First impressions matter, right? Well, the first line of a book is one way to make (or break) a great first impression. Here’s a fun infographic with 34 Compelling First Lines of Famous Books. Enjoy!
What’s your favorite opening sentence in a book?
Posted April 18, 2016 by Julie S. in General / 23 Comments
First impressions matter, right? Well, the first line of a book is one way to make (or break) a great first impression. Here’s a fun infographic with 34 Compelling First Lines of Famous Books. Enjoy!
What’s your favorite opening sentence in a book?
Posted April 18, 2016 by Julie S. in General / 23 Comments

We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
Manage your cookie preferences below:
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Service URL: policies.google.com (opens in a new window)
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
Pinterest Tag is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
Service URL: policy.pinterest.com (opens in a new window)
X Pixel enables businesses to track user interactions and optimize ad performance on the X platform effectively.
Service URL: x.com (opens in a new window)
You can find more information about our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.


So happy to see 4 of my favorite and especially 2 from Douglas Adams. Wish that there was one more, It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression as pretty as an airport.
Ooh which book is that?
[…] is refreshingly honest. Julie and I were recently discussing great first lines (see our post here) and Covey Jencks starts out […]
[…] Descubra: 34 primeiros parágrafos de livros famosos (em inglês) […]
I recognized a few of them 😛 My favorite is the one from 1984 – it’s short and simple but somehow the setting is still so vivid.
yes, Anitya. That one definitely stands out!
The telephone bell was ringing wildly, but without result, since there
was no-one in the room but the corpse (Charles Williams, “War in Heaven”.
Wow – great quote, Steve!
“It was the best of times, it was the eorst of times…” Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
That’s great, Alexandria!
What an amazing infographic – one of the best I’ve seen! Lovely 🙂
Thanks, Ramona
[…] Julie @ Chapter Break shared an infographic with 34 compelling first lines of famous books […]
I like seeing how many of these books I’ve read! My favorite opening line is from, of course, Pride & Prejudice. 😉
Such a great first line, Brandee!
I LOOOOVE this!! It really makes me want to read like, ALL of these! My favorite is The Hunger Games, of course. I also LOVE this opening from Rebel of the Sands: “They said the only folks who belonged in Deadshot after dark were the ones who were up to no good. I wasn’t up to no good. Then again, I wasn’t exactly up to no bad neither.”
Thanks for the reminder on Rebel of the Sands, Shannon. Great first line!
Love this! I don’t often remember first lines so I can’t think of another that I have read right now. I have read and loved many of the books on this list though. Great post!
Thanks, Cynthia!
I love this. I’ve read a few of them. The first line that stands in my mind the most is from Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep, “My name is Gin, and I kill people.” It does leave an impression. That is for sure.
That is a GREAT first line, Melanie!
This is FANTASTIC!
Agreed, Charlie!