lettered | I want to talk about opening lines!

Whenever I think of first lines I think of Melanie in the Gone With The Wind movie. At one point she starts reading David Copperfield, and it goes something like this: "To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I am born."

That's actually the second line. The actual first line of David Copperfield is this: "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."

I bring this up because one of my actual favorite first lines is: "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probablywant to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." Which is from Catcher In The Rye. I quite like Catcher, but it is not my favorite book. But I do love this line, and remember very distinctly picking up the book in the bookstore and reading this line. This was my reaction:

1. I did not know you were allowed to start a book in that way!
2. He said crap!
3. Geez I really want to read this now.
4. Geez, I also really want to read David Copperfield.

. . . I was a conflicted child.

Anyway, here are some questions I thought up, because I'm interested in first lines, and want to know what first lines people think of when they think of first lines, and what first lines people like!

What are some first lines to novels/stories/fanfic that you like?
What are some first lines to novels/stories/fanfic that you remember off the top of your head?
What's your favorite first line you've written?
What's the first line you've spent the most time on?
What's your least favorite first line you've written?

Also, here is a first lines of English "classics" quiz!

There are more similar quizzes for other genres here. Which ones did you pick? How did you do?

Here's text to put in comments so you can answer more quickly:

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I obviously need to read some of those fics!

I also need to read Middlemarch. It's on my list for this year.

HEE. The medals and hardness line is THE BEST.

I do love that O Pioneers! line! Awesome.

Don't think I've read Better TOgether. Obviously I need to!

I like when things start in the middle. I HATE when stories start all Sound of Music-y, with random nature shots, and then finally a zoom in to one little person. It's all very well for movies and graphic novels, but in text it makes me want to throw things. I do forgive classics, though, for starting that way. I think it's because I think about the Brontes on the moors, and how they probably didn't have access to internets and libraries full of books. Whatever books they got were precious, and read, and they were not always assaulted by millions of things to read. So a gradual introduction was like being sucked into that world. But now, because I always feel like there's a constant barrage of things to consume, I want to be IN IT ALREADY, so I can decide whether I like it or whether to chuck it. I used to never chuck anything I had started, which made it worse, because I'd start a book and not even know what it was ABOUT 50 pages in and know I had to read it anyway.

Well, *I* like the opening line to Rodeo ;o)

Hi hi hi! I'm so glad you're coming to Seattle! Lemme know your plans, and we can totally have some fun times.

I want to talk about opening lines!

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