Saturday, February 25, 2012

Friday Memes (On Saturday!)

Book Beginnings on Friday is a bookish meme sponsored by Katy at A Few More Pages. Here's what you do: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments section. Include the title and author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you are so moved, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line and if you did or did not like that sentence. Link up each week at Katy's place.


Here's mine
from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:

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 the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

One of the best known openings in all of literature. Even most of us who haven't yet read the novel have heard at least the very first portion at some time.


The Friday 56 is a bookish meme sponsored by Freda's Voice. It is really easy to participate. Just grab a book, any book, and turn to page 56. Find a sentence that grabs you and post it.
Here's mine from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (page 56 is blank in my copy, so I will jump to 57):

[about Tellson's Bank] Thus it had come to pass that Tellson's was the triumphant perfection of inconvenience. After bursting open a door of idiotic obstinacy, with a weak rattle in its throat, you fell into Tellson's down two steps, and came to your senses in a miserable little shop, with two little counters, where the oldest of men made your cheque shake as if the wind rustled it, while they examined the signature by the dingiest of windows, which were always under a shower-bath of mud from Fleet Street, and made the dingier by their own iron bars proper, and the heavy shadow of Temple Bar.

8 comments:

fredamans said...

Always nice to see some classics!

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Ah, that is such a wonderful beginning...who doesn't recall at least some of those lines?

It's been many years since I read this, but it's still breathtaking.

Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

JC Jones said...

I have always loved that start. Thanks for visiting.

JC Jones said...

I signed up to follow.

Cayce said...

Great Book Beginnings!
I love Charles Dickens, but I still have to read A Tale of Two Cities.
New follower.

wutheringwillow @ A Paperback Life said...

Hi! Thanks for dropping by my blog!

I absolutely love A Tale of Two Cities! Dickens's prose always makes things come alive for me. I can actually see Tellson's Bank in my mind's eye!

Juli Rahel said...

Although I'm nott he biggest Dickens' fan, I absolutely love the beginning of 'Two Cities'! I'm following back ;)
Hope you have great Sunday
Juli @ Universe in Words

Stepping Out of the Page said...

Great choices and answers. I really need to read Two Cities. :)

Thanks for sharing with us!
Stephanie
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