Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

The first sentence of a book is truly our first impression. There are some amazing ones out there. Sentences that set the stage for an amazing book (or unfortunately lead to a let-down).

For today's activity, post the first sentence of your current read, along with the title and author.

Feel free to return and post again when you start a new book.

Some of the best:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."
- 1984 by George Orwell

"It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not."
- City of Glass by Paul Auster

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."
- Neuromancer by William Gibson

"The Circus arrives without warning
No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simpy there, when yesterday it was not".
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I wrote more than the first sentence, but I like it more in that way :P

Silvia wrote: ""The Circus arrives without warning
No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simpy there, when yester..."

And that DOES set the stage for an awesome book. One of my all-time favorites.

Silvia wrote: ""The Circus arrives without warning
No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simpy there, when yester..."

SUCH a good first sentence for that book!

"In June, the book club was at Zoe's house, which meant that Elizabeth had to carry her heavy ceramic bowl of spinach salad with walnuts and bits of crumbled goat cheese a grand total of half a block."

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

Hmm. I might have to do more of this on my own.

"It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon at the Vicarage."

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

"SCREW YOU, BING CROSBY."
"Darby Thorne was six miles up Backbone Pass when her windshield wiper broke, and that bass baritone voice was just kicking into the second chorus."

No Exit by Taylor Adams

"The old man is dying." Since this is an ARC, the line could change!
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

Pam wrote: ""The old man is dying." Since this is an ARC, the line could change!
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo"

What does ARC mean?

“This is a story with four protagonists: a deadly bacterium, a vast city, and two gifted but very different men.”
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

MJ wrote: "Pam wrote: ""The old man is dying." Since this is an ARC, the line could change!
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo"

What does ARC mean?"

ARC is an Advance Reading Copy, not for sale yet. I won it from a GR giveaway. You are not supposed to quote from them before checking the published edition. In this case, I doubt that the first line will change but I wanted to include that disclaimer.

Pam wrote:

ARC is an Advanc..."
Thank-you! I should have googled it! I just put that one on my tbr today, so I knew it wasn’t out yet. What do you think of it? I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

"The deck of the French ship was slippery with blood, heaving in the chopping sea; a stroke might as easily bring down the man making it as the intended target."
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

And:

"C'mon, get behind the wheel."
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

«The taxi’s radio was tuned to a classical FM broadcast. Janáček’s Sinfonietta—probably not the ideal music to hear in a taxi caught in traffic.»

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

MJ wrote: "Pam wrote:

ARC is an Advanc..."
Thank-you! I should have googled it! I just put that one on my tbr today, so I knew it wasn’t out yet. What do you think of it? I can’t wait to get my hands on a ..."

MJ- I like it (The Night Tiger) so far! I think it is better thanThe Ghost Bride. Like Ghost Bride, it has that magical realism element to it. Hope you enjoy it!

"In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages."

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

I plan on using The Night Tiger for the Chinese Zodiac prompt next year, so I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it! (It was a Book of the Month Club pick this month!)

"There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of the question."

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

"No love like old love."
White Houses by Amy Bloom

The Salinas Valley is in Northern California.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

Not the most exciting of first lines, to be sure.

"Ocober 27
Dear Matt:
First, thank you for the kind words about my latest novel."

- Trick or Treachery by Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain

I’d love it if we could keep this topic open during the coming year.

"His mother gave him a new pair of socks and a puffin to eat on the voyage"

Where the World Ends by G McCaughrean

"Ove is fifty-nine."

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Ann wrote: ""His mother gave him a new pair of socks and a puffin to eat on the voyage"

Where the World Ends by G McCaughrean"

A puffin?????

"It rained like we were a splatter of bird shit God was trying to hose off his deck."

What the Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong

Same thought here Tracy!!

Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

(I re-read this just now - I love this book so much, even though it's a gut-punch right in the feels. Actually that's probably why I love it.)

"This is a short story about what you would be prepared to sacrifice in order to save a life."

The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman

Something a little strange, that's what you notice, that she's not a woman like all the others.

Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig.

Tracy wrote: "Ann wrote: ""His mother gave him a new pair of socks and a puffin to eat on the voyage"

Where the World Ends by G McCaughrean"

A puffin?????" Yes a puffin. I guess they ate them in Scotland in 1800's. Can't wait to read the book. Got it from a bookseller in London....by mail.

I forget everything between footsteps.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuar Turton

Ann, that is so very 84, Charing Cross Road of you!

"Guilt is a hunter."
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

My first read of 2019, and of course it's a WWII book 🤦🏻‍♀️

"Malorie stand in the kitchen, thinking."

- Bird Box by Josh Malerman

I wish I had seen this game when I was reading Dickens!!

This would be a fun thread to keep open this year!

“When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist.” Circe by Madeline Miller

Locke Lamora stood on the pier in Tal Verrar with the hot wind of a burning ship at his back and the cold bite of a loaded crossbow's bolt at his neck.

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

“Miss Jane Neal met her maker in the early morning mist of Thanksgiving Sunday”

Still Life by Louise Penny.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much" - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

"At the age of five, Gustav Perle was certain of only one thing: he loved his mother."

The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain (which I just finished reading)

"Though I love to see my children resting soundly, in the quiet of their slumber my uneasy mind retraces our journey."

When the Moon Is Low by Nadia Hashimi (which I'm currently reading)

“William Stoner entered the University of Missouri as a freshman in the year 1910, at the age of 19.”

Stoner by John Williams

"Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger of explorer of his."

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

"There was a time, and it was many years ago now, when I had to stay in a hospital for almost nine weeks."

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Emily wrote: "Ann, that is so very 84, Charing Cross Road of you!"

Speaking of which.....

"Gentleman,
Your ad in The Saturday Review of Literature says that you specialize in out-of-print books."

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff


Also working on

"Oops, I did it again."

If I Could Turn Back Time by Nicola Doherty
( Worst opening sentence EVER... All I can think of is Britney Spears LOL)

Tracy wrote: "Emily wrote: "Ann, that is so very 84, Charing Cross Road of you!"

Speaking of which.....

"Gentleman,
Your ad in The Saturday Review of Literature says that you specialize in out-..."

That really is the worst opening line ever. Surely the author knew that, right?


Karen wrote: ""There was a time, and it was many years ago now, when I had to stay in a hospital for almost nine weeks."

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout"

I recognized this one immediately. It was my second to last read of 2018!

"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

DUN DUN DUNNN.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

My current read:

"The little boy was frightened."
Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre

And my previous read, The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner:
"If you want to know the history of a town, read the gravestones in its cemetery."

°~Amy~° wrote: "Locke Lamora stood on the pier in Tal Verrar with the hot wind of a burning ship at his back and the cold bite of a loaded crossbow's bolt at his neck.

Red Seas Under Red Skies by..."

This is basically a summary of Locke's entire life lol

Diana wrote: ""Ove is fifty-nine."

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman"

What's funny to me about this is that there is a perception that Ove is old. I myself had that book slotted into a challenge prompt for a book about an elderly character, until someone corrected me.

Milena wrote: "Diana wrote: ""Ove is fifty-nine."

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman"

What's funny to me about this is that there is a perception that Ove is old. I myself had that book slotted..."

I think his curmudgeon attitude makes him more "elderly" than his years suggest.