Friday, September 14, 2012

Friday Memes


Book Beginnings on Friday is a bookish meme now sponsored by Rose City Reader (who originally inspired the meme). 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 Gilion's place.

Here's mine from The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes:

Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and wilfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it....It is all true.

[I positively love this beginning.  There was no way I could not keep reading.]



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 The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes:

A string quartet were plucking their way through some baroque sonata or other but were all drowned out by the babble of conversation, the tinkle of polite laughter, the chink and clink of glasses, the sounds of insincerity.

10 comments:

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Great opener! It definitely piqued my interest...and I love the descriptions in the p. 56: "tinkle of polite laughter, the chink and clink of glasses, the sounds of insincerity."

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

srivalli said...

I love the beginning! Can't really stop reading after that beginning, can you?

Chris Thompson said...

That is a good beginning. I like a book with a sense of humor.

Here's my Book Beginnings Post.

Sandra Nachlinger said...

That beginning is almost a challenge, isn't it? Like: I dare you to enjoy this book! In your Friday 56 post: I love the sounds the author used to portray the scene.Tinkle, chink, clink -- I can almost hear them.
Here's my Beginning and Friday 56 post.

fredamans said...

That opener is awesome!

SquirrelQueen said...

What a great beginning. Sometimes nonsense is what we need in a book, a nice break for our minds.

test said...

now THAT is a beginning! would it be somnambulist though? (this is about a sleepwalker?)

Bev Hankins said...

Yes...Somnambulist. I missed the "N"--now fixed.

Man of la Book said...

LOL, some of my favorite books have "no literary merit whatsoever".

http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Yvonne said...

Interesting 56! Have a great weekend!