First lines meme – quiz-style
Posted By CarrieK on May 6, 2009
I saw this meme at An Adventure in Reading, and thought it looked like a lot of fun. I’m going to kind of cheat, though, and only use recent favorites of mine, because a lot of you would recognize the first line of a classic book.
Update: we’ve had a few correct guesses, so I’ve put those lines in bold with the title and author. Keep guessing!
Here are the rules:
~ Pick 10 of your favorite books.
~ Post the first sentence of each book.
~ Let everyone try to guess the titles and authors of your books! Leave your guesses in the comments. I’ll update as titles are guessed correctly.
1. I recall with utter clarity the first great shock of my life. – Trinity by Leon Uris
2. From my first breath in this world, all I wanted was a good set of lungs and the air to fill them with – given circumstances, you might presume, for an American baby of the twentieth century. – Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
3. When Margaret Hughes found out she had a brain tumor, she stared at the black-and-white images illuminated on the screen behind her physician’s desk – “slices,” he called them. – Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
4. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a thirty-something woman in possession of a satisfying career and fabulous hairdo must be in want of very little, and Jane Hayes, pretty enough and clever enough, was certainly thought to have little to distress her. – Austenland by Shannon Hale
5. It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance. – Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
6. She had been running for four days now, a harum-scarum tumbling flight through passages and tunnels. – Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (guessed by a friend on Twitter)
7. When he was a year out of Brown, my friend Josh O’Connor won a Thai beach vacation in a lottery in a bar. – Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski
8. The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit. – Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
9. Lillian had been four years old when her father left them, and her mother, stunned, had slid into books like a seal into water. – The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
10. I was fifteen when I first met Sherlock Holmes, fifteen years old with my nose in a book as I walked the Sussex Downs, and nearly stepped on him. – The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
So, any guesses?
I love this idea! I may have to steal it myself one day soon!
I recognise several of them, but the only one I think I know is number 9 – The Behaviour of Moths – Poppy Adams.
I’m sure I’ve read number 1 too. A complete guess – Middlesex?
I look forward to hearing the answers.
I’ve just remembered I have a copy and so checked, – 9. isn’t Poppy Adams. I know that quote! It is really going to irritate me until I work it out!!
Jeez, we need the answers! The only one I recognize for sure is School of Essential Ingredients.
My guess for #7 is Fieldwork.
I think number 4 is Austenland and 9 is School of Essential Ingredients.
Hi, everyone – this is so much fun! Sandy and JoAnn are correct – #9 is The School of Essential Ingredients. JoAnn also got #4 – Austenland. And Kathy is correct – #7 is Fieldwork. I’ll update them in the post. Keep the guesses coming!
Number 10 is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King!
You’re right, Avis!
Jackie – Oops – I forgot to say that #1 is not Middlesex. Think historical.
It just shows how terrible I am at this – the only one I was sure I recognised was from a book I’ve never read!
Oh, I have to steal this notion for Ask Me Anything. Great stuff.
On the other hand, I’m stumped.
Okay, I’m really surprised no one has guessed #5. Think reading challenges…..
Stephanie – feel free to steal the idea – I stole it from An Adventure in Reading.
You won a copy of Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center. Send me your mailing address at skrishna [at] skrishnasbooks [dot] com and I’ll get the book to you! Congratulations!
S. Krishna – Thanks so much!
Okay, for those of you trying to guess, I’m adding some hints at the end of the first lines that haven’t been figured out yet.
#3 – Broken for you?
Andrea – yep!
I think #8 is Uglies.
Raidergirl – you’re right!
Is number 1 Trinity? It is, I know it! Unless I am wrong!! LOL
Yes, Lawanda – it’s Trinity.
#5 is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon!
Yes, Kristi – that’s the one that I thought everyone would get right away!
For those of you still wondering – #2 is from Peace Like a River by Lief Enger. This was fun – maybe I’ll do it again sometime!
[...] had a lot of fun with the first lines quiz I posted a couple weeks ago, so decided to do another [...]