Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesdays

It's Tuesday, it's raining, it's gloomy...I need a pick-me-up! And there's nothing better than seeing what everyone's reading and becoming insanely jealous at all of your amazing books! Tuesday Intros is hosted by Diane over at Bibliophile by the Sea. Teaser Tuesday is hosted over at Should Be Reading!

This week I'm using two different books: Mr. Bones: Twenty Stories by Paul Theroux for Tuesday Intros.

A dark and bitingly humorous collection of short stories from the “brilliantly evocative” (Time) Paul Theroux A family watches in horror as their patriarch transforms into the singing, wise-cracking lead of an old-timey minstrel show. A renowned art collector relishes publicly destroying his most valuable pieces. Two boys stand by helplessly as their father stages an all-consuming war on the raccoons living in the woods around their house. A young artist devotes himself to a wealthy, malicious gossip, knowing that it’s just a matter of time before she turns on him. 

In this new collection of short stories, acclaimed author Paul Theroux explores the tenuous leadership of the elite and the surprising revenge of the overlooked. He shows us humanity possessed, consumed by its own desire and compulsion, always with his carefully honed eye for detail and the subtle idiosyncrasies that bring his characters to life. Searing, dark, and sure to unsettle, Mr. Bones is a stunning new display of Paul Theroux’s “fluent, faintly sinister powers of vision and imagination” (John Updike, The New Yorker).

Intro from Mr. Bones:

'Minor Watt, the real estate developer and art collector, was seated at the Jacobean dining table with the fat baluster legs that serves as his desk, waiting for his wife - soon to be ex-wife - to arrive. He had been thinking of himself, but the graceful Chinese vase with a tall flared neck, resting on the antique table, made him reflect that, as with so many things he owned - perhaps all of them - we was able to discern its inner meaning in its subtle underglaze, the circumstances of his acquiring it, its price of course, its provenance, all the hands that had touched it and yet left it undamaged, its relation ot his own life, its secret history, its human dimension, almost as though his pale porcelain with the tracery of red peony scroll was human flesh. And then after this flicker of distraction he thought of himself again.' p.9

 I love the apparent nonchalance of Theroux's writing style. He manages to go from simple to incredibly detailed with ease and then slips back without a problem. So far what I've read has been great!

I'm using Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky for Teaser Tuesday.

Alone at home, twelve-year-old Grayson Sender glows, immersed in beautiful thoughts and dreams. But at school, Grayson grasps at shadows, determined to fly under the radar. Because Grayson has been holding onto a secret for what seems like forever: “he” is a girl on the inside, stuck in the wrong gender’s body.

The weight of this secret is crushing, but leaving it behind would mean facing ridicule, scorn, and rejection. Despite these dangers, Grayson’s true self itches to break free. Strengthened by an unexpected friendship and a caring teacher who gives her a chance to step into the spotlight, Grayson might finally have the tools to let her inner light shine.

Debut author Ami Polonsky’s moving, beautifully-written novel shines with the strength of a young person’s spirit and the enduring power of acceptance.

Teaser from Gracefully Grayson:

'We ride in silence, and I think about how loud the quiet is; I think about what it means. Finally, the bus slows to a stop on Randolph. I'm desperate to get off, but I can barely bring myself to move. My legs ache and I know everything is over.' 39%

This isn't too spoilerific, although you might feel like it is. Let's not forget that no matter what gender, Grayson is still a teenager. Polonsky writes this book with so much love and compassion that you can't help but become completely engrossed.

So, those two are my books this week! What are you reading?