TGIF, everyone! First Line Fridays is a fun way to share from books on your TBR.
Today my first line is from a book I am currently reading:
October 1938
It was a city within a city, a textile mill to weave the gossamer of fantasy on looping looms of celluloid. From the flashing needles of the tailors in the costume shop to the zoo where the animals were trained, from the matzo ball soup in the commissary to the blinding-white offices in the brand-new Thalberg executive building, an army of people—composers and musicians, technicians and tinsmiths, directors and actors—spun thread into gold. Once upon a time, dreams were stitched by hand, but now they were mass-produced. These forty-four acres were their assembly line.
I’m a huge Wizard of Oz fan, so this book appealed to me right away! I’d love to know more about Maud Baum and the story behind the story! I’ve also read fabulous reviews of this one.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A richly imagined novel that tells the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book that inspired the iconic film, through the eyes of author L. Frank Baum’s intrepid wife, Maud–from the family’s hardscrabble days in South Dakota to the Hollywood film set where she first meets Judy Garland.
Maud Gage Baum, widow of the author of the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, met Judy Garland, the young actress playing the role of Dorothy on the set of The Wizard of Oz in 1939. At the time, Maud was seventy-eight and Judy was sixteen. In spite of their age difference, Maud immediately connected to Judy–especially when Maud heard her sing “Over the Rainbow,” a song whose yearning brought to mind the tough years in South Dakota when Maud and her husband struggled to make a living–until Frank Baum’s book became a national sensation.
This wonderfully evocative two-stranded story recreates Maud’s youth as the rebellious daughter of a leading suffragette, and the prairie years of Maud and Frank’s early days when they lived among the people–especially young Dorothy–who would inspire Frank’s masterpiece. Woven into this past story is one set in 1939, describing the high-pressured days on The Wizard of Oz film set where Judy is being badgered by the director, producer, and her ambitious stage mother to lose weight, bind her breasts, and laugh, cry, and act terrified on command. As Maud had promised to protect the original Dorothy back in Aberdeen, she now takes on the job of protecting young Judy.
Please share with me the first line(s) of the book you are currently reading! I would love to read it! Have you read Finding Dorothy, or do you plan to? Happy Friday reading! ~ Jenni THR
Happy Friday, Jen!
I shared the first couple of lines from Melanie Dickerson’s 9th book for her Hagenheim series “The Warrior Maiden” on my blog. I enjoyed reading that book and will be reviewing it soon.
Here, though, I will be sharing the first few lines from my current read “Carve the Mark” by Veronica Roth.
“Hushflowers always bloomed when the night was longest. The whole city celebrated the day the bundle of petals peeled apart into rich red – partly because hushflowers were their nation’s lifeblood, and partly, Akos thought, to keep them all from going crazy in the cold.”
Carve the Mark has long been on my TBR and I’m happy that I finally get to read it. I’m enjoying it so far, and I hope you enjoyed those lines as well.
May your weekend be filled with great books! 😀
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Ohhh, that sounds good, Rach! I will watch for your thoughts and happy weekend reading to you, too! 💗
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Love the look of this one. I’ve just started The Silent Patient and the first line is:
14th July I don’t know why I’m writing this. That’s not true. Maybe I do know, and just don’t want to admit it to myself.
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Thanks, Nicki! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on The Silent Patient. I have that one here to read, too.
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I loved it, but you’ll have to wait until the blog tour for my review!
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I am quite anxious to read your featured book, Jennifer. Hoping that ng comes through for this one.
My fist line is:
“It’s a love story, the famous violinist had said, and even though Jana knew it was not, those were the words that knocked around her brain when she began to play on stage.”
from The Ensemble by Aja Gabel
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I hope you are able to read it, too, Marialyce! Fingers crossed! Your book sounds good and I have that one here. Can’t wait for your thoughts!
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TGIF! I am still reading No Roses.
I plan to read FD. Happy 😊 Weekend.
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Thanks, Virginia! I hope you love your book and that you enjoy Finding Dorothy, too! 💗
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Happy Friday! I like the sound of this. Hope you have an excellent weekend 🎉🎉🎉
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Thank you, Jaymi! I hope you are having a lovely, relaxing weekend, too! ♥️
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Whoa, this sounds amazing and I need a copy now😁
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Doesn’t it, Tammy?! I’m ready to dive right in!
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I will be reading it this weekend (I received it through NetGalley!) – I’m very much looking forward to it. Happy reading to you! 🙂
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Thank you, Kelsey! I hope we both enjoy this one. I’ll be watching for your thoughts on it! ♥️
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This looks so good I’ve been eyeballing it, but I really don’t need any more books at the moment!💜
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I’m really excited about this one. I’m such a huge Wizard of Oz fan!
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Oh I do like the Wizard of Oz myself, believe it or not I was in the play when I was younger I was the wicked witch of the west! So hard to believe because I’m so nice!😉
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This looks like it is going to be a good one, I love Wizard of Oz so I’d be interested to look at the story through another lens.
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I’m so excited about this one, too, LP! I’ll keep you posted on how I like it.
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I’ve been eyeing this one and telling myself, no, no…ugh! I love Oz, books and movie, so I will read this one, but I can’t ask for more ARCS, haha! I’m sure you’ll love this one! ♥
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I totally get it! I have soooooo many February books, it’s unreal! I’ll keep you posted on how I like it! ♥️
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That’s how my April is looking (I was unable to resist, lol). Please do because I have a love of Oz–I’ve been Dorothy more times for Halloween than I can count, haha!
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I love Wizard of Oz too so am delighted to find out about this book on your blog. This line ‘Once upon a time, dreams were stitched by hand, but now they were mass-produced’ is beautiful and I want to read more. I’m adding this to my must-buy list now. 🙂
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Aw, thank you, Hayley! I’m a big Oz fan, too, and I can see myself buying this one, too. I hope we both love it!
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Happy Friday Jen! We made it to the PA/WV border. We had hellacious snow in Buffalo and Erie but I made sure to say hello from you to Erie and even waved to make it extra special!!😂 Talk to you soon!💜
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Ugh, Buffalo and Erie are hellacious this time of year. It’s how they roll! Thank for you for saying hello for me! ♥️ And for checking in, my friend! Happy Friday! I hope you are able to get some rest, travel safely, and talk soon! (Can you read in the car??) (And are you brining the chance of snow on Tuesday WITH you?! Eek!)
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Looking forward to your review!
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Thank you, Jonetta!
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I have this one on my list, Jen! I want to read it even more now. I think you’re going go love it too! Happy reading! ♥️
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Thanks, favorite M! I think we’ll both love it! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! ♥️
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Jennifer, you’ve set me a challenge. Now I will have to go look for the two books I recently read and revisit their first lines! They are, by the way, Library Lost, an intriguing sequel to Maya and the Book of Everything by Laurie Graves, and The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes. I’d say the main things they have in common are they keep you guessing, and they involve travel between different times, but otherwise, very different books.
Wishing you a good weekend, Jennifer.
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Thanks, Cynthia. Those both sound so good! My reads are pretty varied, too, and I love that. Happy weekend to you, too. ♥️
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I just saw this book on Netgalley and thought it sounded wonderful. I can’t wait to see what you think of it!
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Thanks, Suzanne! I’m so excited about it and can’t wait to let you know what I think!
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LOVE The Wizard Of Oz Jenni! 😍 Thank you so much for bringing my attention to this book. 😁
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Of course, Beth! It’s too bad we can’t add it to the big list?! Lol
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