There were five of us -- Carruthers and the new recruit and myself, and Mr. Spivens and the verger. It was late afternoon on November the fifteenth, and we were in what was left of Coventry Cathedral, looking for the bishop's bird stump.
From To Say Nothing of the Dog: or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis
If you've never read Connie Willis do yourself a favor and start here. Time travel, Victorian England, Coventry Cathedral, and a wild and witty take off on Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat.
The start of something new. . .
first lines
May 17, 2023
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May 10, 2023
Although the label on the hair shampoo said Paris and had a picture of a beautiful girl with the Eiffel Tower behind her bare shoulder, it was forced to tell the truth in tiny print under the picture. Made in New Zealand, it said, Wisdom Laboratories, Paraparaumu.
From The Changeover by Margaret Mahy
When Laura's little brother is taken over by a soul-stealer it's up to her and Sorry Carisle, a boy at school she's recognized as a witch, to save him.
first lines
March 22, 2023
When the train stopped in Tucson, everybody else got their stuff together and jammed the aisles, but I ducked into the bathroom and put Sunblock 15 on every inch of exposed skin I owned.
From The Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Sixteen-year-old Billy learns about life and love when he spends the summer in Arizona with his gay uncle and gets his first girlfriend, the smart-mouthed Cara Mae.
first lines
March 15, 2023
When Portia Blake and her brother Foster set out for Creston that summer, it was different from all the other summers. It was different because it was the first time they had ever made the trip all by themselves.
From Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Portia and her cousin Calvin discover a land forgotten by time when they stumble across the almsot abandoned summer houses around Gone-Away, a lake that's turned into a swamp.
first lines
March 8, 2023
The prisoner in the photograph is me. It ID number is mine. The photo was taken in 1972at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky. I was twenty-one years old and had been locked up for a year already -- the bleakest year of my life -- and I had more time ahead of me.
From Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos
Jack's autobiography about his time in prison.
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March 1, 2023
The year Janet started at Blackstock College, the Office of Residential Life had spent the summer removing from all the dormitories the old wooden bookcases that, once filled with books, fell over unless wedged.
From Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
Four years of college in the 60s hitting on social issues, pregnancy, Shakespeare and, oh yeah, the ballad of Tam Lin.
first lines
February 23, 2023
The trouble started the day Howard came home from school to find the Goon sitting in the kitchen. It was Fifi who called him the Goon. Fifi was a student who lived in thier house and got them tea when their parents were out. When Howard pushed Awful into the kitchen and slammed the door after them both, the first person he saw was Fifi, sitting on the edge of a chair, fidgeting nervously with her striped scarf and her striped leg warmers.
From Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones
While trying to help his father Howard discovers that his town is under the control of seven wizards who all expect him to solve their problems.
First Line Friday (Because aren't first lines exciting?)
February 22, 2013
By day, the Nicollet Mall winds through Minneapolis like a paved canal. People flow between its banks, eddying at the doors of office towers and department stores. . . .
But late at night there's a change in the Nicollet Mall.
From War for the Oaks by Emma Bull:
POWELLS.COM
Winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel
War for the Oaks, which first appeared in 1987, is one of the novels that helped define the genre of modern urban fantasy.
Eddi McCandry sings rock and roll. But her boyfriend just dumped her, her band just broke up, and life could hardly be worse. Then, walking home through downtown Minneapolis on a dark night, she finds herself drafted into an invisible war between the faerie folk. Now, much more than her own survival is at riskand Eddi's goals and preferences, musical and personal, are very much beside the point.
By turns tough and lyrical, fabulous and down-to-earth, this novel is as much about this world as about the other one.
"A contemporary fantasy classic."Publishers Weekly
"Emma Bull is really good."Neil Gaiman
"One of the most engaging fantasies I've read in a long time."Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"[This novel] knifes through the fantasy genre like a sharp blade of wind."Charles de Lint Read More
But late at night there's a change in the Nicollet Mall.
From War for the Oaks by Emma Bull:
POWELLS.COM
Winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel
War for the Oaks, which first appeared in 1987, is one of the novels that helped define the genre of modern urban fantasy.
Eddi McCandry sings rock and roll. But her boyfriend just dumped her, her band just broke up, and life could hardly be worse. Then, walking home through downtown Minneapolis on a dark night, she finds herself drafted into an invisible war between the faerie folk. Now, much more than her own survival is at riskand Eddi's goals and preferences, musical and personal, are very much beside the point.
By turns tough and lyrical, fabulous and down-to-earth, this novel is as much about this world as about the other one.
"A contemporary fantasy classic."Publishers Weekly
"Emma Bull is really good."Neil Gaiman
"One of the most engaging fantasies I've read in a long time."Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"[This novel] knifes through the fantasy genre like a sharp blade of wind."Charles de Lint Read More
First Line Friday (Because aren't first lines exciting?)
February 15, 2013
Strange things can happen at a crossroads.
It might look like nothing but a place where two dusty roads meet, but a crossroads can be something more.
From The Boneshaker by Kate Milford:
KIRKUS REVIEW
In 1913 Arcane, Mo., 13-year-old Natalie Minks loves mechanical things, and her father’s bicycle-repair shop is the perfect place to tinker. Naturally curious, she is intrigued when a medicine show comes to town with promises of healing potions and an array of unusual machines. Folks in town are skeptical of “snake oil salesmen,” but Natalie suspects that the strangers are more sinister than mere con artists. At the same time, she experiences visions that may be connected to the town’s history and these mysterious travelers. These visions heighten her fears that her family and town are in danger from unresolved deals made with the Devil himself. This unusual story, with elements of folklore, tall tales and steampunk, has rich details of small-town America in the early 20th century as well as the impact of budding technology. Natalie is a well-drawn protagonist with sturdy supporting characters around her. The tension built into the solidly constructed plot is complemented by themes that explore the literal and metaphorical role of crossroads and that thin line between good and evil. Read More
It might look like nothing but a place where two dusty roads meet, but a crossroads can be something more.
From The Boneshaker by Kate Milford:
KIRKUS REVIEW
In 1913 Arcane, Mo., 13-year-old Natalie Minks loves mechanical things, and her father’s bicycle-repair shop is the perfect place to tinker. Naturally curious, she is intrigued when a medicine show comes to town with promises of healing potions and an array of unusual machines. Folks in town are skeptical of “snake oil salesmen,” but Natalie suspects that the strangers are more sinister than mere con artists. At the same time, she experiences visions that may be connected to the town’s history and these mysterious travelers. These visions heighten her fears that her family and town are in danger from unresolved deals made with the Devil himself. This unusual story, with elements of folklore, tall tales and steampunk, has rich details of small-town America in the early 20th century as well as the impact of budding technology. Natalie is a well-drawn protagonist with sturdy supporting characters around her. The tension built into the solidly constructed plot is complemented by themes that explore the literal and metaphorical role of crossroads and that thin line between good and evil. Read More