Tuesday 25 May 2021

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Top Ten Book Quotes

 

"Top Ten Tuesday" is an original feature/weekly meme created on the blog "The Broke and the Bookish". This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at "The Broke and the Bookish".

It is now hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.

Since I am just as fond of them as they are, I jump at the chance to share my lists with them! Have a look at their page, there are lots of other bloggers who share their lists here.

This week's topic is: Book Quotes that Fit X Theme
(Pick any theme you want, i.e., motivational quotes, romantic dialogues, hunger-inducing quotes, quotes that fill you with hope, quotes on defeating adversity, quotes that present strong emotions, healing, etc. and then select quotes from books that fit that theme.)

I share some quotes about reading and books most Fridays (see here), so today I wanted to do something else, still quotes from books. The famous "first lines". I always say I do judge books by their covers, as I mentioned in my post here, but do we also judge books by their first lines?

There are many different kind of first lines, those, that give away something about the story, those, that make you curious, those that start in the middle of the book, those that become great quotes, and those that become a story of their own.



"It was a pleasure to burn."
Bradbury, Ray "Fahrenheit 451" - 1953

"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler."
Calvino, Italo "If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller" (Italian: Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore) - 1979

"Mother died today. Or maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure."
Camus, Albert "The Stranger" (aka "The Outsider") (French: L'étranger) - 1942

"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."
Dickens, Charles "A Tale of Two Cities" - 1859

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."
Dickens, Charles "David Copperfield" - 1850

"They shoot the white girl first."
Morrison, Toni "Paradise" - 1998

"They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did."
Rhys, Jean "Wide Sargasso Sea" - 1966 (Prequel to "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë)

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Tolstoy, Leo (Толстой, Лев Николаевич) "Anna Karenina" (Russian: Анна Каренина = Anna Karenina) - 1877

"You better not never tell nobody but God."
Walker, Alice "The Color Purple" - 1982

"The Gunman is useless."
Zusak, Markus "The Messenger" - 2002

21 comments:

  1. I love the way The Stranger began. Such a good opening line.

    My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-lgbt-book-quotes/

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    1. I just love Camus. He was one of the greastest writers for me. No wonder he had such a good opening line.

      Thanks for your visit. You're always so quick, I'm still answering comments from yesterday and there you are. Will check out your quotes now.

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  2. "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." Great first line.

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    1. And it's the beginning of my favourite book by Dickens, it turns out just as great as the opening line.

      Thanks, Deb, for coming by and your comment. Loved it.

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  3. The quote from The Stranger grabs my attention! Here is my Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!

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    1. Thanks, Poinsettia, that's Camus for you, a fabulous author.

      So nice of you to visit. Thanks for the link, as well.

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  4. Ooo! That quote about family is really good and probably a lot true.

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    1. Definitely very true, Deanna. And the family in Tolstoy's story belongs to the very unhappy ones, thus the book is great.

      Thanks for your visit.

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  5. As soon as I saw famous first lines, A Tale of Two Cities popped into my head. I like all of these, but The Stranger and Anna Karenina are great as well.

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    1. Thanks, Carla, those were the ones I remembered best. "A Tale of Two Cities" also has one of the best closing lines.

      Thanks for your visit. Will see what you came up with.

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  6. Two of the books on your list are on my TBR: "Fahrenheit 451" (I still haven't read it yet 😳) and "Wide Sargasso Sea".

    The opening line from "The Stranger" is a brilliant way to begin a novel. The lack of interest, concern, or sympathy is shocking!

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    1. Thanks, Lectrice. I know, there are so many great books out there I haven't read. I'm sure you'll enjoy both of them. "Wide Sargasso Sea" is such a great addition to "Jane Eyre". I don't normally read these kind of "sequels" (or prequel as we have to say here) but it was recommended to me as "not the usual stuff like that" and I really thought it was great to learn more about Mr. Rochester's past, as alluded to in the novel.

      As always, thanks for visiting.

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  7. These are some great first lines! I agree with you - I'm more apt to read a book based on its opening paragraph than on its cover. I want to know that it's going to engage me before I take the plunge, you know?

    Happy TTT!

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  8. Same here, Susan. The cover will, of course, attract or repulse me but the first line or paragraph has to convince me that this is the book for me.

    Always nice to see how much we have in common. Thanks for your visit.

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  9. Some great opening sentences here. I read a book when I was 18 (I think it was by Helen Dunmore) that began with “I once saw a woman’s arm fall off.” My post: https://wordywitterings.com/2021/05/25/top-ten-tuesday-book-quotes-about-reading/comment-page-1/#comment-564

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    1. That sounds like an interesting beginning., Claire. I tried to google it but the only one I found was "I saw an arm fall off a man once, said Kate…" from "A Spell of Winter" by Helen Dunmore. I have read "The Siege" by her with one of my book clubs.

      Thanks for your visit and leaving a comment, I'll see what you've come up wiht.

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  10. Some great opening sentences here. I read a book when I was 18 (I think it was by Helen Dunmore) that began with “I once saw a woman’s arm fall off.” My post: https://wordywitterings.com/2021/05/25/top-ten-tuesday-book-quotes-about-reading/comment-page-1/#comment-564

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    1. Weird, I was sure I answered this. Well, at least I commented on your post.

      That book about the woman's arm falling off, I tried to google it but often books don*t show up if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. I know because I've been looking for a book for ages. Anyway, since you added it might have been by Helen Dunmore, I found a quote from "A Spell of Winter": I saw an arm fall off a man once.

      Might that have been it?

      In any case, thank you so much for coming here and leaving your comment and link. I loved your list.

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    2. Haha, I just noticed, I did answer your post, it was just there twice. Sorry.

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  11. I love posts about first lines! There are some really great ones here. I can't believe I haven't read any of these.

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    1. There are just too many great books around for us to have been able to read them all. I'm sure you will want to read one of the classics one day, you still have many years to get to them, especially once your kids are grown up.

      I think from the ones I mentioned, you might like the one by Markus Zusak most at the moment. But they are all great books. Thanks for your visit.

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