peace*out Posted June 10, 2010 Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 what are some of them most interesting first sentences you've read in a book? From Uglies by Scott Westerfield: "The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 10, 2010 Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 Tale of Two Cities: 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. Yes, that was a whole paragraph. And yes, that is one sentence. I don't really know many other interesting book openers, I'll keep searching my bookshelves for more interesting first sentences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 (edited) Ah yes, Charles Dickens was good at that. Here's another one from him, but quite on the other side of the spectrum A Christmas Carol: MARLEY was dead; to begin with. edit: forgot to capitalize the first word Edited June 11, 2010 by LJayden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Call me Ishmael. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 15, 2010 Report Share Posted June 15, 2010 David Eddings opens the first book, The Diamond Throne, of his first trilogy, The Elenium, with: "It was raining." Robert Jordan opens every book with: “The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 The beginning of Dante Alighieri's The Inferno: "Midway through our life's journey, I went astray from the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 unreality Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 (edited) "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) Actually the word is 'elohim' which is the plural of 'el'. The Torah started out in polytheism (multiple Gods) and became monotheistic later chronologically, so the word Elohim changed from being plural to being "plural intensive" allowing it to be a single God edit: in other words the originally first sentence was "In the beginning the Gods created the heaven and the earth." Edited June 17, 2010 by unreality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 unreality Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 And the book Snow Crash is full of hilarious/amazing quotes. Its first sentence is: "The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory". But there are so many good lines in that book... like, just flipping through randomly, we've got "These are slum housing, 5-by-10s and 10-by-10s where Yanoama tribespersons cook beans and parboil fistfuls of coca leaves over heaps of burning lottery tickets". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 "The Morris dance is common to all inhabited worlds in the multiverse." Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Izzy Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 "Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun." - HHGTTG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 unreality Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 "Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun." - HHGTTG haha I was just going to post that Also, from Digital Fortress by Dan Brown: "It is said that in death, all things become clear; Ensei Tankado now knew it was true" his books may be incredibly formulaic but Digital Fortress is still one of my all-time faves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 18, 2010 Report Share Posted June 18, 2010 Actually the word is 'elohim' which is the plural of 'el'. The Torah started out in polytheism (multiple Gods) and became monotheistic later chronologically, so the word Elohim changed from being plural to being "plural intensive" allowing it to be a single God edit: in other words the originally first sentence was "In the beginning the Gods created the heaven and the earth." perhaps elohim refers to the three-in-one nature of God. I say i believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; or i can say i believe in God...they're pretty much the same... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Prologue of Dan Brown's Deception Point: "Death, in this forsaken place, could come in countless forms." Chapter 1. of Deception Point: "Toulos Restaurant, adjacent to Capitol Hill, boasts a politically incorrect menu of baby veal and horse carpaccio, making it an ironic hotspot for the quintessential Washingtonian power breakfast." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 "The world is everything that is the case." Ludwig Wittgenstein: Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus re: concise case in point(s): propositions, sub levels, pictures, thought, language and more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Here's a really interesting one: First sentence of : "Wants pawn term, dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage, honor itch offer lodge dock florist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Izzy Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Dart dare ice ah reel lent arresting scent ants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Quag Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 "the dead dog leapt up and flew around the room" flaming carrot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 The first few sentences in Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams. Anything that happens, happens. Anything that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen. Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again. It doesn't necessarily do it in chronological order, though. And for the official first sentence: The history of the Galaxy has got a little muddled, for a number of reasons: partly because those who are trying to keep track of it have got a little muddled, but also because some very muddling things have been happening anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Don't know what book this is from. "Anything that produces a top quartile also produces three other quartiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Actually the word is 'elohim' which is the plural of 'el'. The Torah started out in polytheism (multiple Gods) and became monotheistic later chronologically, so the word Elohim changed from being plural to being "plural intensive" allowing it to be a single God edit: in other words the originally first sentence was "In the beginning the Gods created the heaven and the earth." Wow was that from the original Aramaic or the Hebrew lexicon you got that info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 I KNEW opening the red door would destroy my life. CAUGHT by Harlan Coben. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 unreality Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 "Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after that Tyler's pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die" - first sentence of Fight Club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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peace*out
what are some of them most interesting first sentences you've read in a book?
From Uglies by Scott Westerfield:
"The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit."
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