Favorite Opening Lines

 

 Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

 Favorite Opening Lines (Freebie)

The Top Ten Tuesday prompt for this week was to pick our own. I decided to do my favorite opening lines from books. 

1.  "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis

    - This is probably my favorite opening line from any book. It is the first one I think of for any opening line prompts. A great first line for a wonderful book.

2. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    - Perhaps one of the most famous lines on this list, I had to mention it. Not only is it iconic but it describes Mrs. Bennett's opinions completely in just one line. Brilliant start to the book.

 

3. “In the beginning the Universe was created. This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.” from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

    - Two perfect lines to start this book. It sets the tone for this ridiculous story, which I adore with all my heart.

4. "Sam Vimes sighed when he heard the scream, but he finished shaving before he did anything about it." from Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

    - Such a Sam Vimes' quote. 

5. "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." from The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

    - I just love this line. 

6. " 'Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

    'It's so dreadful to be poor!' sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress. 

    'I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all.' added little Amy, with an injured sniff. 

    'We've got Father and Mother, and each other,' said Beth contentedly from her corner." from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

    -  I love that this set of four lines perfectly reflects the personalities of each of the girls at this point of time in the book. Such a great way to introduce them in such a short amount of time. 

7. "Marley was dead: to begin with. There is not doubt whatever about that."- from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

    - A Christmas Carol will always be one of my favorite Christmas stories and I love the opening two lines. 

8.  "Sing, goddess, of the wrath of Achilles..." -from The Iliad by Homer

    - I will forever love this translation of the opening to this story. Sometimes it is translated in other ways but my favorite is this line.

9.  "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home." -from The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

- Ponyboy's narration is so distinct and this first line gives a great example of that. 

10. "This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it."- from The Princess Bride by William Goldman

- What a great line to start this story, especially with the narrative device William Goldman is using throughout the entire book. William tells the book as if he is abridging a story that already exists and it is so clever. I love the humor he adds to the story because of this.