Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally 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.
A first sentence in a book can make a HUGE impact on one's desire to read it!
Below are ten first sentences from books I've yet to read. Each sentence listed below makes me want to read the book it came from.
1. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.—Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
2. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.—Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877; trans. Constance Garnett)
3. Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.—Charles Dickens, David Copperfield (1850)
4. I am an invisible man.—Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)
5. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. —Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955)
6. I am a sick man . . . I am a spiteful man.—Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground (1864; trans. Michael R. Katz)
7. It was a pleasure to burn.—Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
8. Justice?—You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law.—William Gaddis, A Frolic of His Own (1994)
9. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. —George Orwell, 1984 (1949)
10. It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.—Paul Auster, City of Glass (1985)
Ooh nice ones! First lines can definitely be fun but I feel like it's been 50/50 for me if the first line was ever one that just floored me. Which still isn't too bad! Lol.
ReplyDeleteHere's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Thank you Jessica for stopping by and leaving me a comment.
DeleteThese are all good first lines!
ReplyDeleteHopefully, these first sentences inspire you to read them!
DeleteHave a good week and have a great day as well. Here is my TTT. https://dmhoisington.wordpress.com/2026/02/24/top-ten-tuesday-20/
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT to you and happy reading!!
DeleteYou have intrigued me with quotes from several books I have not read and that are new to me, including City of Glass and A Frolic of His own.
ReplyDeleteBoth books have me intrigued as well.
DeleteGreat first lines! My person favorite, from the above, is from Orwell's 1984:
ReplyDeleteIt was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
Thank you for the recommendation!! Happy reading to you, Rebecca!!
DeleteI've read all of those except 8 and 10 and I can certainly attest that the first sentence sets the tone for the book and draws us in, wanting to know more about just what that sentence means.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insight, Dorothy! Happy reading!
DeleteThey are great first lines, but in some cases what follows doesnt live up to it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your #TTT
Sometimes this is true!
DeleteAnna Karenina - I loved that!
ReplyDeleteThank you stopping by and leaving me a comment. Happy reading!!
DeleteThese are all amazing first sentences! There's a reason these books are all classics. :D
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment, Lark.
Delete