Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and Bookish and hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl where we get a new topic for a top 10 list.
It’s been a while since My Midnight Musing did a Top Ten Tuesday feature, but who can resist when the topic is all about the moment you start a new book. The opening lines of a book are the easiest moments to hook your reader. It’s doesn’t have to be dramatic, but there’s an intrigue that comes with the opening lines. Sometimes, it’s the peculiar statements that catch you, other times the mystery, the danger, the bizarreness, or even the beauty in the prose. These are a few of the opening statements that made their mark.
1. Beartown by Fredrik Backman
“Late one evening towards the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.
This is the story of how we got there”
2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
“The circus arrives without warning
No announcement precedes it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisement in local newspaper. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”
3. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
“I would have lived in peace, but my enemies brought me war.”
4. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater
“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”
5. A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
“Kell wore a very peculiar coat”
6. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
“Joost had two problems: the moon and his moustache.”
7. Burning Blue by Paul Griffin
“Sent the night before the attack
Subject: Why?
Because I’ll never have it.
Because I’ll never be it.
Because after a little test run, I find that I like the sound.
The hissing.
She will burn.”
8. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
“On the second Sabbat of the Twelfthmoon, in the city of Weep, a girl fell from the sky.”
9. Uprooted by Noami Novik
“Our dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley.”
10. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
“I have a heart for every year I’ve been alive.”
What are your favourite openings?
My Midnight Musing 
THAT’S how Beartown begins!?!?! I NEED this book in my life eventually. WTF? Did you watch The Society, because that’s what my mind went to right away.
Generally love the lines/books you picked for today. I quite like Maggie Stiefvater’s opening lines in general, because for the Raven Boys it was cool too.
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Oh yeah. Beartown starts with one hell of a bang.
Maggie Stiefvater always treats us to a beautiful and intriguing opening and I feel like I don’t talk about the Scorpio Races enough haha.
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The Scorpio Races is a standalone, am I wrong in thinking that?
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Bear Town was on my list, too!
My TTT .
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You cannot go wrong with Beartown.
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Great picks! Uprooted, A Darker Shade of Magic and The Night Circus are all favorites of mine. 🙂
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You can’t go wrong with those books. 😀
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Great list! Six of Crows made my list this week too, and I love the beginning of Strange the Dreamer.
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Both those books have so much intrigue in their opening lines that you can’t help but watch.
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Love these! Thanks for sharing! x
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Thank you. 😀
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Great list!
I love the first sentence of ADSOM and Six of Crows!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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You can’t go wrong with any of those books. 😀
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I’d forgotten how Beartown started. Good list–Night Circus opened well, too, I see.
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Beartown has one of the most effective openings I’ve ever read.
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Yes. Believe it or not, Me Before You did as well.
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Great list! The Scorpio Races, To Kill a Kingdom and The Night Circus were also on my list for this week, but I’m now regretting not including some of the others on here as well 🙂
My TTT
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The Scorpio Races is one book I don’t talk about enough, but all of Stiefvater’s books have intriguing openings.
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These are such awesome first lines!
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Some of them are so effective.
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You have so many great ones on here! I especially love The Scorpio Races and Beartown ones. They set the tone so well.
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I feel like The Scorpio Races does not get enough love.
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The Night Circus and The Scorpio Races are ICONIC
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They really are. 😀
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That opening to Beartown… yeah. But why did I think that it starts with the word BANG!
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Beartown has one of the most memorable openings ever. 😀
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So glad The Scorpio Races made your list!! It’s one of my favourite books ever.💕
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I adore The Scorpio Races and I feel it doesn’t get enough love haha.
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Awesome post! It’s so important to have a great opening line, as it draws you into the story! The Night Circus is one of my fave reads so far. I think one of my favourite opening lines is by Harry Potter 🙂
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The Night Circus will always be one of the most effective openings I’ve ever read.
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Excellent choices, Lois!! I love the ones for Six of Crows and Night Circus. I definitely love those opening lines and strongly believe that a lot of times, the opening line will determine a lot of the memorable qualities of a book! 😀
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The Six of Crows one is so random that it just sticks with you haha.
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I love this topic and there are some really great opening lines here!! It’s convinced me to look into Beartown. And I can’t believe I haven’t read my e copy of Uprooted yet – it was the intriguing dragon talk that convinced me to get it in the first place.
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Beartown has quickly become one of my all-time favourite books. It’s such an emotive and immersive reading experience. Uprooted isn’t my favourite book, but it’s beautifully written and has a lot of interesting dynamics.
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It sounds incredible. I’ll definitely have to read it soon then (: and I’m glad it’s beautifully written then.
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Ah I love love love this topic so much! The first lines of Bear Town are amazing, I need to give this book a try. And I love the beginning of The Night Circus, such a great read ❤
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Trust me when I say you will not regret reading Beartown. It’s a treasure of a book.
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