Without a doubt one of the most important elements of a book is the opening line and first chapter. Publishers crave an impressive and memorable opening line and often base their decision on whether to move forward with a manuscript depending on how well the first few chapters are written. Likewise, a powerful beginning sets the tone for the plot and story line and, as the first point of contact with the reader, a strong connection right from the start is vital.

As first impressions are essential, I wanted to share my thoughts on a few books that had a huge impact on me as a reader due to their powerful beginnings.

Lullaby / The Perfect Nanny – Leila Slimani

The baby is dead. It only took few seconds.

Leila Slimani paints a picture of horror and chaos in the opening chapter of Lullaby (published as The Perfect Nanny in USA). Although I ended up disliking this book for many reasons, the events revealed in the first chapter were shocking enough to pique my interest and encourage me to continue reading. The details in the first chapter almost feel too explicit and unnecessary at times but setting the scene with the murder and revealing snippets of the events building up to it is a very powerful technique which I felt worked extremely well in this book.

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton

I forget everything between footsteps.

“Anna!” I finish shouting, snapping my mouth shut in surprise. 

My mind has gone blank. I don’t know who Anna is or why I’m calling her name. I don’t even know how I got here…

The first chapter of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is as intense and superb as the rest of the book. What makes it stand out is the precise choice of words and unique writing style that immediately transports the reader to the setting. I was impressed with so many aspects of this book and, although I read it almost over one year ago, the opening chapter stayed with me even to this today.

Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

It was a pleasure to burn.

It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and
changed…

The first few sentences emphasise the essence of this book by exploring the senses through the eyes of the main character. The writing is so powerful that I could almost feel the heat and blaze as I read the first chapter. It is arguably one of the most notorious opening lines in literature and rightfully so.

As a reader, I am immediately influenced by the first chapter of any book, sometimes almost subconsciously. Although I enjoy slow beginnings if the writing suits the genre of the book, unexpected opening lines or unforeseen events revealed in the first pages almost always convince me that the book I am about to read will be a hit and for that reason I will almost always prefer it to a slower beginning.

Question time

Do the first few paragraphs or chapters of a book have an impact on you as a reader? What are some of your favourite opening lines?

The end of June is fast approaching which means that we are almost halfway into 2019! I can’t believe how quickly time is flying past; it almost feels like I was celebrating the new year yesterday! As I am slowly starting to organise my shelves and planning out some posts for the coming months I thought that this week’s Studious Saturday post would be a perfect way to look back over the past six months and tie in with my reading and blogging goals for 2019.

Read 55 books

My first goal was quite simple – I wanted to slightly increase the amount of books I read from 50 last year to 55 this year. I must say that I am managing to keep to this goal and have read 28 books as of today so I am 1 book ahead in the challenge. I am still adamant to only stick to books I really want to read as the TBR list is piled way up high with a mixture of backlisted books and new releases and I know that there is never enough time to get through the entire list.

Branch out to other genres

Despite my wish to start reading a mixture of other genres I always tend to run back to thrillers or contemporary fiction when I’m wondering what next to read. I have definitely improved since last year and have read some interesting Science Fiction books with reviews soon to come, but I want to make it a habit and not an exception so please leave me your suggestions of books that are not categorised under the Mystery/Thriller, Contemporary Fiction or Historical Fiction genre!

Discover Spanish Contemporary Literature

Oh, I have definitely discovered it! (If you don’t know what I am referring to you may want to check out my last Studious Saturday post Feria del Libro Madrid ’19 for more details). However, even after buying a book by Julia Navarro that I really want to read I am still putting off reading in Spanish and I am not sure why. This is definitely the goal I am most planning on working on in the upcoming half of 2019.

Schedule my posts in advance

This is the other goal I am hoping to work on. I use a calendar to schedule my posts but writing has been hard recently and I have found myself slowly retreating back to writing and editing posts the day before they are supposed to be published. As summer is now in full swing here in Madrid (it is 41 degrees outside right now), writing posts is the perfect way to spend the hot afternoons after work and I plan to make full use of it.

Design a new look for my blog

One goal is out of the way! I must admit that this is the goal that I was most worried about which is probably why it took me so long to publish my new design. As my one year blogging anniversary approached a few weeks ago I finally decided to publish my new theme and I am much happier with the new look of my blog.

Do you have any goals for 2019 and are you any closer to reaching them as we approach the midpoint of the year?

June is the month of longer and warmer days, summer vibes and of course reading! Here in Madrid it is also the month where books are celebrated and promoted during the festival Feria del Libro which spans over two weeks and takes place in Retiro, one of the most relaxing and beautiful parks in Madrid.

Each year the Feria del Libro hosts publishers big and small and invites authors from all over the world for book signings and more. The organisers work to promote reading by holding talks, round tables and readings from journalists, authors and publicists in order to encourage reading as a hobby for the younger generation as well as advertising some of the recent publications of all genres.

At the end of Retiro park, stands are put up, displayed with books from all genres and beautifully decorated. Each publisher receives their own stand and it is wonderful to see how different the decorations were according to the type of books they publish, be it comics, children’s books or romance. One of the more ornate stands as pictured above had ribbons and cages descending from the ceiling. Others decided for a more contemporary look with books stacked within reach and displayed by popularity.

The organisers this year did a wonderful job of providing leaflets to everyone with a layout of the festival and list of author visits and signings so that all its attendees could decide which stand they wanted to visit depending on the event or books they are interested in. Despite the ordered system, the amount of people made it impossible at times to get bearings right. We visited on a Saturday afternoon where Camilla Lackberg was holding a meet and greet and book signing so naturally the queue was already very long but even after getting around to the main entrance we found that it was extremely difficult to get close to some of the more popular stands and at times it was impossible to even walk around the crowds.

We already discovered that we would have to be strategic as there were too many people that afternoon to allow us to visit every stand. After much thought we decided to start with the ones we were most interested in, comprising of adult contemporary fiction, classics and crime and skip the stands specialising in non-fiction and other sub-genres of fiction. Needless to say, these were some of the most popular stands so, after struggling to walk to the front of the stand, we spent a long time browsing books. Although we didn’t talk to any authors or publishers, we could see that they were all very pleased to be at the event and willing to answer questions and speak to people interested in their books. It was also wonderful to see many people buying books for themselves and discussing with their friends and family or even starting to read already on the grass or under the shade.

By far the most popular stands of all were those specialising in children’s books as here most authors were hosting readings of their recently published books. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many children interested in books and it was also great how encouraging their parents were. Spain is a country where reading is very popular amongst adults but I am happy that it is also becoming a widespread hobby amongst children.

Our visit came to an end with our final stop at the stand where Julia Navarro was holding her signing. I was so pleased to see so many people interested in her newest book but disappointed that I came unprepared and didn’t bring my book from home for her to sign.

Although the crowds made it difficult for us to enjoy the Feria del Libro fully, we had a great time and discovered some more books that are going to our TBR lists. I have already decided that next year I will plan my visit better by checking when authors are holding signings on the website and going at a quieter time during the week.

Feria del Libro is on until tomorrow 16th June and I highly recommend it to anyone that is in Madrid  this weekend!

I almost can’t believe that I am writing this post! This time last year I decided to finally start my own blog after years of hesitation. My first post was incredibly difficult to write and I spent hours rewriting and editing it before posting. Ever since then, this journey has developed in ways I couldn’t have ever imagined and looking back, I am so glad that I continued and didn’t give it up.

When I think back to my reading choices before I started this blog, I almost can’t believe  that I restricted myself to only one or two genres. My Goodreads account consisted of a rotation of thrillers, contemporary fiction and a few classics thrown in but I never allowed myself to step out of my comfort zone and try a book originally published in a different language or a historical fiction novel set in a time or setting unfamiliar to me. Engaging with other bloggers, authors and publishers inspired me to branch out to so many books that I was initially unsure about but ended up loving.

Not only did my reading choices change, but my writing also gradually improved to the point where I now feel comfortable publishing book review posts without having to rewrite the majority of the content. I am still a long way away from producing the kind of content that I aspire to create but I recognise that it takes both time and effort and so I have found myself gradually becoming more eager to work on my writing.

Creating my own brand and sticking with a schedule have been my main struggles with blogging and a huge part of my goals for this year. Today, I am pleased to disclose my new theme as well as a much more appealing logo and banner. Organising my schedule is my next priority and something I hope to overcome in the next few months; I recognise that my ideas for Studious Saturday discussion posts have been limited lately and want to completely focus on these posts rather than book reviews which now come much more easily to me.

Finally, the most pleasantly surprising element of blogging has been the huge support from other fellow bloggers and the interest from publishers and authors. I have read some truly excellent ARCs and connected with so many wonderful members of the book blogging community. As of today I have nearly 300 followers which is so many more than I ever expected and the amount of positive comments and support on my posts is so uplifting and encouraging. The community is full of many lovely people and I am pleased to have found the select few who have become friends and excited to find many more in the years to come. Thank you to all who have supported me during this past year and I cannot wait for the new challenges and ideas to come for Facing the Story!

As some of you have probably realised by now, I tend to be a mood reader and decide which book to read next depending on how I feel and recent recommendations. However, as my TBR list has increased to over 100 books, I decided to prioritise and pick my top immediate reads. In no particular order, these are the books that I hope to read next…

I have heard so many wonderful things about All The Light We Cannot See and I bought it during my recent bookshop hopping adventure in Glasgow. Since then it has been sitting on my bookshelf waiting for me to pick it up and I really hope to start reading it soon.

I hadn’t heard of Matt Wesolowski before all the reviews of Changeling took over my WordPress Reader feed. I haven’t seen one negative review so far and this, together with my interest in cold cases, means that this book has jumped right to the top of my list.

The premise of Vox is so fascinating but I was hesitant to read this book after all the mixed reviews. However, I have decided to try it as it has been a long time since I last read a good Dystopian novel.

Every time I read a Markus Zusak novel I feel a great need to disconnect from the world and reflect on what I have just read. His books are like no other and his writing is so powerful that I find it extremely difficult to start a new book afterwards because I just know that it would pale in comparison. That is probably the main reason that I have been putting off starting Bridge of Clay for the past few months. However, my lovely hardback signed copy is waiting for me patiently in my bookshelf and I don’t think that I’ll be able to resist much longer!

There is so much hype surrounding Louise Beech’s books and I am eager to find out what exactly about her writing makes her books so special. I have heard that all her books are very different and decided to start with her newest release, Call Me Star Girl. From the reviews I have read it seems that her writing is very addictive so I may be on the way to hopefully discovering a new favourite author!

It has been a long time since I last read a heartwarming and emotional book and Fredrik Backman has been on my list of new authors to discover for so long therefore A Man Called Ove seemed like the perfect fit. I am a firm believer of reading the book before watching the movie but I have wanted to watch this movie for such a long time so I have some real motivation to finally read this book!

I am late to the party it seems because The Silent Patient is everywhere. Every time I walk into a bookstore this book is staring back at me. It is set to be this year’s bestseller in the Psychological Thriller category and I am keen to understand why. I have been reading a lot of Thrillers and Crime fiction lately so may wait until I read some of the books in other genres in this list before starting The Silent Patient but I hope to read this book over the summer break.

The new (or now not so new) sequel to the Cormoran Strike series has been on my radar ever since its publication date but every time I consider buying it I am put off by how long it is. Some recent reviews also confirm my suspicion that the writing tends to be long-winded which is one of my pet peeves of a Thriller. However, this series is one of my favourites and I really need to find out how it continues after the abrupt ending that we were left on in its predecessor.

Kristin Hannah blew me away with The Nightingale and I must admit that the premise of The Great Alone sounds even better. I suspect that it is bound to be another emotionally draining read so I am waiting for the right mindset before starting it. However, from looking at the high Goodreads rating and recent reviews, I am sure that it will not disappoint.

I am in two minds about The Woman in the Window. After reading the full story surrounding A. J. Finn (or Daniel Mallory, the real writer behind the pseudonym) I immediately discarded this book from my list. However, I keep adding it back to my TBR list after reading the never ending list of reviews in the book blogging community. The hype has even reached Spain and I have seen so many people reading this book lately. The generic trend of unreliable female narrators that is the main focus of these Thrillers don’t hold much hope for me but I hope to be pleasantly surprised and not disappointed like I was with The Girl on the Train.

What are some of your top picks on your immediate TBR list? I would love to hear your suggestions and recommendations!