I have to thank Free From Broke for tagging me in his Tagged in a Book Meme. The idea behind Page 123 is basically to grab the book I am reading right now and open it to page 123 where I count down 5 sentences and type the next three sentences on that page here on my blog. I first started this with Roots: The Saga of an American Family and realized I enjoyed doing this.

As a result of this realization, I have decided to turn this into a series where I will update each time I start a new book that has at least 200 pages. I don’t want to spoil the ending of my books if it was less than 200 pages. Eventually, I will figure out how to handle my series with books that have less than 200 pages.

Currently Reading

These are books I am reading right now. There are times I will be flying through a book quicker, such as a “dime” book which is designed to be a fast-paced action book. And there are books that simply slows me down due to fancy words.

Judge & Jury

“The food is great.”

“So it’s not so bad after all, staying with your cousins?”

“I guess.”

Wow, it is pretty amazing what you can find in these books on page 123. I gave this book to my father for his birthday so now I am reading it. I will be posting a review about this book soon. In the meantime, feel free to check out the other reviews listed below.

Pending Review

These are books I just finished reading. I usually like to start reading the next book as soon as possible. So if that is the case, then each book will slip down to the Pending Review section where a review is currently being written up and will be published within the next few days.

[None available at the moment of this update]

Books Reviewed

When a book has been reviewed, I will be adding a link to my review directly below the quotes from Page 123 along with my recommendation. I encourage you to visit each review so you can read what the book is about and whether I encourage you to check it out or not and why.

Roots : The Saga of an American Family (Alex Haley)

Kunta’s eyes never seemed to have been closed before one of the kintago’s assistants was shouting them awake for some training session.

The kintago’s assistants pointed out where lions had recently crouched in wait, then sprung out to kill passing antelope, then where the lions had gone after their meal and laid down to sleep for the rest of the night. The tracks of the antelope herd were followed backward until they almost painted a picture for the boys of what those antelope had done the day before they met the lions.

You can click on the link to read my Review of Roots : The Saga of an American Family. I highly recommend this book for the sheer realization that this is how oral history is passed down into written history.

The Big House (George Howe Colt)

Behind its imposing shingled walls, the Big House exemplifies that peculiar combination of wealth and masochism which conclusively identifies it as the summer retreat of Boston Brahmins. It is furnished with that culture’s traditional mix of Victorian mahogany dressers, cast-iron bedsteads, caned chairs (with most of the caning intact), plastic porch furniture, and 1950s Sears Roebuck appliances. The house has no indoor shower, no television, no VCR, and no stereo, although there is a battered portable radio, used primarily during hurricanes and Red Sox games.

You can click on the link here to read my Review of The Big House : A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home. While I did give it 3 and 1/2 stars, despite being a National Book Award finalist, I did not highly recommend this book. My review will explain why more in detail.

The Millionaires (Brad Meltzer)

“Charlie, don’t touch him!” I shout.

“Both of you–nobody move!” Gallo barks.

Charlie abruptly lets go, and Shep’s body sinks face-first, back to the ground.

It is basically a “dime” thriller about two brothers who are fed up with their daily lives and hatch a last-minute plan to become millionaires. It certainly is a very fast and exciting read. You can read my Review of The Millionaires here.

Angela’s Ashes

If the wafer slides off your tongue that poor priest has to get down on his two knees, pick it up with his own tongue and lick the floor around it in case it bounced from one spot to another. The priest could get a splinter that would make his tongue swell to the size of a turnip and that’s enough to choke you and kill you entirely.

He tells us that next to a relic of the True Cross the Communion wafer is the holiest thing in the world and our First Communion is the holies moment in our lives.

Click on this link Review of Angela’s Ashes to read more about this terrific book. I gave this book 4 stars otherwise it would have been 5 stars if it wasn’t for the first couple of chapters which took some time to get into the reading groove.

Don’t forget to subscribe if you like reading book reviews now that I have gotten the hang of how to incorporate my passion for reading into my blog. For those of you who are interested, here are the rules of the Page 123 Meme.

• Grab the nearest book with at least 123 pages
• Open it to page 123
• Count down five sentences
• Type the next three sentences in your blog

Technorati Tags: Books,Reviews