Beyond Reality discussion

Post the first line of the book you are currently reading and let us guess what book it is! (No cheating by looking at profile pages!)

Then tell us about your favorite opening lines.

I'm reading two books right now, one on my own, one with my kid.

Easy one first, a classic: "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."

The other: "Have you ever noticed that getting married is like trying to collect a debt from a dead guy?"

Any guesses?

The first one is "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia)" It's a wonderfully funny first line.

Here's one opening line I like-
“Happy families are all alike; unhappy families are all unhappy in their own way." (I'll let people guess the book).

Nachiket wrote: "The first one is "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia)""

Favorite first line of book ever! :)

Better as a first paragraph, but one that hooks me every time.

"I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don’t know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure."

I took this last week off work. While browsing through my ebooks trying to decide what I wanted to read, I ran across this. Next thing I knew I was starting the 3rd book in the series and completely enjoying myself.

Murderbot!! The best.

Nachiket wrote: "The first one is "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia)" It's a wonderfully funny first line.

Here's one opening line I like-
“Happy families are all alike; unhappy families are al..."

I love that one. It's Anna Karenina, which I read in a Russian lit class in high school with one of my favorite teachers ever.

First line of my current book: “Fiametta turned the lump of warm reddish clay in her hand.”

And a classic first line: “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”

Shel wrote: "Murderbot!! The best."

I guessed that one right, too!

Kathi wrote: "First line of my current book: “Fiametta turned the lump of warm reddish clay in her hand.”

And a classic first line: “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”"

The second one is The Gunslinger by Stephen King, another wonderful opening line.

Currently reading:
"God as my witness, none of this would have ever happened if it were not for those two fools back in Salalah. Them and their map."

Chris wrote: "Currently reading:
"God as my witness, none of this would have ever happened if it were not for those two fools back in Salalah. Them and their map.""

My favorite book the first half of this year, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi <3

First line:

“They say that children born in wartime are likely to have problems throughout their lives; to struggle both with the uncertainties of the world and with their own emotions and to search in vain for happiness.”

Currently reading
First line:

The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself.

A classic first line

All this happened, more or less.

Or is the first line really

Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.

Richard Mayhew - it’s that Neil Gaiman book where he falls into an underworld underneath London. I can’t remember the name of the book and it’s bugging me, but I’m going to post this now and then go look it up!

Neverwhere!

And Billy Pilgrim is Slaughterhouse-five, of course!

Another one that came to mind.

"At the centre of the house in which my late brother Jacob and I grew up, there was a black hole."

"That's the ship," Maria Sukhoi told her husband. She pointed to the white needle on the spaceport's flight pad. "The Temenus. It launches in eight hours."

Good luck!

One of my favorites is “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” (view spoiler)[– George Orwell, 1984 (hide spoiler)]

Cheryl wrote:

One of my favorites is “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

Definitely a classic! No idea about your current read though!

It was a ST:TNG novel. ;)

The current Libby Life newsletter has an article about first lines. Their picks include:

“This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.” William Goldman, The Princess Bride

"Here is a small fact: You are going to die."
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“All this happened, more or less.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

“It was a pleasure to burn.”
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

“We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.” Feed by M.T. Anderson

“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.”
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board.”
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

“History has failed us, but no matter.”
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.”
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

“They shoot the white girl first.”
Paradise by Toni Morrison