Friday, October 24, 2008

Once Upon A Time...

The days when every great book began with "Once upon a time," seem to have come to a close. To me, an opener can make or break a book. I try to go further than the first line and the deciding factor on whether or not to buy a book is if I want to keep reading past the first page before I've even left the bookstore.

Today, I decided to share with you five opening line. These are not favourites or least favourites of mine. I simply plucked novels randomly off my many shelves. For the sake of a little game, I won't post the titles/author names. Have a guess in the comments. If you guys like this, I'll post a follow-up with the answers and another set.

1. "Somewhere in the distance I heard a cell phone ringing, and I slipped in unnoticed through the side door."

2. "Right now it's seven o'clock on a Monday morning, and I'm lying on the floor of my bedroom watching the white plastic ceiling fan go around and around and around."

3. "'Can I please go now?' I'm staring at my mom, willing her to stop talking and acknowledge me."

4. "This story is not mine to tell."

5. "'Please tell me that's not going to be part of my birthday dinner this evening.'"

Which ones do you like or dislike? Do you know what books they belong in?

9 comments:

Gabrielle said...

I know the ceiling fan one... WHAT IS IT??

Gabbi said...

hee hee.

I'll never tell... At least, not for a little while!

Alea said...

I really like 2,4, and 5. Can't wait to find out what they are!

Anonymous said...

I like the ceiling fan one too.

Esmé Squalor said...

Heheh I only know from where the last quote is from. I know that line very, very well.

Anna said...

Is number 5 from A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian?

And I know the one that says, "This story is not mine to tell," I just can't think of what the heck it's from! GR!

hope.

Gabbi said...

I can safely answer that guess: Nope.

Anna said...

Aw, shucks. :p

Anna said...

Oh, and by the way, you have me really, really frustrated that I can't remember what book that one is from. Just thought I'd tell you.

(When I say this, I mean: Post what books they're from. NOW! :D)