Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2020 Challenge - Regular
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03 - A book with a great first line
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So I kinda got lazy on this prompt and went with Howl's Moving Castle, which has an interesting but not GREAT first line but was on my TBR list. Then Goodreads' algorithm su..."
hahaha that's a great story!!! I'm haunted by some forgotten children's books too ... I can remember just enough to be haunted, but not enough to find the book again.
My favorite opening line ever is in The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton"This is a love letter. And a confession."
If you're into NSFW openers, a good one is The Core of the Sun:“I lift my skirt, pull aside the waistband of my underpants, and push my index finger in to test the sample.”
Theresa wrote: "The Starless Sea"I like the first line but the first four together really got me.
"There is a pirate in the basement.
(The pirate is a metaphor but also still a person.)
(The basement could rightly be considered a dungeon.)
The pirate was placed here for numerous acts of a piratey nature considered criminal enough for punishment by those non-pirates who decide such things."
BTW this book is not about a pirate.
I don't know what I'll read for this, and while this won't be a 5 star read for me, I'm reading a book right now that has a good first line:"On November the twenty-first, the day of her forty-seventh birthday, and three weeks and two days before she was murdered, Rhoda Gradwyn went to Harley Street to keep a first appointment with her plastic surgeon, and there in a consulting room designed, so it appeared, to inspire confidence and allay apprehension made the decision which would lead inexorably to her death." The Private Patient
I stumbled across a great opening line this week. My son had brought home the book Tuck Everlasting, which he is reading at school. As I've never read it, I had to check it out. Here is the first line:The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning.
I've added this book to my list.
Tuck Everlasting is a great book. I hope you enjoy the rest of it, too, T.
I reread Tuck Everlasting this year (book about a family). I first read it in 4th grade, and had not read it since middle school, but thought that a great first line.
I just picked up book after book in my physical TBR. The potentials are Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight and On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. "It isn't until afterward that I think about the bag or the bloody towels stuffed inside."
"I might have to kill somebody tonight."
Adriana wrote: ""I might have to kill somebody tonight." ."I think I basically say this every day. Yet I never do.
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson has my favorite first line “PRINCE Raoden of Arelon awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been damned for all eternity.”
I read Ripper by Isabel Allende “Mom’s still alive, but she’s going to be murdered at midnight on Good Friday.”
That’s about the only good thing about the book, though. The rest of it was a tedious slog.
Good opening lines:Seveneves "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason.
"Every seven year old deserves a superhero." My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
I have some borrowed books on my shelf that I should really return to their owners soon. Out of those, the one with the best first line is Assassination Vacation:"One night last summer, all the killers in my head assembled on a stage in Massachusetts to sing show tunes."
Sammi-lou wrote: "Elantris by Brandon Sanderson has my favorite first line “PRINCE Raoden of Arelon awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been damned for all eternity.”"Ooooo that's a good one! I was planning on reading that next year too
For any French reader, I would recomment L'étranger"Ajourd'hui, Maman est morte."
The impact of the line, for me, gets lost in translation
(Either Mother died today or Maman died today, depending on the edition)
But still.
Gives the tone for the book.
Marie-eve wrote: "For any French reader, I would recomment L'étranger"Ajourd'hui, Maman est morte."
The impact of the line, for me, gets lost in translation
(Either Mother died today or Maman died..."
Yes, the translator did a TERRIBLE job with that translation! Even a literal translation would be better, "Today, my mother is dead" would have more impact than "My mother died today" but my French was never good enough to know how that phrase would come across in French.
The BBC has a good article that helped me choose my selection for this prompt:http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/2019...
Johanne wrote: "I like the opening line for Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. I have read it, just thought I´d share.“It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an ..."
Came here to recommend this one, it was a fun read!
Margaret MitchellIf you're interested in a classic…"Scarlet O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were."
– Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
If you're into comedic fantasy, Terry Pratchett has some good first lines in Discworld.
"Sam Vimes sighed when he heard the scream, but he finished shaving before he did anything about it."
– Night Watch
"Polly cut off her hair in front of the mirror, feeling slightly guilty about not feeling very guilty about doing so."
– Monstrous Regiment
And on the subject of comedy, there's always The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Five Parts by Douglas Adams!
"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun."
Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)by Laini Taylor
"Once upon a time an angel and a demon fell in love. It did not end well."
Mod
by Laini Taylor
"Once upon a time an angel and a demon fell in love. It did not end well.""
such a great series!!!
♞ Pat wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Rebecca has the very best first line of any book I’ve read.In second place is The Martian."
The Martian hooked me right away with the first line, ..."
I was reading this for a book club read and closed the book after I read the first line. My granddaughter laughed at me. I do not like that word but then I am 81 years old. I did finish and found it creative even with all the bad language. I liked the movie better. I had to respond to you. Have a good day. Leona
Leona wrote: "♞ Pat wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Rebecca has the very best first line of any book I’ve read.In second place is The Martian."
The Martian hooked me right away with th..."
When I heard the first line it was an audiobook and I couldn't shut it off in time. My mother is 81, not me, and normally I don't read books with that word in it, but in this case it was so VERY believable and not gratuitous. I gave this book 4.5 stars--the main reason it lost half a star was because later on earth he had a character that swore a lot and it was totally unnecessary and it would have been very believable without it.
I'm thinking I'll use either This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us : "Elmore Leonard said it's bad style to open a novel with the weather." Or A Constellation of Vital Phenomena : "On the morning after the Feds burned down her house and took her father, Havaa woke from dreams of sea anemones." Both I'm using for other prompts (A book you picked up because of the title and a book title with more than 20 letters) and happen to have fantastic openers.
Karin wrote: "Leona wrote: "♞ Pat wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Rebecca has the very best first line of any book I’ve read.In second place is The Martian."
The Martian hooked me righ..."
lol
Kenya wrote: "Storytime!So I kinda got lazy on this prompt and went with Howl's Moving Castle, which has an interesting but not GREAT first line but was on my TBR list. Then Goodreads' algorithm su..."
Kenya, what do you mean by Goodread's algorithm?
I am currently reading Head On by John Scalzi. It opens like this:"By the time Duane Chapman died on the Hilketa field, his head had already been torn off twice."
Scalzi is great with opening lines (and with everything that comes after); I'd recommend any of his "novels of the near future."
Mod
"By the time Duane Chapman died on the Hilketa field, his head had already been torn off twice."
Scalzi is great with opening li..."
Off topic: I LOVE sci-fi, but I have never read Scalzi!! I'm not quite sure where to start, he has so many that have great reviews - which book do you recommend first?
I am a big fan of Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I would almost consider re-reading this book for this prompt. :-)
Elke wrote: "I am currently reading Head On by John Scalzi. It opens like this:"By the time Duane Chapman died on the Hilketa field, his head had already been torn off twice."
Scalzi is great with opening li..."
Yes, and this series also works for the AI/Robot/Cyborg one starting with Lock In. I've read both of these so far and ought to see if the third one will be coming out.
Nadine wrote: "I LOVE sci-fi, but I have never read Scalzi!! I'm not quite sure where to start, he has so many that have great reviews - which book do you recommend first?"I started with "Redshirts" which is based on the Star Trek term for the expendable people who wear red shirts in the show.
Another good place to start is "Old Man's War", a series of ... 6? 7? books. And the first entry in the series has a great opening paragraph too:
"I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army."
And "Lock-In", to which Head On is the sequel, is a great place to start too.
Karin wrote: "Elke wrote: "I am currently reading Head On by John Scalzi. It opens like this:"By the time Duane Chapman died on the Hilketa field, his head had already been torn off twice."
Scalzi is great wi..."
Karin, wow this one looks AMAZING and it is left sci-fi-y than other books if you know what I mean. Would this also be a medical thriller? Even if it isn't, I am going to do it for the robot or cyborg prompt because it looks appealing and I have been worried about this one!
"The vicar doesn't know I'm a vampire."Posted to Death
by Dean James is book one of a funny cosy mystery series.
Elke wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I LOVE sci-fi, but I have never read Scalzi!! I'm not quite sure where to start, he has so many that have great reviews - which book do you recommend first?"I started with "Redshir..."
I've read all of these, but wasn't as keen on the Old Man's War books and dropped them after two, but he is definitely a very strong writer and 100 percent scifi.
Crumb wrote: "Karin wrote: "Elke wrote: "I am currently reading Head On by John Scalzi. It opens like this:"By the time Duane Chapman died on the Hilketa field, his head had already been torn off twice."
Scal..."
Well, it is 100 percent scifi, but NOT outer space scifi :) It is also a thriller and about cops.
I don't read as much of it now, but from the ages of 10-16 or so Scifi was one of my main genres, a lot of it hard core scifi, and I am in a now private scifi group (only became private recently due to a LOT of spamming because it's a large group), but my scifi reading pales in comparison with the most active group members there! Anyone can join the group if they ask, but not spam and there isn't any point unless you enjoy scifi, or at least a significant chunk (even if it's a significant minority which is where I would say I am now).
"There's no way to know the exact second your life changes forever." The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
My friend recommended this book to me and I was looking for a way to fit this into the challenge.
Oh, Lisa, I have this book too! Thanks for quoting the first line for me!
Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You has an amazing first line. "Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet . . ."
"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974."Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
"It was the day my grandmother exploded"
The Crow Road by Iain Banks
"In the land of Ingary where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of the three."
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
"The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten"
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink"
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
"Ships at a distance have everyman's wish on board." from Their eyes were watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
Last year was a tad fraught for me so I'm choosing lighthearted books and this first line just tickled me "I didn't choose the wench life. The wench life chose me." Well Met jen DeLuca
Sometimes I lie by Alice Feeney could work for this one.
i will be reading i capture the castle for this one
Also a very good first line:"We must, by law, keep a record of the innocents we kill."
Neal Shusterman, Scythe
The first line of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe always make me laugh"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move"
It really sets the tone for the rest of the book
"In five years, the penis will be obsolete."Steel Beach, by John Varley.
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So I kinda got lazy on this prompt and went with Howl's Moving Castle, which has an interesting but not GREAT first line but was on my TBR list. Then Goodreads' algorithm suggested I read Quest for a Maid, a suggestion I would have ignored had I not recognized the cover. My sister had brought this book home years ago when we were kids, and I remembered reading the first chapter but never getting to finish it... and I was haunted for YEARS because I clearly remembered the cover but nothing about the title.
Not only did I rediscover this book thanks to Goodreads, but according to the reviews it has a freaking good hook of a first line:
"When I was nine years old, I hid under a table and heard my sister kill a king."
Normally I ignore Goodreads' book suggestions, but this time I have to thank them for not only helping me find a book I'd been struggling to remember the title of for YEARS, but helping me place it in the challenge too.
Okay, I'm done. XD Thank you for coming to my TED talk.