Best first lines in literature-- let's take a break from politics for a bit of culture.

A fav from Pynchon's Mason and Dixon:

Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings, as of Cousins, carried Hats away into the brisk Wind off Delaware,--the Sleds are brought in and their Runners carefully dried and greased, shoes deposited in the back Hall, a stocking'd-foot Descent made upon the great Kitchen, in a purposeful Dither since Morning, punctuated by the ringing Lids of various Boilers and Stewing-Pots, fragrant with Pie-Spices, peel'd Fruits, Suet, heated Sugar,-- the Children, having all upon the Fly, among rhythmic slaps of Batter and Spoon, coax'd and stolen what they might, proceed, as upon each afternoon all this snowy Advent, to a comfortable Room at the rear of the House, years since given over to their carefree Assaults.

Another Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:

"A screaming comes across the sky. It has happened before, but there is nothing to compare it to now."

An elephant makes a big poop.

3 Reasons Why "Everyone Poops" Should Be Considered Classic Literature

Okay. I'm really going now.

Thanks Zosimov!!!

a reply to: Dan00



Come again soon, my friend!

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

By all means, stay all that you wish! Love all that you brought to the thread, thanks!

"Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow."

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening - Robert Frost

A short little poem, but it really communicates a feeling. It's like you can feel the cold, but you are warmed by the beauty of the snowflakes drifting down on the trees at night.

And, of course:

"It was a dark and stormy night ..." - Snoopy

Who can forget Mickey Spillane?

“We were about to give up and call it a night when somebody dropped the girl off the bridge.”

a reply to: DBCowboy

Great first line! You're right- unforgettable.

progris riport 1 martch 3

Dr Strauss says I shoud rite down what I think and remembir and evrey thing that happins to me from now on.

- Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.

The Call of Cthulhu (Found Among the Papers of the Late Francis Wayland Thurston, of Boston) By: H.P. Lovecraft 1928

*skulks away*

a reply to: zosimov

haha indeedy!

a reply to: Dan00



The ugly side of addiction.

a reply to: zosimov

The ugly side of addiction.

Well the poor guy couldn't sleep and suffered from horrible migraines.

I'm sure that booze didn't cut it, as it might have for Joyce; or poor Edgar for that matter.

I was always kind of partial to,

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

So I've been trying to keep it to only one sentence but that's real hard! So, to break the rules of my very own thread, here's a few runners up that need the next couple of lines for an added punch:

Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy (forgive me I've brought this book up several times now, on different threads)

"See the child. He is pale and thin, he wears a thin and ragged linen shirt. He stokes the scullery fire. Outside lie dark turned fields with rags of snow and darker woods beyond that harbor yet a few last wolves. His folk are known for hewers of wood and drawers of water but in truth his father has been a schoolmaster. He lies in drink, he quotes from poets whose names are now lost."

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll:

"Alice was beginning to get very tired sitting by her sister on the riverbank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversation?'
So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid) whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her."


Thanks everyone for all the excellent responses! My mind is abuzz with all the gorgeous and interesting prose!

a reply to: Dan00

lol, was referring to your compulsion to keep coming back for more

Your response did prompt me to look deeper into a Lovcraftian bio. Off to study a bit.. thanks!

Thinking about "A Tale of Two Cities."

Reminds of the present:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Charles Dickens

“You speak an infinite deal of nothing.”
― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

a reply to: Justso

Well one upside is we can't say we suffer from ennui.. times are intense, that's for sure!

a reply to: zosimov

Well one upside is we can't say we suffer from ennui.

Actually? I'm full-on ennui.

It's genetic.

a reply to: zosimov

It was the first quote that came to my head. It is one of my favorites of Dickens-it does indeed cause many emotions during the read. I still love classics.