Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Memorable Opening Lines



Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Happy Tuesday! Welcome back. For this week's Top Ten Tuesday on the topic of opening lines, I traveled back to books I read long ago or ones I think my younger self would enjoy.

Top Ten Memorable Opening Lines



"Where's Papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.


All children, except one, grow up.



Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.


Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.


"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.


Marley was dead, to begin with.  



The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world.



There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.


"Harvest is ended and summer is gone," quoted Anne Shirley, gazing across the shorn fields dreamily.  



When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.


I have read all but three of these books. Can you guess any that I haven't read?

19 comments:

Christopher @ Plucked from the Stacks said...

So many great selections this week! And I love that you chose to highlight a lot of classics. A Christmas Carol has one of my favorite openings.

Anne@HeadFullofBooks said...

I haven't actually read Peter Pan. Have you? I guess not. My TTT Opening Lines

Nushu Shri said...

I never realized how the opening line of Peter Pan really captured the essence of the entire novel! Interesting!!

Nice list!!

My TTT: https://notprimadonna.blogspot.com/2020/05/top-ten-tuesday-why-i-love-historical.html

Brooke Lorren said...

Lots of classics here today! I like the opening lines to Peter Pan and A Christmas Carol. Great list!

Marg said...

I had forgotten about Charlotte's Web until I saw it mentioned on another TTT post tonight! Brings back happy memories.

Matt Sweeney said...

I used Charlotte's Web in mine too! That little interaction spoke so much about the family. Liked your emphasis on some of the kid novels.

My TTT!

Erin @ Lavish Literature said...

The opening to Peter Pan definitely captures the spirit of the book. I still haven't read it yet, but it's on my TBR!

My TTT

dinipandareads said...

Oh wow, I love the opening lines for Peter Pan! I've never actually read the book! The opening lines for Voyage of the Dawn Treader is also great! Definitely need to re-read that book now as an adult lol

iloveheartlandX said...

I had the Harry Potter one on my list this week too :)
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/top-ten-tuesday-265/

Cheryl said...

Christopher, classics definitely made my list this week. Maybe it will keep me from feeling too guilty that I haven't read more of them. :)

You're right, Anne. I haven't read Peter Pan yet. I hope to soon.

Nushu, doesn't that opener capture the whole novel? I love it.

Brooke, I had almost forgotten the opening line of A Christmas Carol. It's one of my favorite stories. The movie with Patrick Stewart is the best version I've seen. I watch it each year.

Charlotte's Web brings back nice memories for me, too, Marg. I think I was 10 when I first read it. Then I got to read it with two of my kids.

I agree with you, Matt. That line in Charlotte's Web plopped you right into the action, too.

Erin, I hope you get a chance to read Peter Pan soon.

Dinipandareaders, I hadn't thought of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in a while. Great movie.

IloveheartlandX, think I'll see Harry Potter on more than one list today.

Thanks to all for visiting.

Lydia said...

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has such a great opening line!

My TTT .

Cheryl said...

Great to see you here, Lydia. Odd name definitely made for a good opening there.

Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense said...

Love how some of these are so well known that even if you've never read them, you know immediately where they are from.

Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse said...

These all bring back such memories!

Cheryl said...

Thanks, Alicia and Deanna. So nice to see you stop by.

Lectrice Vorace said...

I couldn't help being nostalgic while reading your list! So many great lines from books I loved during my childhood. :)
Here's my TTT!

Poinsettia said...

Great list! I love the quotes from Little House, Little Women, A Christmas Carol! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.

Cheryl said...

Thanks for stopping by, Lectrice and Poinsettia. I definitely feel nostalgic when looking at these, Lectrice. Those classics you mentioned, Poinsettia, are some of my favorites.

Dedra @ A Book Wanderer said...

The Charlotte's Web one is gut-wrenching! I love so many of these. Very nostalgic for my childhood. <3