Friday, April 5, 2013

E for Electrifying Openings

I thought this would be a fun poll, because you don't need to have read these books in order to vote. In fact, it's almost better if you haven't! All we need to know is which opening grabs your attention the most. And who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to pick the book up. :)

Please vote for your fave opening and, as always, if you know of a great opening you'd rather choose, tell us about it!! 



It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. 1984, George Orwell

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb and he almost deserved it. Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis


Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu.  Waiting, Ha Jin


If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want 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. J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye


It was the day my grandmother exploded. The Crow Road, Iain M. Banks


All children, except one, grow up. Peter Pan,  J.M. Barrie

My mother is dead. Dad killed her. Playing In Traffic, Gail Giles


It isn’t true what they say about my brother. That he ate those children. Dark of the Moon, Tracy Barrett

It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die. The Scorpio Races, Maggie Stiefvater

15 comments:

  1. I liked "Waiting" the best. I mean, it wasn't flashy, but it had me asking "Why?"

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  2. Definitely Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barret.

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  3. These authors certainly know how to hook in a reader. They're all great openings. I really like the last one.

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  4. I love the opening for Dawn Treader the best, I think. :) Nice poll topic.

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  5. Peter Pan, hands down. My all-time favourite book, and a beginning that completely sets the tone for the entire story!

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  6. This one stood out for me : There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb and he almost deserved it. Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis

    Nice approach to the challenge!

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  7. i wish i knew how to read... got to go with 1984, cause i read it the year it happened and the title.

    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
    Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy

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  8. So many good choices! I'll go with: It isn’t true what they say about my brother. That he ate those children. Dark of the Moon, Tracy Barrett

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  9. Torn between 1984 and The Crow Road, but as the latter hasn't had a vote yet, I'll go with that!

    Jemima at Jemima's blog

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  10. Oh, the grandmother exploding is fabulous! These are all great. I also really love the very LARGE beginning of Tale of Two Cities (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, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.)

    Which also, coincidentally, had my favorite ENDING line, too: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

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  11. I have read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and while that's a great first line, the exploding grandfather wins for me!

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  12. The 1984 opening caught my attention.

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  13. Mark--yeah, that one definitely intrigued me

    Jak--I want to pick that one up. It's some sort of retelling of the minotaur tale

    Cynthia--I actually read the book from the last one. Excellent book. Maggie Stiefvater is an awesome author

    Kel--Thanks! I love all the Narnia books. :)

    Mere--YAY for Peter Pan. It's one of my all time faves as well!

    Dot--Yeah, it seemed like polls would be an easy, fun thing for the challenge. And I love the Narnia chronicles. :)

    Jeremy--haha. 1984 is such an awesome, yet highly creepy, book

    Sus--excellent choice. I'm not sure if you read what I wrote to the other guy, but the book is a retelling of the Minotaur myth, if you like that sort of thing.

    Jemima--Excellent choice. I though the Crow Road opening was too cool!

    Hart--Hi. Nice to see you on the new blog! And yeah, I wanted to include Tale of Two Cities, but it's pretty long. Love the opening, but (hanging my head in shame) I've never read the book, despite all the excellent things I heard about it.

    Alex--Yeah, I loved the exploding grandma too!

    Regina--Catcher in the Rye will forever be one of my favorite books!

    Sheena Kay--I think the opening line to 1984 is one of the best I've ever read.

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