I love the opening line of my favorite book, "The Good Fairies of New York" by Martin Millar: "Dinnie, an overweight enemy of humanity, was the worst violinist in New York, but was practicing gamely when two cute little fairies stumbled through his fourth-floor window and vomited on the carpet."
My order would be: 7, 2, 4, 9, 10, 1, 6, 3, 8, 5 Now, hear me out on this "It's a bus" line. They're pointing out something that should be obvious --- like, if a bus you were waiting for pulls up in front of you, you're not going to suddenly think/say "It's a bus". Thinking/saying "It's a bus." leads me to believe it was something unexpected. Something that wasn't obvious and therefore needed to be stated. So what is this mysterious bus and why is its appearance a surprise to the main character? Immediately, I have questions and need to know more!
"It's a bus" had me intrigued enough to look into this book. My mind went straight to the 26 children and bus driver who were kidnapped and buried alive in Chowchilla. Which, obviously, was scary and tragic(and miraculous), but is an intriguing story. So I looked into it thanks to the first sentence, not knowing anything about it previously. I may end up borrowing it from the library.
I've got a book on my tbr that has the opening line "There was a wall." This book has won awards, so I assume it gets better. (The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin)
6 (bc it sounds like a relationship conflict is at the heart of the story, and I'm here for it!); 9 (something about her penciling in her eyebrows - what kind of girl is she?); 8 (again, relationship drama, my jam); 1 (very poetic); 4 (if there's a boy, there's some parents, and I'm down for family stories); 3 (I think something bad happened); 5 (could be some good introspection coming up); 7 (sounds interesting, but not MY kind of interesting); 2 (not enough there); and 10 (too long -- are the rest of the sentences going to be this long and contemplative?) I read Shelter -- it's good!
That's a great idea to decide what book to read next! Sometimes, just by reading the opening line, you can tell, "Oh, I love this book!" It's the happiest moment!💓
There is an anthology of short stories named "Mash Up" (2017) and each stories began with a famous first lines. We have "Pride and prejudice", "Moby Dick", "The wizard of Oz" or "The bible" among others. The stories are very good and cover a large amount of genres. My order of your books would be: 4 (because of "again"), 7 ("few people"/"haunted") and 2 (ok, and ?). The other ones are regular.
Ok there only one time that ever bought a book just because of the first line it was The Martian by Andy Weir yeah the first line of the book sums up his whole situation
I dont put much into the first line of a book be cause Ive read amazing books with weak AF first lines and bad books that had great first lines I think it would be a fun video to look at some of your favorite books and judge the first line- would you have picked up the book if you had only read the first line back in the day>?
I built a TBR this way last year, and had a couple of books with STELLAR first lines that had me super excited to read them. I ended up with a 4-star, a 3-star, and three DNFs. 😬 I no longer trust first lines AT. ALL. …that being said I’d love for someone to critique the first line of the book I’m writing. 😅
it would be cool if you read these books in the order you ranked and when you’re done you re-rank them and see how much the first line matters in a book lol
I love the opening line of my favorite book, "The Good Fairies of New York" by Martin Millar: "Dinnie, an overweight enemy of humanity, was the worst violinist in New York, but was practicing gamely when two cute little fairies stumbled through his fourth-floor window and vomited on the carpet."
When I pick out my next read, I usually try to read the first few pages to see if it grabs me.
Same
My order would be:
7, 2, 4, 9, 10, 1, 6, 3, 8, 5
Now, hear me out on this "It's a bus" line. They're pointing out something that should be obvious --- like, if a bus you were waiting for pulls up in front of you, you're not going to suddenly think/say "It's a bus".
Thinking/saying "It's a bus." leads me to believe it was something unexpected. Something that wasn't obvious and therefore needed to be stated.
So what is this mysterious bus and why is its appearance a surprise to the main character?
Immediately, I have questions and need to know more!
"Imagine an anthology that takes place on a school bus"
* Dutch children's horror book series De Griezelbus enters the chat *
"It's a bus" had me intrigued enough to look into this book.
My mind went straight to the 26 children and bus driver who were kidnapped and buried alive in Chowchilla. Which, obviously, was scary and tragic(and miraculous), but is an intriguing story.
So I looked into it thanks to the first sentence, not knowing anything about it previously. I may end up borrowing it from the library.
I've got a book on my tbr that has the opening line "There was a wall."
This book has won awards, so I assume it gets better. (The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin)
oooh i love this video concept so much!! maybe this is how i should pick next books from now on lol
I really enjoyed this video! It would be really interesting to see how you react to the first line of some of your favorite books
I feel like you are assigning us book homework! 😂
But we kinda like it 👀
I'm loving the consistency with your posts Jesse❤❤
6 (bc it sounds like a relationship conflict is at the heart of the story, and I'm here for it!); 9 (something about her penciling in her eyebrows - what kind of girl is she?); 8 (again, relationship drama, my jam); 1 (very poetic); 4 (if there's a boy, there's some parents, and I'm down for family stories); 3 (I think something bad happened); 5 (could be some good introspection coming up); 7 (sounds interesting, but not MY kind of interesting); 2 (not enough there); and 10 (too long -- are the rest of the sentences going to be this long and contemplative?)
I read Shelter -- it's good!
That's a great idea to decide what book to read next! Sometimes, just by reading the opening line, you can tell, "Oh, I love this book!" It's the happiest moment!💓
3:17 I'm sorry but that completely took me out😂😂😂
Ooh! I definitely want to do this at some point. I normally choose my reads based off the summary so it would be fun to do this instead!
There is an anthology of short stories named "Mash Up" (2017) and each stories began with a famous first lines. We have "Pride and prejudice", "Moby Dick", "The wizard of Oz" or "The bible" among others. The stories are very good and cover a large amount of genres.
My order of your books would be: 4 (because of "again"), 7 ("few people"/"haunted") and 2 (ok, and ?). The other ones are regular.
Real World is translated and I can't wait to read it. 😊
This challenge is so Gabriel from Good Omens coded
Nearest book within reach opening line
They had only one cannon left.
I like the tenth one. It feels kind of poetic.
My order of the first lines: 7, 2, 4, 10, 3, 8, 9, 1, 5, 6. I guess I should look up these books.
Ok there only one time that ever bought a book just because of the first line it was The Martian by Andy Weir yeah the first line of the book sums up his whole situation
I dont put much into the first line of a book be cause Ive read amazing books with weak AF first lines and bad books that had great first lines
I think it would be a fun video to look at some of your favorite books and judge the first line- would you have picked up the book if you had only read the first line back in the day>?
My top three would 7, 10, 6
I built a TBR this way last year, and had a couple of books with STELLAR first lines that had me super excited to read them. I ended up with a 4-star, a 3-star, and three DNFs. 😬 I no longer trust first lines AT. ALL.
…that being said I’d love for someone to critique the first line of the book I’m writing. 😅
how does it go?
it would be cool if you read these books in the order you ranked and when you’re done you re-rank them and see how much the first line matters in a book lol
Would love to see a video essay from you!
10,7,6,5
You’re fab! Enjoyed.
I would read The Devil Makes Three first!! 😈
interesting video btw🤩
That weekend was good until the ending 😂
I love your shirt
💕💕💕