Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
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First Lines of Books
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You're right, Regina. They forgot that great first line. Here's the rest of the passage: ====>
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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
-Charles Dickens, _A Tale of Two Cities_
From: http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/2...
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Beautiful, isn't it.
PS-I just noticed that the entire passage above is all one sentence! A very long first line! (lol) Dickens used commas instead of periods... so I suppose that makes it all one long sentence. Of course, we were taught not to write like that. (lol) If it's good enough for Dickens, it's good enough for me! I just can't make myself do it.

Too bad the page doesn't allow us to copy and paste.
I don't know how I lived without the "copy and paste" application all those years... and the search feature which is so helpful, including the ability to search through our personal computer files. It's especially helpful because I often forget where I've filed things. (g)

"I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice - not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany."
A Prayer For Owen Meany-John Irving
Joy-I was able to copy & paste, I started at the end!! LOL

Good for you, Becky. Thanks for the heads up. I had saved the whole page because I couldn't copy and paste the lines. (g)
Love the quote you chose. I really must try to read _A Prayer for Owen Meany_ again. I didn't like it the first time and quit early on. Too many flashbacks, IIRC.
What does IIRC mean?
duh, Alice
duh, Alice
My mother always quoted the first lines of Gone with the Wind to us as it was her favorite book. "Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were."
Thanks Becky! I need to remember that one as I am very forgetful....IIRC. (good one) Are you a Southerner too? My mother grew up in MS but now lives in NH. I am an Air Force brat so not quite sure where I am from, LOL!

http://www.acronymfinder.com/
Your Scarlett O'Hara quote reminded me of the following quote:
"Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks, shall win my love."
-William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

No I am not a southerner Alice but I think I must have been a "belle" in my other life!!! I have lived in the northern part of NYS all my life....
Books mentioned in this topic
A Prayer for Owen Meany (other topics)Romeo and Juliet (other topics)
Gone with the Wind (other topics)
http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/71...
Most of the first lines immediately spark your interest. For example, there's the following: "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink."
Hmmmmm. I had to follow that one up:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31...