You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Currently Reading First Lines
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Sandra, Moderator
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Nov 26, 2017 07:17PM
I remembered now it was July 4th and my husband was complaining we should have left the house already for the fireworks, and I just couldn't stop reading The Miniaturist. :)
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Ok, it is not a couple of lines, it is the entire first paragraph, but I think it shows how complex the topic is, how strong the book promises to be, and how good the author's writing is:"In 1692 the Massachusetts Bay Colony executed fourteen women, five men, and two dogs for witchcraft. The sorcery materialized in January. The first hanging took place in June, the last in September; a stark, stunned silence followed. What discomfited those who survived the ordeal was not the cunning practice of witchcraft but the clumsy administration of justice. Innocents indeed appeared to have hanged. But guilty parties had escaped. There was no vow never to forget; consigning nine month to oblivion seemed a more appropriate response. It worked, for a generation. We have been conjuring with Salem -our national nightmare, the undercooked, overripe tabloid episode, the dystopian chapter in our past- ever since. It crackles, flickers, and jolts its way through American history and literature."
The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff
"It was the night before new moon, during the darkest hours when even that bare silver had set. In a small patch of true darkness beneath the thick boughs of a cluster of trees, an evil essence seeped up from the Core."This book is not listed as Horror, but it sure sounds like it, huh? This is the first two lines from the Prologue in The Desert Spear
Sandra, that first paragraph gave me a headache trying to get it all in.
Sandra wrote: "Ok, it is not a couple of lines, it is the entire first paragraph, but I think it shows how complex the topic is, how strong the book promises to be, and how good the author's writing is:"In 1692..."
Oooo nice. I hope it lives up to that paragraph.
Sandra wrote: "Ok, it is not a couple of lines, it is the entire first paragraph, but I think it shows how complex the topic is, how strong the book promises to be, and how good the author's writing is:"In 1692..."
Sandra i fell like i need to read this but i can't bring myself to. Two dogs - that is surreal!!
Cherie wrote: ""It was the night before new moon, during the darkest hours when even that bare silver had set. In a small patch of true darkness beneath the thick boughs of a cluster of trees, an evil essence see..."Great opening Cherie. There has always been a horrific element to fantasy don't you think? The hobbit had the wraiths which scared me silly as a kid ;-)
Cherie wrote: "Sandra, that first paragraph gave me a headache trying to get it all in."Sorry about that. :)
Cherie wrote: ""It was the night before new moon, during the darkest hours when even that bare silver had set. In a small patch of true darkness beneath the thick boughs of a cluster of trees, an evil essence see..."Sounds good. I'd keep on reading.
Margo wrote: "Sandra i fell like i need to read this but i can't bring myself to. Two dogs - that is surreal!! "Yeah, surreal is a good way of putting it.
Rusalka wrote: "Oooo nice. I hope it lives up to that paragraph."I'll let you know. It doesn't look like a fast read. That's for sure.
Sandra wrote: "Ok, it is not a couple of lines, it is the entire first paragraph, but I think it shows how complex the topic is, how strong the book promises to be, and how good the author's writing is:..."I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on it when you finish.
Sandra wrote: "Ok, it is not a couple of lines, it is the entire first paragraph, but I think it shows how complex the topic is, how strong the book promises to be, and how good the author's writing is:"In 1692..."
I've enjoyed her books Sandra. I've looked at this one - it sounds intriguing although the ratings are low, but I've sometines loved books that others have rated low. I'd be interested in your take.
"There were four of us—George, and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking, and talking about how bad we were—bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course."Three Men in a Boat
"This book might make you think about Orcs in a different way"Orcs - Forged for War by Stan Nicholls.
I do like a book that plays on the tropes in a genre and turns them on there head and this graohic novel does that while still keeping the Orcs savage but not as evil as Tolkiens more famous take on them.
From The Good People:"Nóra's first thought when they brought her the body was that it could not be her husband's."
Sounds intriguing, Peggy! I have to go check it out now. - oh, it's Hannah Kent's book. Ha!
I keep forgetting about this thread!Currently reading The Alice Network:
"The first person I met in England was a hallucination."
Also currently reading The Lost World:
"The late twentieth century has witnessed a remarkable growth in scientific interest in the subject of extinction."
I like the first sentence of your first book Janice. The second doesn't appeal to me.
The first sentence for The Lost World was a scientific brief made by Ian Malcolm so it was a bit dry. I love his line in the movie (paraphrasing), "Sure, first comes "ooooh", and then comes the screaming." In the book, the dinosaurs have already had one person for lunch.
The first one is great. I was going to say that the second reads like NF but you've explained that ;-)
I really like the sound of The Alice Network, I put it on my tbr list last week (idea stolen from Margo's thread I think, or from Janice..?? I was taking books from both)
"No living organism can continue for long, to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality - even larks and katydids are supposed by some to dream."The Haunting of Hill House
I enjoyed the Haunting of Hill House, Margo.
"It was dusk, but as he turned onto the rutted driveway he could make out the perimeter of yellow tape that still circled the property."The Girl with a Clock for a Heart
Lusie wrote: ""It was dusk, but as he turned onto the rutted driveway he could make out the perimeter of yellow tape that still circled the property."The Girl with a Clock for a Heart"
Sounds intriguing! The first sentence has piqued my curiosity.
I keep forgetting about this thread too! I have two books currently on the go:The Lost Village
by Neil Spring"I first saw the village when I was ten years old. Before the Keep Out and Danger signs went up. Before the high fences with their coiled crowns of barbed wire."
Wideacre
by Philippa Gregory"Wideacre Hall faces due south and the sun shines all day on the yellow stone until it is warm and powdery to the touch."
I'm not sure I like this thread after all. Too tempting to add all these books. The Lost Village looks right up my alley. I might have to read the first book before tackling this one.
Janice wrote: "I'm not sure I like this thread after all. Too tempting to add all these books. The Lost Village looks right up my alley. I might have to read the first book before tackling this one."It's very good, Janice. I haven't read the first book in the series, but this book is written so you can follow it without needing to have read the first one. I'm probably going to go back and read it now though based on the strength of this one.
The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister"Tonight, I will do the impossible.
The impossible is nothing new to me. As I do every night, I will make people believe things that aren't true. I will show them worlds that never existed, events that never happened. I will weave a web of beautiful illusion to ensnare them, a glittering trap that drags them willingly with me into the magical, false, spellbinding world."
Hmmm = do we have an unreliable narrator here?
Lisa wrote: "Janice wrote: "I'm not sure I like this thread after all. Too tempting to add all these books. The Lost Village looks right up my alley. I might have to read the first book before tackling this one..."I agree ... May need to start avoiding this thread.. I've just added the last 3 books to my to read list and own none of them. They all sound so interesting!
Haha, you are right. After visiting this thread I was tempted to add several books to my TBR as well
Lusie wrote: "Haha, you are right. After visiting this thread I was tempted to add several books to my TBR as well"You're obviously better at dealing with temptation than I am
I'm not reading!! You can't make me!!
Rusulka, read one, only one post, and that's it. :)
*fingers in ears* LAHLAHLAHLAHLAH!!!
Janice wrote: "I keep forgetting about this thread!Currently reading The Alice Network:
"The first person I met in England was a hallucination."
Also currently reading [book:The Lost World|865..."
Both of those sound intriguing Janice. I'd keep reading.
Peggy wrote: "From The Good People:"Nóra's first thought when they brought her the body was that it could not be her husband's.""
I'd keep reading this one. Luckily I already own it.
Janice wrote: "The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister"Tonight, I will do the impossible.
The impossible is nothing new to me. As I do every night, I will make people believe ..."
Ooh. I definitely need to pick this one up. I got it through Netgalley but still haven't got around to reading it.
I like the sound of that one Lisa but I'd need to read them in order. Looks like I already have the first book on my wishlist anyway.
The Two Faces of January"At half past three of a morning in early January, Chester MacFarland was awakened in his berth on the San Gimignano by an alarming sound of scraping."
Hmm...
Magpie Murders
"A bottle of wine, a family size packet of natco cheese flavoured tortilla chips and a jar of hot salsa dip. A packet of cigarettes on the side - I know, I know! The rain hammering against the windows and a book. What could have been lovelier?"
How that's my kind of beginning!!!
IT seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days. An expedition, I
should say, which I will undertake alone, in the comfort of Mr Farraday's
Ford; an expedition which, as I foresee it, will take me through much of the
finest countryside of England to the West Country, and may keep me away
from Darlington Hall for as much as five or six days.
The Remains of the Day
Anything that starts off with a bottle of wine is my kind of book!
siriusedward wrote: "IT seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days. The Remains of the Day..."
Sad, but a great story!
"Clara, patron saint of television and eye disease, stood three feet tall in the church at the end of the road." - Lucky Boy
That sounds very interesting, Lilisa!
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
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