Comments on: Openings: first lines from books, articles, poems, songs, movies

Openings: first lines from books, articles, poems, songs, movies

c95008 — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 08:47:33 -0800

A collection of great first lines. Just launched this week. If you want to recommend a first line, please comment! Excited to share my first project with you, I've been an AskMeFi lurker for years.

By: gwint

gwint — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 15:20:38 -0800

Really nice design work there.

By: comealongpole

comealongpole — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 16:03:47 -0800

Cool. Bookmarked so I can check back when you've got a good selection of the classic "must-have" first lines from novels that always crop up (The Trial, The Stranger, Pride & Prejudice, 1984, Earthly Powers, etc) alongside people's obscure favourites.

By: c95008

c95008 — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 16:57:09 -0800

Thanks gwint, I appreciate it.

comealongpole: Yeah, some of the classics will be added. Obviously, I want to share first lines because they're good on their own, rather than because they're from a well-known source. But classics are classics for a reason :)

That said, I hope people discover something new through the site. I already have, thanks to recommendations from people who are smarter than me.

By: avoision

avoision — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 12:36:04 -0800

This is one of those great ideas that make me go "Man, why didn't I think of that?" Nicely done, and I submitted an opening to a short story. Now it's got me mentally going through my library...

By: still_wears_a_hat

still_wears_a_hat — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 14:41:57 -0800

1984: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." Best opening line in history, in my opinion. And of course, the last line: He loved Big Brother, just solidifies it.

By: c95008

c95008 — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 23:52:37 -0800

Now it's got me mentally going through my library...

avoision: Going back through old favorites is always fun. A nice byproduct of starting this project is that I'm more mindful of first lines when reading or listening to something now.

And of course, the last line ...

still_wears_a_hat: Those lines can pack a punch :) A few people have sent last line recommendations. I wish there was good way to share those without alienating or spoiling things for people who aren't familiar with the source.

By: Literaryhero

Literaryhero — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 04:51:52 -0800

Great site, and it somehow made me realize that the films 'Fallen' and 'Frailty' aren't the same even though I'm not exactly sure on why. Looks like I have some movie watching to do.

By: johnofjack

johnofjack — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 07:52:48 -0800

What!? No Still Life with Woodpecker?

... Nice work, and some of those are great hooks.

By: Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:19:01 -0800

This is cool! I'm kinda doing something similar for my library where we twitter the first line from a book in our collection with a link to the online-catalouge. It made me realise that some great books have really crappy first lines and some not so great books have great first lines!

By: c95008

c95008 — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 01:54:01 -0800

It made me realise that some great books have really crappy first lines and some not so great books have great first lines!

Totally agree! Sometimes I go to recommend something, only to find that the first lines fall flat.

Smart idea using Twitter to promote the library catalog :)

By: c95008

c95008 — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 03:53:02 -0800

johnofjack:

What!? No Still Life with Woodpecker?

:) Thanks for the suggestion.