The Hobbit (Middle Earth, #0)

by J.R.R. Tolkien

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

You have one sentence to convince the reader to read the first paragraph. Then you have one paragraph to convince them to read the first page. If they turn the page, you probably have them for the chapter. I have a corollary to that sentiment: Never start a book with a description of a mountain range. "The Hobbit" takes place in a MONUMENTALLY well-defined setting. Tolkien devised literally ten thousand years of history, cultures, and languages for Middle-earth. But he didn't fall into the trap of inflicting that on the reader all at once. He starts off the most epic adventure ever written with a simple, humble statement about a hole in the ground and the guy who lives there. And it's interesting. It makes you want to know more. When the book first came out - before it was a cultural phenomenon - no one knew what a hobbit was. So as a reader you would wonder "What is a hobbit?" and "Why does it live in the ground?" It convinces you to read the rest of the paragraph.