Sometimes a book sucks you in from the very first sentence, and sometimes it takes a chapter or two, and sometimes you just don't get hooked at all. Here's the first sentence from a famous novel:
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.
Do you know the title and author of this work (without looking it up)? Would you continue reading? Go searching for famous first lines of novels or poems and post it in a comment. Tell whether you were intrigued enough to "want" to keep reading.
Also, read Chapter 3 of the Secret Adversary by April 16 so that you add to the discussion. If you're behind in your reading, you can always catch up and comment anytime.
Friday, April 13, 2007
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7 comments:
The title of this work is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I knew this because I've heard this same part many times. I think I would continue reading because the way it is written makes me curious as to where the author will take me.
When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
-William Shakespeare, Macbeth
I think I would keep reading to figure out who's meeting and why they want to meet.
-Amanda
So . . . the authors in these two works have sucked you in, eh?
I wasn't sure about where those lines came from but found out it was A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens (I looked at megans's comment). Another famous first line I know of is "Call me Ishmael" from the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville. I read that book a while back and even though the beginning interested me I found the rest rather dull. I think I was just too young to comprehend what they were trying to get across in that book. I read the third chapter of the Secret Adversary and it really is getting more and more interesting.
Haha, I guess so. I like reading things that are hard to understand at first. It makes me want to continue reading until I start to understand. But I won't continue reading if it's a stupid type of confusion that I have no interest in at all.
-Amanda
Val~Believe it or not, I've never read Moby Dick. Maybe I'll put it on my summer reading list! Only about thirty or more days 'til then!
And Amanda~Very good wisdom you have about choosing your reading material. There's good and bad in everything in life. It takes a smart and wise person to differentiate between the two.
When I first thought about reading One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, I figured it would be a book that I wouldn't get into reading. But it was the exact opposite, the book captured my attention before I finished reading the first page.
I suggest that anyone that reads this book, you might like it too.
--Amber
Saw the movie, Amber, and loved it.
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