading!

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  14. I stood outside the Louvre, but it was so crowded, and we had to much to do that day, we couldn't go in. :( One day I will make it back to Paris though. :) Happy Saturday Sarah!

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    1. Oh no! So close, and yet so far away. Some day! Happy Saturday :)

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  15. On my blog, I'm sharing the first line from Tessa Afshar's upcoming novel, Thief of Corinth, due out in July. Here I will post the first line from the novel I'm about to begin, This Wilderness Journey by Misty Beller.

    November, 1852
    Canadian Rocky Mountains

    "I am the luckiest man alive."

    Makes you want to read to find out why he's the luckiest man alive, huh?! Lol! 😊

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  16. Oh this sounds like a great read. I'd love to see the Mona Lisa painting one of these days.

    I'm sharing about "No One Ever Asked" by Katie Ganshert on the blog, but I'm currently reading, "The Weaver's Daughter" by Sarah E. Ladd.

    Alarm's menacing sting picked Kate Dearborne's consciousness and hurried her steps.

    Happy reading and have a great weekend!

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    1. I think it would be cool to see. I feel like there are certain works of art you are almost obligated to see when you are in close proximity - though there are some I would not make a special trip for. Happy Reading!

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