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Favourite book opening line
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By (user no longer on site) OP 42 weeks ago
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What’s everyone’s favourite book opening line?
I have a few, but one that always replays in my head is ‘The snow on the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the magnitude of our situation’ - The Secret History
I’m obsessed with it! |
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'The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.' - Neuromancer, William Gibson.
'Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.; - One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Grabriel Garcia Marquez.
'Later, as he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months.' - High Rise, J.G. Ballard.
Among many others. |
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I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life  |
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"'The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.' - Neuromancer, William Gibson.
'Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.; - One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Grabriel Garcia Marquez.
'Later, as he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months.' - High Rise, J.G. Ballard.
Among many others."
Ahh, a fellow Ballardian. Hi there  |
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By *ascaIMan 42 weeks ago
Cheshire Liverpool Manchester |
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. |
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By *aizyWoman 42 weeks ago
west midlands |
"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life "
You beat me to the Gunslinger opening line!!! |
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"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life "
Gravity's rainbow?  |
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"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life
You beat me to the Gunslinger opening line!!!"
 I just knew you’d know that one! Mwah! |
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"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life
Gravity's rainbow? "
 Maybe. Is it? Who can say. Shhh… you’re not really a Pynchonian. Are you? |
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By *aizyWoman 42 weeks ago
west midlands |
"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life
You beat me to the Gunslinger opening line!!!
I just knew you’d know that one! Mwah! "
  |
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"'The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.' - Neuromancer, William Gibson.
'Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.; - One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Grabriel Garcia Marquez.
'Later, as he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months.' - High Rise, J.G. Ballard.
Among many others.
Ahh, a fellow Ballardian. Hi there "
Hello! I'm a huge Ballard fan - in fact I've just started reading the recent Selected Nonfiction volume. |
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"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life
Gravity's rainbow?
Maybe. Is it? Who can say. Shhh… you’re not really a Pynchonian. Are you? "
What's not to like about a novel which explores the social and political context behind the development of the V-2 rocket by the German military during World War II |
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"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life
Gravity's rainbow?
Maybe. Is it? Who can say. Shhh… you’re not really a Pynchonian. Are you?
What's not to like about a novel which explores the social and political context behind the development of the V-2 rocket by the German military during World War II"
Did you write the Wiki page Willy?
J |
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Favourite opening line:
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife'
I also have a soft spot for 'Marley was dead, to begin with'
J |
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"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life
Gravity's rainbow?
Maybe. Is it? Who can say. Shhh… you’re not really a Pynchonian. Are you?
What's not to like about a novel which explores the social and political context behind the development of the V-2 rocket by the German military during World War II
Did you write the Wiki page Willy?
J"
Never underestimate a Willy |
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My absolute favourite and a fantastic book to boot.
"The story so far: in the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Also "I met Charlotte in London one afternoon while waiting for a bus. Just look at that sentence!" |
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"Favourite opening line:
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife'
I also have a soft spot for 'Marley was dead, to begin with'
J"
So nearly went for P&P!! |
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"Favourite opening line:
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife'
I also have a soft spot for 'Marley was dead, to begin with'
J
So nearly went for P&P!!"
I quote it regularly in everyday life 
'Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?'
'Obstinate, headstrong girl.'
J |
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"Favourite opening line:
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife'
I also have a soft spot for 'Marley was dead, to begin with'
J
So nearly went for P&P!!
I quote it regularly in everyday life
'Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?'
'Obstinate, headstrong girl.'
J"
I am 100% making an obstinant headstrong bitch xstitch in my life. Bitch cause its gender neutral lol |
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By *stellaWoman 42 weeks ago
London |
"I have two favourite lines:
‘A screaming comes across the sky.’
and
‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.’
If anyone knows the first one, I’ll be your friend for life "
Love Pynchon!! |
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By (user no longer on site) 42 weeks ago
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“Amerigo Bonasera sat in New York Criminal Court Number 3 and waited for justice; vengeance on the men who had so cruelly hurt his daughter, who had tried to dishonor her….” |
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By *inaTitzTV/TS 42 weeks ago
Titz Towers, North Notts |
I have two.
One is the opening from When eight bells toll by Alistair McLean. It's a long monograph about the peacemaker revolver, which then suddenly changes direction as the first person narrator, states and that's why I was keeping very still, as one was pointing directly at me.
The other isn't an opening line, but a tagline to a book. The Keep, which is a horror story set during the war. Ultimately it jumps the shark, but the opening is solid.
'Request immediate relocation. Something is murdering my men.'
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By *avinaTVTV/TS 42 weeks ago
Transsexual Transylvania |
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
Winner! |
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By *lynJMan 42 weeks ago
Morden |
"I have two.
One is the opening from When eight bells toll by Alistair McLean. It's a long monograph about the peacemaker revolver, which then suddenly changes direction as the first person narrator, states and that's why I was keeping very still, as one was pointing directly at me.
The other isn't an opening line, but a tagline to a book. The Keep, which is a horror story set during the war. Ultimately it jumps the shark, but the opening is solid.
'Request immediate relocation. Something is murdering my men.'
"
The showed "When Eight Bells Toll" on BBC 2 last night. |
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"In the beginning..."
Can't remember the author's name or title of the book but it has been the #1 fictional best seller for years.
Not sure if it has made it on to Richard and Judy's book club thing yet. |
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By (user no longer on site) 42 weeks ago
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"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."
The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien.
"In a distant and second-hand set of dimensions, in an astral plane that was never meant to fly, the curling star-mists waver and part...
See...
Great A'Tuin the Turtle comes, swimming slowly through the interstellar gulf, hydrogen frost on his ponderous limbs, his huge and ancient shell pocked with meteor craters."
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett |
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By *abonTedCouple 42 weeks ago
Midlands & Cheltenham |
Suzanne pushed Terry up against the flock wallpaper and traced the lines of perspiration down his neck with her index finger. And in her broken Brazilian accent asked “Will you be wanting anything from the pick n mix today”. Terry shook his head definitely.
The book what I’ve never not written yet |
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Once upon a time, there was a prost-itute called Maria. Wait a minute, ‘Once upon a time’ is how all the best children stories begin and ‘prost-itute’ is a word for adults. How can I start a book with this apparent contradiction? But since at every moment of our lives, we all have one foot in a fairy tale and the other in the abyss, let’s keep that beginning. - Eleven Minutes
I'm pretty much fucked. That's my considered opinion. Fucked. - The Martian |
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By (user no longer on site) 42 weeks ago
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"Favourite opening line:
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife'
I also have a soft spot for 'Marley was dead, to begin with'
J"
I was just about to write that one. P&P one of my three favourite books of all time |
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By (user no longer on site) OP 42 weeks ago
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""In the beginning..."
Can't remember the author's name or title of the book but it has been the #1 fictional best seller for years.
Not sure if it has made it on to Richard and Judy's book club thing yet."
Oh, I get it! You’re making fun of my religion! Love it  |
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""In the beginning..."
Can't remember the author's name or title of the book but it has been the #1 fictional best seller for years.
Not sure if it has made it on to Richard and Judy's book club thing yet.
Oh, I get it! You’re making fun of my religion! Love it "
And my one! |
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“Some of these guys will go on walking long after the laws of biochemistry and handicapping have gone by the boards. There was a guy last year that crawled for two miles at four miles an hour after both of his feet cramped up at the same time, you remember reading about that?
The long walk: Stephen King. |
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By (user no longer on site) 42 weeks ago
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""In the beginning..."
Can't remember the author's name or title of the book but it has been the #1 fictional best seller for years.
Not sure if it has made it on to Richard and Judy's book club thing yet."
“….Back in 1955
Man didn't know 'bout a rock 'n' roll show
And all that jive”
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By (user no longer on site) 42 weeks ago
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"Favourite opening line:
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife'
I also have a soft spot for 'Marley was dead, to begin with'
J
So nearly went for P&P!!
I quote it regularly in everyday life
'Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?'
'Obstinate, headstrong girl.'
J"
I often use it to quote as well
Someone I know because of their choices had a tumultuous end of year, my quote was ......
Mr Bennet - 'I am heartily ashamed of myself, Lizzy. But don't despair, it'll pass; and no doubt more quickly than it should.' |
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By *orny-DJMan 42 weeks ago
Leigh-on-Sea |
""All characters within are fictitious and bear no resemblance to any person or persons living or deceased."
From the missing first page of the Holy Bible."
Tell me you're a Red Dwarf fan without telling me
'Marley was dead'.
Or maybe
'No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own;' |
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