General Discussion

Fantastic Anarchist

(7,309 posts) Tue Oct 22, 2013, 07:26 PM Oct 2013

Fourteen Fantastic First Lines

13. 1984 by George Orwell

‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’

There’s no better way to get across that something’s wrong than to change something as fundamental as the way we organise time.

See all 14 here.

11 replies

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Highlight:

Fourteen Fantastic First Lines (Original Post) Fantastic Anarchist Oct 2013 OP

I'm listening to that audiobook right now. nt rrneck Oct 2013 #1

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century dimbear Oct 2013 #2

b-markin Bucky Oct 2013 #3

It was a dark and stormy night. chervilant Oct 2013 #4

She was second, at least. sorcrow Oct 2013 #9

His was not quite as succinct. n/t chervilant Oct 2013 #11

"Where's Pa going with that axe?" EB White ... Charlotte's Web. 11 Bravo Oct 2013 #5

Love that site! And how it starts out with the subtitle "for when 140 characters isn't enough." calimary Oct 2013 #6

Glad you enjoyed it. Fantastic Anarchist Oct 2013 #7

Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess sorcrow Oct 2013 #8

.."Almost everyone thought the man and the boy were father and son... Tikki Oct 2013 #10

rrneck

(17,671 posts)

1. I'm listening to that audiobook right now. nt

Reply to Fantastic Anarchist (Original post)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 07:33 PM

Oct 2013

dimbear

(6,271 posts)

2. No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century

Reply to Fantastic Anarchist (Original post)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 07:33 PM

Oct 2013

that this world was being watched keenly and closely by
intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as
men busied themselves about their various concerns they were
scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a
microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and
multiply in a drop of water.

(War of the Worlds)

Bucky

(54,027 posts)

3. b-markin

Reply to Fantastic Anarchist (Original post)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 07:34 PM

Oct 2013

chervilant

(8,267 posts)

4. It was a dark and stormy night.

Reply to Fantastic Anarchist (Original post)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 07:39 PM

Oct 2013

Madeleine L'Engle.

sorcrow

(418 posts)

9. She was second, at least.

Reply to chervilant (Reply #4)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 08:10 PM

Oct 2013

The origingal was by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his 1830 novel Paul Clifford.

Crow

chervilant

(8,267 posts)

11. His was not quite as succinct. n/t

Reply to sorcrow (Reply #9)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 08:48 PM

Oct 2013

11 Bravo

(23,926 posts)

5. "Where's Pa going with that axe?" EB White ... Charlotte's Web.

Reply to Fantastic Anarchist (Original post)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 07:44 PM

Oct 2013

Hey, I've been an elementary school teacher for a long, long, time. (Thank you GI Bill!)

calimary

(81,322 posts)

6. Love that site! And how it starts out with the subtitle "for when 140 characters isn't enough."

Reply to Fantastic Anarchist (Original post)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 07:45 PM

Oct 2013

Fantastic Anarchist

(7,309 posts)

7. Glad you enjoyed it.

Reply to calimary (Reply #6)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 07:53 PM

Oct 2013

sorcrow

(418 posts)

8. Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess

Reply to Fantastic Anarchist (Original post)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 08:07 PM

Oct 2013

"It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me."

Astounding!

Crow

Tikki

(14,557 posts)

10. .."Almost everyone thought the man and the boy were father and son...

Reply to Fantastic Anarchist (Original post)

Tue Oct 22, 2013, 08:30 PM

Oct 2013

...

I am betting almost everyone here has read those words..

Tikki

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