Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds & Tuesday Intro (Days of Awe by Lauren Fox)

Top Ten Tuesday


This week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) topic is Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds. They could love reading, be writers themselves, or work at bookstores. I’ve got all three categories on my list!

Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds

Top Ten Book Nerd Characters


Florence Gordon (and her granddaughter, Emily) from Florence Gordon
Florence was so into her writing (and not really into people) that she blew off her own surprise party to work on her book.

Ajax Penumbra and Clay Jannon from Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
The mysterious bookstore owner and his newest employee…

Joanna Rakoff in her memoir, My Salinger Year
An assistant at J.D. Salinger’s NYC publishing house, Joanna had her own writing aspirations.

Isabel Reed from The Accident
This NYC literary agent comes across a damning manuscript that could take down some powerful people.

Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars
Who could forget all that literary banter between these two!

Nate Piven from The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.
Pretentious player, up and coming writer whose view of the Brooklyn dating scene was frightening/fascinating!

Savannah Wingo from The Prince of Tides
Tortured poet from the Carolina Lowcountry becomes semi-famous poet in New York City.

A.J. Fikry (and Amelia) from The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
My favorite crotchety bookseller and his publisher’s rep…double the love because they warned me not to bother with Moby Dick! I’m definitely not planning to bother…

Joan Castleman from The Wife
The wife of bestselling, yet insecure author Joseph Castleman. But, she’s a lover of literature and has her own writing talent, which she put on the back burner to support her husband.

Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird
When poor Scout showed up at her local elementary school knowing how to read (thanks to Atticus), she was devastated after her teacher told her to stop reading so she could “unlearn” everything Atticus taught her.

Tuesday Intro

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.

Days of Awe, Lauren Fox

Plot Summary from Amazon (adapted for length)

Days of Awe is the story of a woman who, in the wake of her best friend’s sudden death, must face the crisis in her marriage, the fury of her almost-teenage daughter, and the possibility of opening her cantankerous heart to someone new.

Here’s the first paragraph (from an uncorrected proof):

The morning of Josie’s funeral was cloudless and knife-sharp, one of those bitter spring days that comes sandwiched between warmer ones and reminds you not to grow accustomed to good things. I was leaning against my car, face to the sun, trying to breathe, when Mark pulled into a spot near mine. I turned and watched as he got out of the car. He wore the scarf Chris and I had gotten him for his last birthday, soft dark blue cashmere, and my heart slammed inside my chest: that beautiful scarf still existed, warm as a blanket, and Josie was gone.

Would you keep reading?


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31 Comments

  1. Diane wrote:

    This one is one my TBR list and by the intro I’d keep reading, but it does seem a bit sad.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  2. Kym wrote:

    Sounds like it would be very sad, and it’s not quite my style. I hope the character finds some happiness!

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      It definitely deals with some sad topics, but this book actually had a ton of humor…most of it snarky!

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  3. Kay wrote:

    I want to read Days Of Awe, but I will say that I don’t love that cover. I thought it had a different one at one point, but I may not be remembering it correctly. Loved your list of book ‘nerds’. I need to reread Prince Of Tides. It’s been a long time.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I re-read Prince of Tides earlier this year…I’m in a phase of trying to re-read one of my old Conroy favorites every January. 2016 will be Beach Music!

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  4. Carmen wrote:

    Great selection of books for TTT. I definitely know Mr. Penumbra, TKAM, and Prince of Tides and The Fault in Our Stars (because of the movies).
    I would definitely keep reading, though it seems Jossie was a kid. That’s a sad start.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Josie was an adult 🙂 Low 40’s I think?! You should try some of those books…the only movie I’ve seen is Prince of Tides (which I thought was good), but Conroy’s writing is so beautiful!

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  5. Sarah, I LOVE your list of book nerds; sadly, it reminds me of some great books that I really need to read…GAH! I’ll never catch up, I don’t think, but that may be one of the things I love most about reading. The folks who’ve commented previously seem to have the impression that Days of Awe is sad; I get that, but it’s not really sad, right? I mean, definitely, there are some sad moments but I just love Izzy and her story. I’m halfway in and I love it! Hope you have a great Tuesday!

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I think the funeral opening made people think it was sad, but I didn’t get that feeling at all about the overall book. Sure, it deals with some sad topics, but it’s definitely not a sob-fest…I feel like it had a ton of humor!

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  6. I like the style of the writing, and although the opening is sad, I want to read more.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      The writing was my favorite thing about this book – I finished it today!

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  7. I seem to read a lot of books that open with funerals . . . It gives the main protagonist a reason to reflect and set up the story, doesn’t it? I like the voice of the narrator and this sounds like an interesting book to read.

    I also enjoyed reading your list, Sarah! I’ve read two of the books you mention (Fault in Our Stars and To Kill a Mockingbird). Some of the others are ones I would like to read at some point, including The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, and The Accident.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Yes – I agree with your point about funerals…and it immediately poses some questions to get you hooked!

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  8. Interesting idea for a Top 10! I wonder if Scout’s response to her teacher got her into as much trouble as mine would have gotten me. Oy! The teacher would probably say to me, “Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass the principal’s office. Do not pass home!” *lol*

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Well, I can’t take credit for the idea…that should go to the girls at The Broke and the Bookish!

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  9. Ooh, you’ve got such a great selection here. I’ve been meaning to read The Storied Life of A.J. Firky — it sounds right up my alley! I love, love, love books about voracious readers, or writers, or booksellers. I’m loving this TTT, it’s giving me lots of TBR material!!

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      TTT will absolutely blow up your TBR list…always happens to me! And AJ Fikry was my #1 book of 2014 – hope you can get to it soon!

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  10. I like the way the author shows contrasts in the opening to Days of Awe. The cold day versus warmer ones, and the existence of the beautiful scarf when her friend has just died. This sounds like a book I’d enjoy.
    My Tuesday post features a classic: OF HUMAN BONDAGE.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  11. Keep reading Days of Awe. It has its high and low points, but it’s enjoyable. You have a great list and of course, Scout had to make my list. 😉

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I finished it today and really enjoyed it – loved the snarky writing! Solid 4 star read for me.

      Posted 7.28.15 Reply
      • It fell around 3.5 for me, which is really liked it and can recommend it but didn’t quite love it. I’m glad it hit that 4 star mark for you. 🙂

        Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  12. Donna wrote:

    It sounds a bit sad so I would have to be in the right mood to continue. Girl Who Reads

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  13. Love the variety amongst the participants for today’s TTT choices. A great theme – mine are different – which shows how many books are written for and about book nerds!

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  14. Yes to continue reading – good opening / intro…
    Posted mine for #ParisinJuly TT theme

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  15. Great TTT choices. I have Hazel on my list too. I’ve seen her on a lot of lists today.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  16. Days of Awe is new to me–I’ll be interested in reading your thoughts about it.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  17. Karen wrote:

    Oooh, great picks for your Top Ten Tuesday! I’ve been on the lookout for The Accident because it was recently recommended for me and it sounds right up my alley!

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  18. This one had my attention! I’m adding it to my list.

    Posted 7.28.15 Reply
  19. It sounds like Days of Awe is filled with a lot of serious drama. It also sounds heartbreaking. I do hope it’s not depressing.

    Posted 7.29.15 Reply
  20. Shaina wrote:

    I’m so happy about how many of these lists A.J. Fikry ended up on. My favorite crusty old man!

    Posted 8.17.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      He was the first character I thought of when I saw this topic!

      Posted 8.17.15 Reply

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