Some opening lines stick with you.
You probably know the feeling. You settle comfortably into your favourite reading spot. You crack open a new book, enjoying the smell wafting from its pages. You skim our fingers over the pages, lovingly and expectantly. You turn to the first page and BAM! A sentence is thrown at you, one that captivates and enthralls you. One, you know, you'll remember for years ever after.
This is a list of some of those book openings that have shook me and stayed with me throughout the years.
1. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, where proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Perhaps this isn't the most striking opening line of all time. But I still remember the first time I heard it. I was lying in bed with the covers drawn up to me years. My dad was sitting on the edge of the bed beside my head, holding this new book he had just brought home that day. He opened it up and read that first line. And just like that, I was sold. There was something magical about that first line to me - even though it was very normal, thank you very much.
2. "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Such a simple line with so much promise. What is a hobbit? Why do they live in the ground? Is it pleasant living there? Where is this going? It sparks so many questions, it draws you in and it makes you want to read on.
3. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Every time I read this quote it makes me laugh. I remember first reading this book (which, I'll admit, I mainly did because Bella read it in Twilight). I was lying on my bedroom floor with this and a stack of other Austen books lying in front of me. I reached out for the closest one, having no notion of what I was getting into, and opened it to read this quote. It was fun, quirky and arrogant - I instantly fell in love.
4. "Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy."
The Odyssey by Homer
I have always loved Greek mythology. As a child I learned that my name was connected to Greek mythology, Maia being the name of the nymph who gave birth to the messenger and trickster god, Hermes. So I was actually quite young when I first read the great, Greek classics. While The Illiad has always been my favourite, this opening line of The Odyssey strikes something deep within me everytime. Perhaps because I can imagine a wandering poet sitting down in front of a rapt audience and beginning his tale with a plea to the mighty muses. I paints a picture for me and I hear its delivery in my mind every singe time.
5. "Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did NOT!"
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
In just one line, Dr. Seuss tells us the entire premise of this book. That is amazing storytelling. On top of that, they poetry of this line, the play with words, the rhythm and rhyme heightens the feeling that whatever comes after this line is going to be something very special.
6. "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support."
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Every time I read this line my heart breaks. When I first read The Diary of a Young Girl I knew exactly how it was going to pan out. I know of Anne's fate. And I think it was that knowledge, that awareness, which made reading this line so devastating. It is such a hopeful, optimistic opening. Knowing how Anne's life ended it is difficult to imagine her beginning to be so hopeful.
7. "Once upon a time - for that is how all stories should begin - there was a boy who lost his mother."
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
"You have to read this book, it has one of the scariest villains ever." That was what my friend said to me, when she first handed me this book. Perhaps with that 'reommendation' in the back of my mind, the opening felt ominous, bleak and heavy. It seems like a fairy tale, but a twisted, dark one and it drew me in an instant.
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