[First Sentences of books read in 2016]
It is said the first sentence in a book holds a certain magic. It sets the tone for what is to come and the best ones will grab you right away, compelling you to read more. This is my third year logging the first sentences of books I have read throughout the year. It is impossible for me to choose a favorite, although some are better than others. Do any of these in particular draw you in and make you want to read more?
It is said the first sentence in a book holds a certain magic. It sets the tone for what is to come and the best ones will grab you right away, compelling you to read more. This is my third year logging the first sentences of books I have read throughout the year. It is impossible for me to choose a favorite, although some are better than others. Do any of these in particular draw you in and make you want to read more?
From the backseat, Saki sent another desperate message on her phone. ~ The Night Parade by Kathryn Tanquary
The last time I was this close to Rudy Mayfield he was leaning across the seat of his dad's truck trying to grope my recently ripened breats. ~ Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell
In the eyes of others, we're often not who we imagine ourselves to be. ~ What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan
In the eyes of others, we're often not who we imagine ourselves to be. ~ What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan
Helena had heard, or perhaps she had rad somewhere, that people on the point of death were insensible to pain. ~ Moonlight Over Paris by Jennifer Robson
My momma believes all babies to be gifts from God, no matter what. ~ My Sweet Vidalia by Deborah Mantella
Devi was almost certain she wasn't going to be reprimanded at this outpost. ~ Slaying Dragons by Sasha L. Miller
I dream about Carmel often. ~ The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer
"If I was going to kill the Prophet," I say, not even keeping my voice low, "I'd do it in Africa." ~ The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
A wet and miserable late-autumn day had turned into a bitterly cold winter night as the sun sank unseen below a horizon obscured by a bhank of thick gray clouds. ~ Death Sits Down for Dinner by Tessa Arlen
As Miranda moved through the house, putting away a load of laundry, picking up the glass her mother left in the living room the previous night, straightening the magazines on the coffee table, removing a few dead flowers fro ma vase, she found herself glancing out of each window, her view of him coming and going, her perspective on him a bit different from each vantage point. ~ North of Here by Laurel Saville
The locomotive engine belched billowing clouds of steam, a black-iron dragon chained to the tracks. ~ Delia's Shadow by Jaime Lee Moyer
At first, they were shadows. ~ The Ninth Life by Clea Simon
Before gray hair, or crow's-feet, or achy backs and fickle knees, there is one sign of aging that makes appearance early enough to bewilder its young(ish) victims instead of alarming them, as it should. ~ The Decent Proposal by Kemper Donovan
The buzz in the street was like the humming of flies. ~ The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
On the morning of February 14, exactly seven hours, fifty-two minutes, and thirteen seconds before the earth's two largest tectonic plates released decades' worth of strain under a busy suburb just outside San Francisco; exactly eight hours, eight minutes, and fifty-three seconds before the energy dislodged from the seismic shifting triggered an even more catastrophic displacement farther north along the San Andreas Fault; exactly eight hours, nine minutes, and twelve seconds before all gas, power, water, cell, and satellite communications were severed from San Francisco and its environs; exactly eight hours and twenty-two minutes before thousands of tiny sparks and larger ignitions got out from under the valiant efforts of a drought-plagued understaffed fire department and prematurely exhausted volunteers; and exactly ten hours and eleven minutes before the real danger to the old precariously built packed-like-sardines city--fire--proved its indomitable hunger, Max Fleurent was on the phone with his mother. ~ All Stories Are Love Stories by Elizabeth Percer
Once, on a train going God knows where, to give still another speech, I awakened in the middle of the night nauseated. ~ Terrible Virtue by Ellen Feldman
What can I say about love? ~ The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys
Though I love to see my children resting soundly, in the quiet of their slumber my uneasy mind retraces our journey. ~ When the Moon Is Low by Nadia Hashimi
I remember being born. ~ Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
I returned to myself. ~ Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
From the top of the large boulder he sat on, Ensign Tom Davis looked across the expanse of the cave toward Captain Lucius Abernathy, Science Officer Q'eeng and Chief Engineer Paul West perched on a second, larger boulder and thought, Well, this sucks. ~ Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas by John Scalzi
There's a reason that we refer to being in love as being enchanted. ~ Charming by Elliott James
Houses don't always dream. ~ June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
A bold moon hung over the dark London cityscape. ~ The Shadow Revolution by Clay Giffith and Susan Griffith
Jack Miller aimed his shotgun at the monster's grey-skinned head and pulled the trigger. ~ Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch
China's turned on herself. ~ Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself. ~ Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Rebecca Day shrugged on her raincoat and eyed the rain tapping against the Koffee Kat's storefront window. ~ Under An Adirondack Sky by Karen Rock
Deborah Birch is a seasoned hospice nurse whose daily work requires courage and compassion. ~ The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan
One night five years ago, I heard a strange noise outside the window of our brick row house near Boston. ~ Grace Without God by Katherine Ozment
Tonight, I will do the impossible. ~ The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister
I am running. ~ In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
You ever have one of those Magic 8-Balls as a kid? ~ The American Girl by Kate Horsley
Harper Greyson had seen lots of people burn on TV, everyone had, but the first person she saw burn for real was in the playground behind the school. ~ The Fireman by Joe Hill
"I've got to get rid of her, Birch." ~ 'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick
Confine a dozen scientists and engineers to a seemingly endless desert of hard-packed sand with no recreational diversions and inevitably, they will design and build a golf course. ~ The Sixth Idea by P.J. Tracy
Knocking echoed through the silent house. ~ The Ninja's Daughter by Susan Spann
"The pilot's bringing the plane back?" ~ When I Found You by Kate James
She opened her eyes to blackness. ~ The Whiskey Sea by Ann Howard Creel
It's Columbus Day weekend, and they lucked out with gorgeous weather, an Indian-summer day in October. ~ Love Anthony by Lisa Genova
The hotel ballroom doors whooshed closed behind Charlie Forrester, muffling the sound of wedding guests hooting at the groomsmen dancing to "Too Sexy for My Shirt." ~ Lost in Geeklandia by E.J. Russell
Logan McCord hated two things: clowns and liars. ~ Blame It On the Cowboy by Delores Fossen
I'm still not certain what it was that made me begin my daily morning vigil at the front windows. ~ Fractured by Catherine McKenzie
Irene passed the mop across the stone floor in smooth, careful strokes, idly admiring the gleam of wet flagstones in the lantern light. ~ The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
She woke in the dark. ~ Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
The London air was full of smog and filth. ~ The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman
The NYPD Harbor Launch Patrolman Crane thudded over the waves toward the Brooklyn docks. ~ A Black Sail by Rich Zahradnik
The dead were her business. ~ Glory in Death by J.D. Robb
This was a grand adventure, I told myself. ~ Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates
I handed the newspaper back to Mrs. Headison. ~ Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
I was immersed in The Lost Child, one of my favorite Camilla Graham novels, when an unlikely phone call changed my life. ~ A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley
There are those among us who prey, who hunt under the guise of trust. ~ The Madness of Mercury by Connie DiMarco
Friendship can be a minefield. ~ The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kristen Weiss
Her name was Caitlin, she was eighteen, and her own heart would sometimes wake her--flying away in the dream-race where finish lines grew farther away not nearer, where knees turned to taffy, or feet to stones. ~ Descent by Tim Johnston
The dimly lit room smelled of sage and mine and boiled cotton. ~ Lazaretto by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
Carl Sagan said that if you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. ~ The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
It was more comfortable than I could have imagine. ~ The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
The long hours Margot works at the hotel are never documented. ~ Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Amelia Parsons was too upset to see the car speeding toward her through the swirling snow. ~ White Christmas by Rebecca York
There it is. ~ Royal Enchantment by Lia Davis
"How's Oliver doing, Mika?" ~ Curse of the Gargoyles by Rebecca Chastain
So, the thing is, I come from the world we were supposed to have. ~ All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
Most children have two whole legs and two whole arms but this little six-year-old that Dinesh was carrying had already lost one leg, the right one from the lower thigh down, and was now about to lose his right arm. ~ A Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam
Before gray hair, or crow's-feet, or achy backs and fickle knees, there is one sign of aging that makes appearance early enough to bewilder its young(ish) victims instead of alarming them, as it should. ~ The Decent Proposal by Kemper Donovan
The buzz in the street was like the humming of flies. ~ The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
On the morning of February 14, exactly seven hours, fifty-two minutes, and thirteen seconds before the earth's two largest tectonic plates released decades' worth of strain under a busy suburb just outside San Francisco; exactly eight hours, eight minutes, and fifty-three seconds before the energy dislodged from the seismic shifting triggered an even more catastrophic displacement farther north along the San Andreas Fault; exactly eight hours, nine minutes, and twelve seconds before all gas, power, water, cell, and satellite communications were severed from San Francisco and its environs; exactly eight hours and twenty-two minutes before thousands of tiny sparks and larger ignitions got out from under the valiant efforts of a drought-plagued understaffed fire department and prematurely exhausted volunteers; and exactly ten hours and eleven minutes before the real danger to the old precariously built packed-like-sardines city--fire--proved its indomitable hunger, Max Fleurent was on the phone with his mother. ~ All Stories Are Love Stories by Elizabeth Percer
Once, on a train going God knows where, to give still another speech, I awakened in the middle of the night nauseated. ~ Terrible Virtue by Ellen Feldman
What can I say about love? ~ The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys
Though I love to see my children resting soundly, in the quiet of their slumber my uneasy mind retraces our journey. ~ When the Moon Is Low by Nadia Hashimi
I remember being born. ~ Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
I returned to myself. ~ Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
Rock-a-bye baby in the tree top, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock . . .The nursery rhyme played itself in her head over and over again as she tried to fall asleep. ~ Opening of A House for Happy Mothers. ~ A House for Happy Mothers by Amulya Malladi
From the top of the large boulder he sat on, Ensign Tom Davis looked across the expanse of the cave toward Captain Lucius Abernathy, Science Officer Q'eeng and Chief Engineer Paul West perched on a second, larger boulder and thought, Well, this sucks. ~ Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas by John Scalzi
There's a reason that we refer to being in love as being enchanted. ~ Charming by Elliott James
Houses don't always dream. ~ June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
A bold moon hung over the dark London cityscape. ~ The Shadow Revolution by Clay Giffith and Susan Griffith
Jack Miller aimed his shotgun at the monster's grey-skinned head and pulled the trigger. ~ Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch
China's turned on herself. ~ Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself. ~ Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Rebecca Day shrugged on her raincoat and eyed the rain tapping against the Koffee Kat's storefront window. ~ Under An Adirondack Sky by Karen Rock
Deborah Birch is a seasoned hospice nurse whose daily work requires courage and compassion. ~ The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan
One night five years ago, I heard a strange noise outside the window of our brick row house near Boston. ~ Grace Without God by Katherine Ozment
Tonight, I will do the impossible. ~ The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister
I am running. ~ In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
You ever have one of those Magic 8-Balls as a kid? ~ The American Girl by Kate Horsley
Harper Greyson had seen lots of people burn on TV, everyone had, but the first person she saw burn for real was in the playground behind the school. ~ The Fireman by Joe Hill
"I've got to get rid of her, Birch." ~ 'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick
Confine a dozen scientists and engineers to a seemingly endless desert of hard-packed sand with no recreational diversions and inevitably, they will design and build a golf course. ~ The Sixth Idea by P.J. Tracy
Knocking echoed through the silent house. ~ The Ninja's Daughter by Susan Spann
"The pilot's bringing the plane back?" ~ When I Found You by Kate James
She opened her eyes to blackness. ~ The Whiskey Sea by Ann Howard Creel
It's Columbus Day weekend, and they lucked out with gorgeous weather, an Indian-summer day in October. ~ Love Anthony by Lisa Genova
The hotel ballroom doors whooshed closed behind Charlie Forrester, muffling the sound of wedding guests hooting at the groomsmen dancing to "Too Sexy for My Shirt." ~ Lost in Geeklandia by E.J. Russell
Logan McCord hated two things: clowns and liars. ~ Blame It On the Cowboy by Delores Fossen
I'm still not certain what it was that made me begin my daily morning vigil at the front windows. ~ Fractured by Catherine McKenzie
Irene passed the mop across the stone floor in smooth, careful strokes, idly admiring the gleam of wet flagstones in the lantern light. ~ The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
She woke in the dark. ~ Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
The London air was full of smog and filth. ~ The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman
The NYPD Harbor Launch Patrolman Crane thudded over the waves toward the Brooklyn docks. ~ A Black Sail by Rich Zahradnik
The dead were her business. ~ Glory in Death by J.D. Robb
This was a grand adventure, I told myself. ~ Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates
I handed the newspaper back to Mrs. Headison. ~ Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
I was immersed in The Lost Child, one of my favorite Camilla Graham novels, when an unlikely phone call changed my life. ~ A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley
There are those among us who prey, who hunt under the guise of trust. ~ The Madness of Mercury by Connie DiMarco
Friendship can be a minefield. ~ The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kristen Weiss
Her name was Caitlin, she was eighteen, and her own heart would sometimes wake her--flying away in the dream-race where finish lines grew farther away not nearer, where knees turned to taffy, or feet to stones. ~ Descent by Tim Johnston
Carl Sagan said that if you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. ~ The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
It was more comfortable than I could have imagine. ~ The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
The long hours Margot works at the hotel are never documented. ~ Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Amelia Parsons was too upset to see the car speeding toward her through the swirling snow. ~ White Christmas by Rebecca York
There it is. ~ Royal Enchantment by Lia Davis
"How's Oliver doing, Mika?" ~ Curse of the Gargoyles by Rebecca Chastain
So, the thing is, I come from the world we were supposed to have. ~ All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
Most children have two whole legs and two whole arms but this little six-year-old that Dinesh was carrying had already lost one leg, the right one from the lower thigh down, and was now about to lose his right arm. ~ A Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam
© 2016, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Fun! This one made me laugh Logan McCord hated two things: clowns and liars. :)
ReplyDeleteStacy - Haha! Yes, that was a good opening line. :-)
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