In all my reading this week, there wasn’t one sentence that seemed worthy of being named “quote of the week.” So I thought it would be fun to do another game. This one is similar to a quote game we played earlier in the month.
These are the rules: Grab the book nearest you right now. Post the first sentence of the story, along with the book’s title and author, as a comment. Remember to use the closest book.
My husband and I used to play this game at Barnes and Noble. We would randomly pull books from the shelves and see who could find the best first line, which is, of course, a true indicator of a book’s worth. 
Here’s my submission:
“Keith, the boy in the rumpled shorts and shirt, did not know he was being watched as he entered Room 215 of the Mountain View Inn.” ~ “The Mouse and the Motorcycle,” by Beverly Cleary
Tags: children's book, For fun, quote
OK – Kristen, I’m totally cheating. I found a quote that I really liked in “Eat, Pray, Love” so I thought I would share it here. It isn’t the first line in the book. I’m sorry that I’m messing up your game.
“Prayers can become stale and drone into the boring and familiar if you let your attention stagnate. In making an effort to stay alert, I am assuming custodial responsibility for the maintenance of my own soul.”
Eat, Love, Pray
Elizabeth Gilbert
“The neon trout blinks off and on, advertising my uncle Jake’s guide service and store. Near the railroad tracks, wheat elevators and a flour mill mark the biscuit company where my mother worked. Early sunlight flashes off a silver passenger train crossing the trestle. From the high bluffs, Gateway looks about the same.”
“The Sky Fisherman” by Craig Lesley
I just bought this book at B&N because of the movie coming out. When I read your message, I turned to the first book – and this was it! HA!
“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do; once or twice she had 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 conversations?’ ”
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (OF COURSE!)
by Lewis Carroll :0)
And to make sure I really participate, too, here is the first sentence of “Eyes, Nose, Fingers and Toes,” by Judy Hindley. (It’s Caleb’s book)
“Eyes are to blink, eyes are to wink.”
Disclosure: I have not read this book. It was the closest to me.
“There was a master come unto the earth, born in the holy land of Indiana, raised in the in the mystical hills east of Fort Wayne.” “Illusions, the Adventure of a Reluctant Messiah” by Richard Bach
“The candleflame and the image of the candleflame caught in the pierglass twisted and righted when he entered the hall and again when he shut the door.” All The Pretty Horses C. McCarthy
That’s okay, Mandy. I’ll let you have that; it’s an awesome quote. But Skip, you’re totally cheating! That’s a whole paragraph.
Love it, Sami! We saw the previews for the movie the other night and even I was a little creeped out. It looks really strange, but I guess that’s the point. Unrelated, that is one of the longest first sentences ever.
I wish I could remember the next line, Mandy! I loved reading that book to the kids.
I like the disclosure, Paul.
Definitely an interesting first line.
“Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.” Lady Chatterley’s Lover, by D.H. Lawrence. Great first line I think. The book so far is not nearly as scandalous as the reputation it precedes.
Rasputen … your name seems so familiar. Like maybe we’ve met before. Ha, ha!
I’m ashamed to admit I have not yet read this one.
That is a great first line, Karey. Although I haven’t read “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” I think many books deemed “scandalous” in the past probably aren’t by today’s standards.
“Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.
But like Mandy I have come across a favorite quote from the book which is…”Few of the men she saw seemed worth a ruinous expenditure, and it made her smile to think that one of them should present himself as an incentive to hope and a reward of patience.”
So glad to have found this blog and discuss my passion: BOOKS!
Welcome, Amy! Great quotes … As a young reader, novels were more about “the big picture” for me, but as I’ve gotten older, I take pleasure in individual sentences. Nerdy, I know! Being a writer has something to do with that, too, probably. Now I know how much work must have gone into creating some of those sentences!