Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Teaser Tuesdays!

It's Tuesday and time for another episode of Tuesday Teasers!

You know the rules: take your current read, let it fall open to a random page and choose 2 "teaser" sentences to entice us into wanting to read it. No spoilers, please!

First, for those of you who were kind enough to comment on last week's teaser from God Says No, please check back this afternoon for the full review.

Today, I've got 2 teasers from the 2 books I just finished. The first is from The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel, historical fiction about Yoshiko Kawashima, also known as Eastern Jewel. She was a Chinese princess, raised by a distant Japanese relative, who eventually spied for Japan and betrayed the Chinese emporer. It is a fascinating story and I expect to post the review next week.


"However my father chose to justify my banishment, it had always been the case that whatever my behavior, I would be given to Kawashima merely because he requested it. Of my nineteen sisters and ten brothers, I was the only one to be given away."

The second book is waaaaay at the other end of the spectrum, in terms of material. It's Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, a collection of short stories about life after the end of the world. If you stop by here regularly, you know that I have a particular fondness for the genre and there are some fabulous examples in this anthology. This teaser comes from a story by Paolo Bacigalupi called "The People of Sand and Slag." The introduction says it features "characters barely recognizable as human," and this quote will make you understand why:


"After dinner we sat around and sharpened Lisa's skin, implanting blades along her limbs so that she was like a razor from all directions. She'd considered monomol blades, but it was too easy to take a limb off accidentally, and we lost enough body parts as it was without adding to the mayhem."

Come on - you can't tell me those don't get your attention! I hope you'll stop back and read the reviews. Now tell me: what's teasing YOU this week?

23 comments:

Literature Crazy said...

I have to concur with your fondness for dystopic literature... especially when it's written with such a dark humor like the example from your anthology. Great tease(s)... thanks for posting!

Margot at Joyfully Retired said...

I'd like to read about Eastern Jewel. That one sounds interesting. I'll be back for your review of God Says No.

Amy said...

Great teasers! I'm looking forward to your reviews.

Krista said...

Great teasers! I also look forward to your reviews!

Krista said...

I'm following you now..Cool blog!

Alice said...

Nice one!

Jenna said...

Wow - that second one sounds amazing! I'll have to check out Wastelands. Thanks for the teasers!

kayerj said...

Wow, I wouldn't want to be either of those characters . . . captivating teasers. thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

Oh that second one is FABULOUS! A teaser like that makes me want to drop what I'm doing and READ. NOW!

Anonymous said...

Great teasers. The second was especially fascinating.

Jenny Girl said...

Have different books like that keeps your reading exciting.
Here's my teaser

Susan said...

Intriguing teasers this week! Looks like yet another book to add to my tbr list :) You can find my teaser here.

Phyl said...

Yow! That second one just made me cringe. But it was the more hair-raising of the two. I think I'd still prefer to read the first, though. They both really get the attention.

Andrea said...

That's some crazy stuff, esp. the 2nd one. Great teasers!

Teddyree said...

Interesting teasers, I love the sound of Eastern Jewel, I really enjoy Japanese historical fiction. Thanks for sharing :-)

Unknown said...

Both those teasers make me wince, but they're fascinating. Hadn't heard of either book, but I'll keep an eye out for them now.

Anonymous said...

That's a lot of siblings. Good teaser!

The second teaser is awesome. I loved it! I'm going to google Wastelands.

Cecelia said...

kiirstin is so right...both of those make me wince! I've got Wastelands sitting in my pile, waiting to be read (I hear that there's some zombie goodness?!), and the other one sounds fascinating, too. Great teasers!

Anonymous said...

The first is heartbreaking and the second is frightening. Neither look boring! :)

Sweet Vernal Zephyr said...

Very sweet teasers!!! I just got finished reading a YA novel set in 19th Century Japan The Mediocre Assassin's Handbook and I really enjoyed the culture immersion. (I just posted a review up at my site)

Blades in the skin.. way cool... what other awesome weapons do they have at their disposal?!

Missy B. said...

Good teasers! I am also a fan of post-apocalyptic novels.
Eastern Jewel sounds wonderful as well!

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

Wow, that second one gave me the chills. Excellent teasers this week =)

Anonymous said...

Nice teasers! That last one...wow! I have to read that one now!