quinn222

Gakked from burnitbackwards

ETA: We're halfway there! Eight more to go and I'm sure some of you must know them.

"pick your twenty favorite books, then write the first line/lines here. people will inevitably try to guess which book each line is from. this will be amazing."

I only picked 16, because that's how many of my favourites that were within easy reach of me at my desk. Yes, I am lazy. Some of my favourites have such obvious first lines that I left them out. Some of these should be pretty easy though, given that a character is mentioned in the first line.



1 - For the first fifteen years of our lives, Danny and I lived within five blocks of each other and neither of us knew of the other’s existence. - The Chosen, by Chiam Potok, guessed by burnitbackwards


2 - Once our father bought a convertible. - A Home at the End of the World, by Michael Cunningham. Guessed by princesswonder

3 - A well known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. - A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking. Guessed by reinabelle

4 - Harriet Vane sat at her writing table and stared out into Mecklenburg Square. - Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers, guessed by stillife and g_cneal



5 - Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
Ché la dritta via era smarrita.

Translation: [When I had journeyed half of our life’s way,
I found myself within a shadowed forest,
For I had lost the path that does not stray.] - Divina Comedia, Dante, guessed by aurora_84

6 - The year began with lunch. - A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle, guessed by ozbrat

7 - It’s the first day of school, Mama and Josephine are on their way.

8 - It was bad enough going 0-for-5 and committing a dumbass error that led to two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth that beat you.

9 - I was following Derry Welfram at a prudent fifty paces when he stumbled, fell face down on the wet tarmac and lay still. - The Edge, by Dick Francis, guessed by the_blonde

10 - So many houses, so big with so little soul

11 - The way I see it, life is a jelly doughnut. - Ten Big Ones, by Janet Evanovich, guessed by juteux

12 - We almost didn’t make it past the first phone call.

13 - Griffin Moss – It’s good to get in touch with you at last. - Griffin and Sabine, guessed by equusentic

14 - Fall that year was warm. Heat lay in a blanket over the basin of the River Olorun, where the capital of Tortall covered the banks. - Page (part 2, Protector of The Small), guessed by rae_1985

15 - At the corner of Adelaide Road, where the paving sparkled in the morning sun, Mr. Mack waited by the newspaper stand. - At Swin Two Boys, by Jamie O'Neill, guessed by windtossed


16 - My froat hurts, a little voice said in my ear.



ETA: It occurs to me that this meme is proof positive that I will read pretty much anything. I love books. All books, good ones, trashy ones, classics, whatever language, for any age range.