2024 Best first lines of books

"My story begins on a sweltering August night, in a place I will never set eyes upon." Want to Read. BEST FANTASY. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. by …. Hot water is brown but cold is clear

Special Mentions: A Few More Memorable Opening Lines. And because we can’t settle on just 15 books, here are a couple of honorable mentions from our own favorite novels: People think blood red, but blood don’t got no color. The Book of Night Women, Marlon James. Mr. Premier. Sir.Seems to me we don’t never come to nothin’. Always on the way.”. — John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath. 17. “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”. — Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights. 18. “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”.A great first sentence is very important. In a novel, it’s a “promise,” a “handshake,” an “embrace,” a “key.” Great first sentences are celebrated everywhere literature is cherished and mandated everywhere it’s taught. They’re a pleasure and a duty — the “most important sentence in a book,” everyone agrees. But they haven’t always been important. When Daniel […]Especially in these days of online book excerpts and Amazon.com previews, the opening sentences of a book can cast a spell — or cast readers out of the book, forever. Here are 39 of the greatest ..."Tonight, five years to the day since I lost you, forty-eight white-throated sparrows fall from the sky." — ...Detharatsh. ADMIN MOD. What's your favorite opening line to a book? Mine is probably the opening line to Salem's Lot: “Almost everyone thought the man and the boy were father and son.”. This line tells us so much. It tells us the relative ages of the two main characters, that they are not related, and that they are currently in a …Sep 10, 2021 · Moby Dick — Herman Melville. “Call me Ishmael.”. — Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1851) One of the most famous opening lines in the English-language canon is this one from Melville’s tome about whale hunting. Ishmael is the name of the first-person narrator of the story, although he is a relatively minor character in the story itself. Instead, try one of these 6 ways to hook your readers right off the bat: (N.B. One of the easiest ways to check out the opening pages of nearly any book you want is with the ‘ Look Inside! ‘ feature on Amazon.com .) 1. Make your readers wonder. Put a question in your readers’ minds."My story begins on a sweltering August night, in a place I will never set eyes upon." Want to Read. BEST FANTASY. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. by …Famous opening lines of books. ... Some two hundred years after first publication it continues to top polls of the most loved books. 2. Moby-Dick, Herman Melville (1851 ... The novel was included in Time’s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923 and American author J. D. Salinger’s dealings of issues ...Jul 12, 2012 · Especially in these days of online book excerpts and Amazon.com previews, the opening sentences of a book can cast a spell — or cast readers out of the book, forever. Here are 39 of the greatest ... With some books, pretty much everyone agrees on what its most famous line is - this is true of the opening line of "Pride and Prejudice," which you'll find on everything from dishtowels to bookmarks. But with others, there isn't one clear winner. For this quiz, we've picked what we feel is the best-known, most-quoted line. Often it's a first ...Here is a list of 150 of the most compelling opening lines in literature. “The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on …About This Quiz. Some books come out hot right out of the gate with iconic openers. How many of these literary works can you correctly guess based only on the opening line? START QUIZ. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." "A Tale of Two Cities".Let this collection of the opening lines from children's books serve as a nostalgic walk down memory lane and as inspiration for books you may want to share with your children too. Find more about the author: Kim Hart. This collection of opening lines of children's books encapsulate the essence of the entire read in a single sentence."Tonight, five years to the day since I lost you, forty-eight white-throated sparrows fall from the sky." — ...Here are 23 final lines that I have never forgotten. “I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it ...Jul 11, 2012 ... Meeting a new book is like meeting a new person...those initial few seconds can entrance you for the rest of your life. I’m definitely going to read this book. Below are fifty great opening lines for you to ponder. We’d love to know if any of these first lines are enough to pique your interest to read the full book. Let us know in the comments section at the bottom of the page. 50 of the most impactful opening sentences in literature: Metamorphosis by Kafka: Not a 2017 book, but hands down, my favorite first line is from Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth: "The small boys came early to the hanging." Hooked me right then and there. Still have to say one of the …With really good books, a powerful sense of voice is established in the first line. My favorite example is from Douglas Fairbairn's novel, Shoot , which begins with a confrontation in the woods.I'm aware of the The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest where people attempt to write the worst first lines. That's also interesting but I'm curious if you've ever come across an atrocious first line out in the wild. Here is one I like to dislike: It was like so, but wasn’t. —Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2. This one sticks out to me specifically ...Oct 17, 2023 ... Mary by Nat Cassidy · The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides · Paradise by Toni Morrison · The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson &mi...In today’s fast-paced world, convenience and ease are of utmost importance when it comes to booking flights. Travelers no longer want to spend hours on the phone or wait in long li...Pretty different sector but Brian Greenes book: the fabric of the cosmos is what got me to read Camus. Greene is a physicist and a fantastic science communicator. His books are a joy. In the translation that I read, the opening sentence was, “Maman died today.”. Yeah I felt reasonably sure this was the main version.We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us.May 31, 2023 · The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice is arguably the most famous opening line of all-time. It makes a bold statement about life and love that readers have recited for generations: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”. -Jane Austen. Apr 16, 2015 ... 15 of the Best Opening Lines in YA · Before I Fall · Before I Fall · Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children · Miss Peregrine&#...1. “Call Me Ishmael.”. – Moby Dick, Herman Melville. This is perhaps the most iconic non-crappy opening line in history. While it doesn’t tell you anything about Captain Ahab and the whale, it still paints an intriguing picture.Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. "The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky ...Phone lines are an essential means of communication in both personal and professional settings. However, just like any other technology, phone lines can sometimes experience faults...Here are my top 15 favorite opening lines from chapter books and picture books for young children. If you are a dreamer, come in, If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer …. If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire. For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.Oct 19, 2023 · From Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities to Melville's Moby Dick, often the opening sentence or two of a book will become the most frequently quoted and iconic passage from the entire novel. This list has the best n ovels with great first lines, bound to make the best impression on readers. These books of fiction are well known for their opening ... Nov 18, 2014 · Chapter 1: In which a scientist visits hell and a deal is struck. — Johannes Cabal the Necromancer. Jonathan L. Howard. The condemned cell stank of cats. — Johannes Cabal the Detective. Jonathan L. Howard. Chapter 1: In which the Fear Institute visits and Cabal is confronted by the police. Are you tired of waiting in long lines at the salon just to get a haircut? Or perhaps you’re looking for a more convenient way to book an appointment without having to make a phone...Lolita. (Image credit: Everett/REX_Shutterstock) 'Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap ...Here are some first line generator tools you can try: 1. Opening Line Generator. This first line generator opens right to a list of 10 random opening line ideas. If you can’t find one that sparks anything in your mind, you can easily scroll down to where it asks if you would like to “Generate Some More.”. 2.An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. First Line: "My big brother reaches home in the dark hours before dawn, when even ghosts take their rest." Named one of the best YA novels of 2015, it's ...Here is a list, counting down from eleven to one, of the best opening lines that I read in 2020 and why I think they work: 11. “The doorman didn’t smile at me.”. — All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover. This book explores the hardships of marriage and supporting your partner through difficult life events and experiences.Aug 9, 2016 · 21 classic opening lines in books. First thoughts that last in our memory from Jane Austen, Hunter S. Thompson, J.K. Rowling, Ray Bradbury, others ... ''It was the best of times, it was the worst ... Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813) Another classic first line from one of the classics of western literature, this opening gives a fair indication of what is to come in this novel that has been cherished by millions of people across the decades. One of the best-loved novels of all time, Austen’s character development of protagonist ... 13. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. “The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world.”. 14. Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting. “My dad and I live in an airport.”. 15. The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck. “If your teacher has to die, August isn’t a bad time of year for it.”. Sep 7, 2022 ... 60 of the Most Famous Opening Lines of Books · 1. I'm pretty much fucked · 2. Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of ...A quote from Ursula Le Guin: "First sentences are the doors to other worlds." In the hands of our best writers, opening lines can make you fall in love with the book right away, start the story off like a gun, set the tone, and even hint at what's to come. In this list, we've chosen 15 of the best first lines in fiction.Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash. Never judge a book by its cover, but what about its first line? Writing is not about only plot, it is about the actual art of writing itself — metaphor, world-building, crafted sentences, sharp insight and yanking the reader into Story.A strong first line is necessary — whether it hooks you in your gut and sends …The opening lines of Maggie Blue and the White Crow, my second middle-grade novel (and the second in the trilogy started by Maggie Blue and the Dark World ), go thus: The blue wren was poised on a branch, so light she swayed with it in the breeze that tried and failed to pierce the late June heat. She was watching the girl, as she had …If you own a piece of land, it’s important to know exactly where your property lines are located. This information can help you avoid disputes with neighbors and ensure that you’re...25 of the Best Opening Lines in Crime Fiction. March 25, 2021. Few things enthrall me more than cracking (or clicking) open a novel and reading a first line that catapults me into Chapter 1. A line that reminds me why I read, why I write, what it means to be alive. A line that gives me whiplash.1. Perfect First Lines Are Vivid. Here's the line from Ulrica Hume's “Poppies” that caught my attention. I was born upside down, the umbilical cord looped twice around my neck. It's a simple sentence, but I love it. “Born upside down.”. There's something at once whimsical and perilous and messy about that image.Pretty different sector but Brian Greenes book: the fabric of the cosmos is what got me to read Camus. Greene is a physicist and a fantastic science communicator. His books are a joy. In the translation that I read, the opening sentence was, “Maman died today.”. Yeah I felt reasonably sure this was the main version.With some books, pretty much everyone agrees on what its most famous line is - this is true of the opening line of "Pride and Prejudice," which you'll find on everything from dishtowels to bookmarks. But with others, there isn't one clear winner. For this quiz, we've picked what we feel is the best-known, most-quoted line. Often it's a first ...Tuesday 11 March 2014 01:00 GMT. Comments. Great openers: everyone remembers the first sentence of Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. (aFP/Getty) Raymond Chandler had some good advice for writers ...12 Breathtaking First Lines in YA ... “The demon exploded in a shower of ichor and guts.” ... “On the day Emma Carstairs's parents were killed, the weather was ...Oct 27, 2018 ... ... books, I thought the time has officially ... Similar to the opening of Furyborn, the first lines ... IMO the best opening line I've read goes to ...The opening lines of Maggie Blue and the White Crow, my second middle-grade novel (and the second in the trilogy started by Maggie Blue and the Dark World ), go thus: The blue wren was poised on a branch, so light she swayed with it in the breeze that tried and failed to pierce the late June heat. She was watching the girl, as she had …1. What is your book about? ... The first sentence is often a great place to introduce your premise or core idea. Look back at the examples above. The first ...The 10 best first lines in fiction. Our guide to the greatest opening lines of novels in the English language, from Jane Austen to James Joyce. Gallery. Published: 28 Apr 2012When telling a story, your opening sentence needs to be catchy, so readers continue. The best first lines of books show us the common devices authors use to grab our curiosity. We analyzed …Jul 12, 2012 · Especially in these days of online book excerpts and Amazon.com previews, the opening sentences of a book can cast a spell — or cast readers out of the book, forever. Here are 39 of the greatest ... They can be a way to show the reader the mood of a story. If you want to start a story, you can use a simple sentence. You can also use a question or an inspirational quote. In this post, we have listed over 150 story starters to get your story started with a bang! A great way to use these story starters is at the start of …Tanglewreck, Jeanette Winterson's first novel for kids, begins this way: "At six forty-five one summer morning, a red London bus was crossing Waterloo Bridge." It isn't until you read on a little ...Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt. "Once, in a house on Egypt street, there lived a rabbit who was made almost entirely of china." The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Di Camillo. "The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal." Reckless by Cornelia Funke.Here are some of the best opening poetry lines according to me: "Let us go then, you and I," from T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked," from Allen Ginsberg's "Howl". "Because I could not stop for Death," from Emily Dickinson's …On any list or discussion board on readers’ favorite first lines, Tartt’s The Secret History appears without fail. The sentence, “The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation” compels readers with its detached …Not a 2017 book, but hands down, my favorite first line is from Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth: "The small boys came early to the hanging." Hooked me right then and there. Still have to say one of the …The 100 most powerful and poignant closing lines from literature. From classics such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm to L. Frank Baum’s T he Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Stylist rounds up the most ...The first line of a book is a written invitation addressed to the reader. If the reader likes the invitation, they read on. If they don't like it, they close the book and read something else. Finding the best combination of words for that first line can take a while. Some authors devote months of time to develop the opening line of their book. 1. “Call Me Ishmael.”. – Moby Dick, Herman Melville. This is perhaps the most iconic non-crappy opening line in history. While it doesn’t tell you anything about Captain Ahab and the whale, it still paints an intriguing picture. The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper. This is one of the best forgiveness quotes that will help you let go. A New York Times bestseller from 2021, The Beauty in Breaking is a stunning first ...Jan 1, 2016 · As the first thing you lay eyes upon when opening up a new book, the first line needs to be impactful, enticing, and enough to get us hooked. ... Twilight has what I consider to be one of the best ... I'm on my second novel of the series. Really good stuff. Here's the opening paragraph from the first book in the series, "Killing FLoor": "I was arrested in Eno's Diner. At twelve o'clock. I was eating eggs and drinking coffee. A late breakfast, not lunch. I was wet and tired after a long walk in heavy rain.Let this collection of the opening lines from children's books serve as a nostalgic walk down memory lane and as inspiration for books you may want to share with your children too. Find more about the author: Kim Hart. This collection of opening lines of children's books encapsulate the essence of the entire read in a single sentence.Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash. Never judge a book by its cover, but what about its first line? Writing is not about only plot, it is about the actual art of writing itself — metaphor, world-building, crafted sentences, sharp insight and yanking the reader into Story.A strong first line is necessary — whether it hooks you in your gut and sends …Here is a list of 150 of the most compelling opening lines in literature. “The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on …May 28, 2020 · The Stranger - Albert Camus (1942) “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know.”. Raghav Modi Writer. Tweet. Share. A list of 15 legendary opening lines from classics across distinct genres, tackling diverse human emotions.

70 Best Iconic First Lines of Books. Amusing lines, moral lines, shocking lines, lines worth remembering, first lines from popular books and first lines by iconic characters. Mysterious lines, romantic lines, lines from classics and so on and so forth. Whatever you’re looking for you’ll find them all here. Feel free to quote them, and share ... . Prius 2023 mpg

Practice with some of your own writing — take descriptive sentences and try to do what Hume has done here, and create a more vivid version that uses fewer words. 2. Surprise Your Readers. What better way to draw readers into your story world than to present them with a first line that jars them out of their reality.Whenever I’m struggling with my first lines, I turn to some of my favourite books to get me inspired. And that got me thinking about the first lines of the most popular and well-beloved fantasy books. Unfortunately, the subjective nature of reading makes it hard to have a ‘true’ list of the top 25 fantasy novels, …May 31, 2023 · The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice is arguably the most famous opening line of all-time. It makes a bold statement about life and love that readers have recited for generations: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”. -Jane Austen. Here are my top 15 favorite opening lines from chapter books and picture books for young children. If you are a dreamer, come in, If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer …. If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire. For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.Tuesday 11 March 2014 01:00 GMT. Comments. Great openers: everyone remembers the first sentence of Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. (aFP/Getty) Raymond Chandler had some good advice for writers ...These are the best children’s books of all time, according to a BBC poll. Below are the top 25 opening lines from novels, according to the new poll: 1. ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. Author: Charles Dickens. Percent of votes: 29%. Opening line: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”.Enjoy these first line generator ideas for writing a short story. 1. With his background and fierce appearance, no one expected Bruno the mastiff to be a good dog for small children. 2. She frowned thoughtfully at the tarot cards arranged before her. 3.Browse through the subreddit r/books and discover the most memorable opening lines in literature, from The Book Thief to The Gunslinger. See how these … Two Questions to Check if Your First Line Is Good Enough. When your reader picks up your book and reads the first sentence, they want to know two things: 1. What is your book about? The first sentence is often a great place to introduce your premise or core idea. Look back at the examples above. Gideon the Ninth. By Tasmyn Muir. Similar to All Systems Red, the opening line of Gideon the Ninth combines traditional sci-fi/ fantasy staples with a seemingly out-of-place object—dirty magazines. It bends the genre with a weird new. The first line helps sum up this book, which features badass lesbian necromancers in space.The pen is mightier than the sword. Since 1982 the Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest has challenged participants to write an atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written. Our whimsical literary competition honors Sir Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, whose 1830 novel Paul Clifford begins with “It was a dark and stormy night.”.Dec 2, 2011 · 1. "Cat’s Eye" by Margaret Atwood (1998) “Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space.”. Atwood’s novel about maintaining one’s identity tells the story of painter Elaine Risley, who reflects back on her youth and her toxic childhood friendship with a group of three girls. Jan 17, 2024 · 12 Breathtaking First Lines in YA. “The demon exploded in a shower of ichor and guts.”. – CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare. “On the day Emma Carstairs’s parents were killed, the weather was perfect.”. – CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE by Cassandra Clare. “On the second Sabbat of Twelfthmoon, in the city of Weep, a girl fell from the sky ... May 31, 2023 · The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice is arguably the most famous opening line of all-time. It makes a bold statement about life and love that readers have recited for generations: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”. -Jane Austen. .

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