Book Beginning and the Friday 56 1/09/2014

Book Beginning is a meme hosted on Rose City Reader. To partecipate, you have to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

Friday 56 is a meme hosted on Freda's Voice. To participate, you have to post one or a few sentences from either page 56 or 56% of a book of your choosing. 

The book I chose to use for this two memes is "The School for Good and Evil: a World without Princes" by Soman Chainani.

The first sentence(s):

There's an uneasiness that remains after your best friend tried to kill you.

It's pretty good, as far as opening sentences go, since it immediately captures the reader's attention. 

Taken from page 56 of the book:
Hearing the skimming of arrows again, Agatha swung her head between paths, burning trees growing nearer… nearer… 

What about you?  Let me know in the comments!

Book Beginning and the Friday 56 12/09/2014

Book Beginning is a meme hosted on Rose City Reader. To partecipate, you have to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

Friday 56 is a meme hosted on Freda's Voice. To participate, you have to post one or a few sentences from either page 56 or 56% of a book of your choosing. 

The book I chose to use for this two memes is "The Gospel of Loki" by Joanne M. Harris

The first sentence(s):

I know a tale, o sons of earth.

I speak it as I must.

Of how nine trees gave life to Worlds 

That giants held in trust. 

Ok. Stop. Stop right there.

That was the Authorized Version. The Prophecy of the Oracle, as told to Odin Allfather by the Head of Mimir the Wise, and dealing, in thirty-six stanzas, with all the history of the Nine Worlds, from "Let there be light" to Ragnaròk.

Pretty neat, don't you think?

Well, this isn't the Authorized Version. This is my version of events.

I actually really like this beginning. It does a wonderful job at setting the tone for the rest of the novel, and it teases the reader with what will happen next enough to make them want to keep reading. In fact, the whole first chapter is one of the better written in the entire novel. 

Taken from page 56 of the book:
Nevertheless, I approached the four smiths and gave them my most winning smile. "Greetings, sons of Ivaldi," I said, "from the gods of Asgard." 

In the light of the fiery forge, they turned their faces towards me. The sons of Ivaldi are almost identical: sallow-skinned, hollow-eyed, stooped and scorched with labour. 

What about you?  Let me know in the comments!

Book Beginning and the Friday 56 15/08/2014

Book Beginning is a meme hosted on Rose City Reader. To partecipate, you have to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

Friday 56 is a meme hosted on Freda's Voice. To participate, you have to post one or a few sentences from either page 56 or 56% of a book of your choosing. 

I am posting this memes together because I chose to use the same book for both of them. It's "Drink, Slay, Love" by Sara Beth Durst. 

The first sentence(s): 

"One hour until dawn," Pearl said. She leaped off the roof and landed catlike on the pavement. "Oozes of time if we steal a car." 

It's an okay beginning, but I am not a huge fan of it. It establishes the personality of our main character as a daredevil, but it's not exactly original. 

Taken from page 56 of the book: 

Snacks didn't have the right to criticize her. He was so far beneath her. In fact, he was so below her on the food chain (literally) that she wasn't going to waste a second more of daylight in thinking about him or his ill-conceived and ill-considered and all-around ill opinions. 

What about you?  Let me know in the comments!