First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros: Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler

First Chapter First Paragraph

Every Tuesday fellow blogger Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where bloggers share the first paragraph of the book they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon.

Shotgun Lovesongs, Nickolas Butler, fiction

After seeing Shotgun Lovesongs around a fair amount, I finally added it to my TBR list when Diane wrote about it for a previous Tuesday Intros. For that reason, I almost didn’t use it for this Tuesday Intros post…I figured many of you would have already given your opinion in Diane’s post. However, I reversed course because I was hoping some of you (Diane??) would have read the book by now and have an opinion on more than just the opening paragraph. 

Shotgun Lovesongs Plot Summary from Amazon:
Welcome to Little Wing.
It’s a place like hundreds of others, nothing special, really. But for four friendsall born and raised in this small Wisconsin townit is home. And now they are men, coming into their own or struggling to do so.
One of them never left, still working the family farm that has been tilled for generations. But others felt the need to move on, with varying degrees of success. One trades commodities, another took to the rodeo circuit, and one of them even hit it big as a rock star. And then there’s Beth, a woman who has meant something special in each of their lives.
Now all four are brought together for a wedding. Little Wing seems even smaller than before. While lifelong bonds are still strong, there are stressesamong the friends, between husbands and wives. There will be heartbreak, but there will also be hope, healing, even heroism as these memorable people learn the true meaning of adult friendship and love.

Here’s the first paragraph:

We invited him to all of our weddings; he was famous. We addressed the invitations to his record company’s skyscraper in New York City so that the gaudy, gilded envelopes could be forwarded to him on tour – in Beirut, Helsinki, Tokyo. Places beyond our ken or our limited means. He sent back presents in battered cardboard boxes festooned with foreign stamps – birthday gifts of fine scarves or perfume for our wives, small delicate toys or trinkets upon the births of our children: rattles from Johannesburg, wooden nesting dolls from Moscow, little silk booties from Taipei. He would call us sometimes, the connection scratchy and echoing, a chorus of young women giggling in the background, his voice never sounding as happy as we expected it to.

What do you think? Would you keep reading? Stay tuned for my full review…

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15 Comments

  1. I must have been away the week Diane posted about this book… it looks interesting. Hope you enjoy it!

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  2. The excerpt seems familiar to me. I like the book description. I would keep reading.

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      It probably is…Diane posted it awhile back…I was hoping she’d finished it by now and could tell me if she liked it!

      Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  3. Beth F wrote:

    I’d have to read a little more because I’m not quite sure about this.

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  4. I do love books about friendships and what happens over a period of time. Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  5. I like the opening and would keep reading.

    My Tuesday intro: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2014/04/first-chapter-first-paragraph-58.html

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  6. I would keep reading. I find stories involving reunions among old friends intriguing.

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  7. I can’t remember the book neither, so thanks for posting it. It does sound like an interesting story and I would continue.
    My post is here

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  8. I’m not sure about this one. The cover is interesting, but the synopsis hasn’t hooked me yet. I’d have to read a bit more.
    Thanks for stopping by.

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  9. Greg wrote:

    It sounds interesting, and I like the idea of four old friends getting back together in their small town. Not really sure but sounds like a good book.

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  10. kelley wrote:

    It sounds interesting enough to keep reading. The blurb sounds familiar. I think I saw it on the kindle daily deal not to long ago. enjoy your book and thanks for stopping by today. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  11. I can’t decide if I’d like to read this one or not; I have read a fair bit about it on other blogs and review sites. I do like the intro though, and it makes me want to know a bit more. I hope you enjoy it!

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  12. Yvonne wrote:

    It sounds like it could be a good read. I’d be interested.

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  13. I liked the paragraph when Diane posted it and I still like it today. Your posting is a great reminder for me that I want to read this book.

    Posted 4.22.14 Reply
  14. Ruth2Day wrote:

    sounds like quite a nice book to have around for my holiday

    Posted 4.23.14 Reply

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