The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): The Garden of the Gods (The Corfu Trilogy #3) by Gerald Durrell + 50/50 Friday

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice, Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader, and 50/50 Friday is a new weekly link up and it is hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader and Laura @ Blue Eye Books. For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Then, for 50/50 Friday, every week there's a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts blogs.

This week I'm spotlighting one of my current reads that will fulfill the book about nature task for Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge, The Garden of the Gods (The Corfu Trilogy #3) by Gerald Durrell.  The Kindle edition borrowed from the library includes all three, but I just started with the final book beginning at 72% since I've read the previous installments (and loved them).  If you haven't read this memoir of the Durrell's time in Corfu pre-WWII, you really should as they are so much fun and quite funny.  Plus, the new tv series adaptation is pretty fantastic, as is the 2005 tv movie adaptation.

Beginning: 

That summer was a particularly rich one; it seemed as if the sun had drawn up a special bounty from the island for never had we had such an abundance of fruit and flowers, never had the sea been so warm and filled with fish, never had so many birds reared their young, or butterflies and other insects hatched and shimmered across the countryside.

56% (88% through the collection):

Over lunch I imparted the news of the King's visit to the family.  They each received it in their characteristic ways.

"That'll be nice," said Mother, "I'd better start working out the menus."

"He's not coming to stay here, thank God," Larry pointed out.

"I know that, dear," said Mother, "but... er... there'll be all sorts of parties and things I suppose."

"I don't see why," said Larry.

"Because they always do," said Mother.  "When we were in India we always had parties during the dubar."

"This is not India," said Larry, "so I don't intend to waste my time working out the stabling for elephants.  The whole thing will have a disruptive enough effect on the even tenor of our ways as it is, mark my words."

"If we're having parties, can I have some new clothes, Mother?" asked Margo eagerly.  "I really haven't got a thing to wear."

"I wonder if they'll fire a salute," mused Leslie.  "They've only got those old Venetian cannons, but I should think they'd be damned dangerous.  I wonder if I ought to pop in and see the Commandant of the Fort.

"You keep out of it," Larry advised.  "They want to welcome the man, not assassinate him."

"I saw some lvely red silk the other day," said Margo, "in that little shop... you know, the one where you turn right by Theodore's laboratory?"

"Yes, dear, how nice," said Mother, not listening.  "I wonder if Spiro can get me some turkeys?"

50/50 Friday: Best/ Worst Read In April

Best - Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young - This standalone YA fantasy totally live up to the hype!

Worst - A Graveyard Visible by Steve Conoboy - So much potential and I really wanted to like it, but it was ultimately disappointing.

What are you reading this weekend?  Have you taken part in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge before?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!