Currently Reading First Lines

[Peggy]

Typical Michael J Sullivan opening, jumping in right in the middle of something :) I'm looking forward to reading it too.

[Lilisa]

Janice wrote: "The book blurb does sound interesting. Are you liking it so far?"

Yes I am Janice, although there was a reference to Mahatma Gandhi and Gandhi was incorrectly spelled - aargh, I hate sloppy work! The book is one of those fast, easy read books and it's a nice break.

[Cherie]

Anne (Booklady) wrote: "I started

"We came on the wind of the carnival. A warm wind for February, laden with the hot greasy scents of frying pancakes and sausages and powdery-sweet waffles coo..."

I loved that book Anne, and the first lines really got me hooked on Joanne Harris. I love how she describes a scene!

[Cherie]

Lilisa wrote: " Matters of Doubt

Sometimes, when I’m working in my office, the sound of traffic out on Pacific Highway reminds me of a river. I close my eyes ..."

Ah, in my own back yard, Lilisa. I have definitely added this one to my TBR list.

[Peggy]

Yay! After reading the same book for 2 weeks I can finally also post a first line.

It's from

"Dear Mr. Richard Gere,

In Mom's underwear drawer - as I was separating her 'personal' clothes from the 'lightly used' articles I could donate to the local thrift shop - I found a letter you wrote."

[Kristie, Moderator]

Oh, that one sounds fun, Peggy. lol I'd keep reading it from that.

[Janice, Moderator]

That sounds interesting, Peggy. Hmmmm... a letter from Richard Gere kept in the undie drawer.

[Margo]

Oh what a great opening Peggy! I'm close to putting it on my wishlist but I'll wait to see how you get on

[Lilisa]

Cherie wrote: "Lilisa wrote: " Matters of Doubt

Sometimes, when I’m working in my office, the sound of traffic out on Pacific Highway reminds me of a river. I..."

Will be interested in your thoughts when you get to it Cherie -- maybe a few years from now :-)

[KimeyDiann]

That's a great start, Peggy. This thread is not being friendly to my TBR list. lol.

[Cherie]

Peggy wrote: "Yay! After reading the same book for 2 weeks I can finally also post a first line.

It's from

"Dear Mr. Richard Gere,

In Mom's underwear drawer - ..."

Now, there is a line that could drag me right in! I could use it for my "right" question! I still don't have a copy of the book that I originally chose.

[Cherie]

Lilisa wrote: "Will be interested in your thoughts when you get to it Cherie -- maybe a few years from now :-) ..."

I might read it sooner than later. ;-) The opening lines actually fit with my question #19 on the yearly challenge. My desktop picture was called "Pacific Coast Rain Forest".

[Peggy]

I'm also using it for the 'right' question.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Very enganging endeed, Peggy.

[Peggy]

Hm, I'm starting to worry that the first line is the best part of the book..

[Sandra, Moderator]

Mmmmm, I hope it improves, Peggy.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Uh oh... Hope it gets better, Peggy.

[Sarah]

Peggy wrote: "Hm, I'm starting to worry that the first line is the best part of the book.."

Oh dear! That's not good.

[Sarah]

I am reading Dodger.

"The rain poured down on London so hard that it seemed that it was dancing spray, every raindrop contending with its fellow for supremacy in the air and waiting to splash down."

[Peggy]

I like it Sarah, it would keep me reading.

I've started

"It was a meatball, a really big meatball, and it was rolling out of her closet"


I like this thread. I never single out first sentences, just read them as part of their paragraph, but singled out they can be very interesting.

[KimeyDiann]

I don't really single them out either, Peggy, but you are most certainly correct, they are very interesting.

The meatball sentence just make me want to know: WHY would anyone have a meatball in their closet? Is it the proverbial closet like the one skeletons are in? Or a real closet?
Despite my curiosity, I probably wouldn't keep reading. Cozies aren't realy my thing.

[Peggy]

A real closet, but it turned out to be a dream ;-)

[Sarah]

I agree that a single sentence in isolation can be interesting, be beautiful written and pique interest.

[Lisa]

I recently started Tin Man by Sarah Winman
"All Dora Judd ever told anyone about that night three weeks before Christmas was that she won the painting in a raffle".

[KimeyDiann]

Peggy wrote: "A real closet, but it turned out to be a dream ;-)"

Ah, the curiosity is calmed now. Meatballs in dream closets make perfect sense! LOL

[Cherie]

Sarah wrote: "I am reading Dodger.

"The rain poured down on London so hard that it seemed that it was dancing spray, every raindrop contending with its fellow for supremacy in the air and waitin..."

I think I typed this into one of my status updates when I read the book, Sarah. There are lots more lines like this in the story. I hope you like it.

[Cherie]

Lisa wrote: "I recently started Tin Man by Sarah Winman
"All Dora Judd ever told anyone about that night three weeks before Christmas was that she w..."

If I needed a yellow cover, or either word, or a picture of someone on a bicycle on the cover for a challenge, I might pick this, Lisa, but the first line does not really make me want to go farther. Given that, I am interested in what you have to say about it. ^-^

[Margo]

"There were no windows in the Brin 2 facility – rotation meant that ‘outside’ was always ‘down’, underfoot, out of mind."

Children of Time

Gives a good sense of place :-)

[Sandra, Moderator]

Really good start, Margo.

[Peggy]

I don't like it so much. It sounds SF like and that's not my type of book.

[Lisa]

Cherie wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I recently started Tin Man by Sarah Winman
"All Dora Judd ever told anyone about that night three weeks before Christmas w..."

Yes, it's not the most intriguing opening line, Cherie. That being said, the story is quite good as you get further through.

[Margo]

Peggy wrote: "I don't like it so much. It sounds SF like and that's not my type of book."

It seems to very hard SF Peggy which is not my genre of choice but I was intreged by the sample on audible. It was from the pov of a spider! Now that's somthing I haven't come across before lol Oh, and it was a daily deal ;-)

[Sandra, Moderator]

Oh, we read a book from the POV of a bee some time ago. The Bees Intriguing but not my cup of tea.

[Lisa]

I have just started The Upstairs Room by Kate Murray-Browne
"It was there from the beginning, the day they first saw the house. Eleanor noticed the smell first. It wasn't unpleasant, just strong: the smell of age, of yellowing, of brown-grey, of damp".

[Cherie]

I would read that one, Lisa. Actually, it sounds kind of like a book we might have done a buddy read on. The one with the sisters, The Lake House, maybe. Sorry, I can't link it.

I want to know how the spider POV turns out, Margo.

Sandra, I loved The Bees! Funny, for some strange reason, I have been watching You Tube videos about bee keeping lately. It is fascinating, but I don't really want to do it.

[Sarah]

Sounds good to me Margo. Interesting about the pov. I might have to bump it up my list.

[Lilisa]

"After dinner I sat and watched for Pyle in my room over the rue Catinat; he had said, 'I'll be with you latest by ten,' and when midnight struck I couldn't stay quiet any longer and went down into the street." I'm halfway through The Quiet American

[Sarah]

I started Hunter's Run for the group read.

"Ramon Espejo awoke floating in a sea of darkness. For a moment, he was relaxed and mindless, drifting peacefully, and then his identity returned to him lazily, like an unwanted afterthought."

[Margo]

That sounds really good Sarah. My library doesn't have either of of the group read books this month unfortunately.

[Peggy]

Sounds intriguing Sarah.

I'm reading Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House

"Robert's familiar rap on the door came as I was studying a miniature portrait of myself. The small painting, meant as a parting gift to my beloved, had just been delivered, and I was debating the artist's interpretation."

[Janice, Moderator]

Margo wrote: ""There were no windows in the Brin 2 facility – rotation meant that ‘outside’ was always ‘down’, underfoot, out of mind."

Children of Time

Gives a good sense of place :-)"

I already have that one on my wishlist.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Cherie wrote: "Sandra, I loved The Bees! Funny, for some strange reason, I have been watching You Tube videos about bee keeping lately. It is fascinating, but I don't really want to do it."

Bees are fascinating! That I agree. I just didn't get the book, I guess... :/

[Sandra, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "I started Hunter's Run for the group read.

"Ramon Espejo awoke floating in a sea of darkness. For a moment, he was relaxed and mindless, drifting peacefully, and then his identity r..."

Good!

[Sandra, Moderator]

Lilisa wrote: ""After dinner I sat and watched for Pyle in my room over the rue Catinat; he had said, 'I'll be with you latest by ten,' and when midnight struck I couldn't stay quiet any longer and went down into..."

This one is intriguing, Lilisa.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Peggy wrote: "I like this thread. I never single out first sentences, just read them as part of their paragraph, but singled out they can be very interesting."

Totally agree. Some time ago I started paying more attention to first lines (then I forgot) because I read somewhere (kind of recommendations to aspiring writers) that if the first line is good, the reader would probably read the first paragraph, and if the first paragraph is good, he/she would probably read the first chapter. And that is all you need to engage a reader to give the whole book a try. Of course the book can be ruined at any point, but I found it interesting.

I also read an article (in bookriot maybe? I don't remember) that said something like "see if you know from what books are these last lines", and I was amazed to see how I recognized the 4 or 5 books I had read in that list.

[KimeyDiann]

Peggy wrote: "Sounds intriguing Sarah.

I'm reading Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House

"Robert's familiar rap on the door came as I was studying a miniature portrait of myself. The ..."

That piques my interest. I would keep reading.

@Sandra, I've taken some of those surveys too and I've been shocked at how many I recognized that I haven't even read.

[Sandra, Moderator]

That is true, Kimey. I specially remember from that article the last line of Lord of the Flies, that BTW I will be rereading with my book club next month.

[KimeyDiann]

I started listening to Roses of May, it is the sequel to The Butterfly Garden.



"Her name is Darla Jean Carmichael, and she's your first.
But then, you don't know that yet."

Personally, that wouldn't have caught my interest.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Kimey - I tend to read a lot in that genre, so I'm accustomed to that style of beginning. I'd keep reading.

[Peggy]

I like that beginning Kimey. It's unusual (for me) and that makes me interested.