Friday, August 23, 2019

First Line Friday #70


First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books. Playing along is super easy. All you have to do is open the book nearest you and tell me what the first line is. Then check out the link to see the other first lines are offered up this week.

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"America is in trouble, and a lot of that trouble - perhaps most of it - has to do with race."

Preach, Brother.

Race is 100% a social construct and until we demolish that idea, America herself will continue to be pulled apart at the seams.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

22 comments:

  1. Totally agree - a social/cultural construct. I mean, as if the tint of someone's skin means *anything*! It's beyond me....

    Anyway - My first line(s):

    "The moment the guard called her name she felt the weight of the other women's eyes upon her. It didn't make sense, didn't fit with the grim clock that regulated their lives. Too late in the day for an interrogation, the usual hour of execution was still some way off."

    House of the Hanged by Mark Mills.

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    1. Right? And seeing as how we all came out of Africa however many millions of years ago, it always baffles me that people continue to be so disgustingly racist. This book is absolutely beautiful and I think you would like it.

      Thanks for sharing your line...I am quite curious about it!

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    2. I finished the book last night - FAST read for me. REALLY liked it. Review soon(ish).

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  2. Race may be a social construct, but as far as I'm concerned, the tide of ethno- and race-focused books only reinforces the construct by making people hyper-conscious of them.

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    1. How else are we supposed to combat and destroy the myth of white supremacy if we do not confront the fact that it exists head-on? Books like this are extremely important, and necessary in order to do so. Otherwise that myth will never go away.

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  3. Happy Friday!
    Today on my blog I am sharing the first line from Finding Lady Enderly by Joanna Davidson Politano: https://christianfictiongirl.blog/2019/08/22/first-line-friday-98/. I am just getting into the book, so I will share from chapter 2.

    "I clutched the edge of my seat and rested my forehead on the shuddering train window."

    Hope you have a great weekend. Happy reading! 🙂💚📚

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  4. That is a very bold first line! I'd love for you to stop by and consider joining the Fall Into Reading Challenge:

    https://collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com/2019/08/first-lines-friday-and-56-82319.html

    Colletta

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    1. Yes, bold but true. I finished the book last night and it is fantastic. I wish everyone would read it. Though, my fear is that those who most need to hear its message will become immediately defensive and shut down. I will take a look at the challenge for sure, thanks for the invite!

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  5. Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing the first lines from You Belong With Me by Tari Faris: "Was she really the only one left who cared about this town?"

    https://moments-of-beauty.blogspot.com/2019/08/first-line-fridays-you-belong-with-me.html

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  6. Wow hard to argue with that.

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    1. Yep. I finished it yesterday. I think you'd like it, especially given the fact that we see eye to eye on many issues, if not all that we have touched on so far. I wish I could give a copy to every white person in America.

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  7. Happy Friday!
    Today on my blog I shared the first line from King's Shadow by Angela Hunt but it's also my current read so I'll share the first line from chapter 23 here: "Anyone who studied Herod in the days following Aristobulus's death would not doubt his deep and sincere grief." Happy reading!

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    1. Happy Sunday Becca! Herod is one of those terrible people that I can't help but want to know more about; I am always on the look-out for non-fiction about him.

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  8. Happy Friday!

    On my blog, I shared the first couple of lines of a book I recently finished - The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. Here, though, I'll be sharing the first lines of one of the books I'm currently reading - Wild Savage Stars by Kristina Perez.

    "The waves mocked her.

    Discordant laughter swelled in Branwen's mind and twisted her heart. She couldn't remain on the ship one moment longer. Her skin itched."

    Wild Savage Stars is the sequel to Kristina Perez's Sweet Black Waves, which is a Tristan & Eseult retelling. I'm enjoying it so far and I hope you liked the first few lines I shared.

    Hope you have a great weekend!

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  9. I’m sharing on my blog the first line from Grace in Deep Waters by Christine Dillon.

    The radio dominated the room.

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  10. Along similar lines, last week I started reading a biography of James Baldwin. First sentence: "Illegitimacy and an almost obsessive preoccupation with his step-father were constant themes in the life and works of James Baldwin."

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    1. Excellent! So many of my books on race include multitudes of quotes from Baldwin so I am in need of a biography on him. Which one are you reading?

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