A study in opening lines

I perused my personal collection of books to find a few lines that literally open the book or begin a chapter.

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself." from Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. For Virginia, this is a fairly short sentence, free from verbosity. Perhaps it was her form of the "grabber" statement because why would the likes of Mrs. Dalloway, a party socialite buy the flowers herself?

"Woods are not like other spaces." from A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson. This line brings the reader into the world of the writer, establishes a setting and sets up with a very simple observation, an ensuing comedy.

"Even now, it's always the same question: Why don't you act more like a girl?" from The Last Time I Wore a Dress by Daphne Scholinski. This line opens with a question that the character is being confronted with which denotes conflict has presented itself on more than one occasion.

"I can not begin to write this book." from Waist-High in the World by Nancy Mairs. This is perhaps the most literal first line I have ever come across. It is not a line that was written in the middle or at the end, and then just placed at the beginning. It is evidence of quintessential writers block.

"There is only one answer to the question: Would you like to see a three a.m. performance of amateur Portuguese circus clowns?"from How Did You Get This Number by Sloane Crosley. I love the opening line to this short story because I can't help but being drawn in by it because it is so bizarre and unexpected. It leaves the reader wanting to know what context would exist in order for that question to be asked.

"All my life I have acted wrongly, very wrongly." from How to be Inappropriate by Daniel Nester. This line is self deprecating. Admitting fault and flaw which is inviting to readers because they too, as human beings possess flaws.

"As most New Yorkers have done, I have given serious and generous thought to the state of my apartment should I get killed during the day." from I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. This opening line is funny and serious at the same time. Because of this juxtaposition, it makes the reader want to read on.

"First, what I need you to do is give me permission to drive you completely insane by using the word 'need' in places where another word, like 'want' or 'order,' would be more 'honest.'" from the essay "Needs" by George W. S. Trow. It is interesting to open a piece, asking someone permission to drive them crazy because not only does it sound like a question a child would ask, most normal people would answer, "of course you don't have permission!"

"When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house..." from "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner. This is the opening line to one of my favorite short stories as a teenager. It depicts how people react around the town oddity even after they have died.

"I didn't tell anyone that I was going to Santa Fe to kill myself" from Manic by Terri Cheney. This is an interesting opening line mainly for its dramatic qualities. Also if the suicidal person is still alive, they are still available to tell their story.

"'The soul has no assignments,' Randall Jarrell says. 'It wastes its time.'" from the essay "Show Don't Tell," author unknown. The strength of this opening line comes from it's thought provoking quality. We often think of life as a list of things to do or accomplish and this statement contradicts that notion and challenges it.

"There is a typo on the hospital menu this morning." from the essay "Going" by Amy Hempel.  This observation is a simple but curious one. It opens up questions of why the person speaking is in the hospital, whether they are visiting someone or a patient, and so forth.

It appears that a pattern is evolving here. The opening lines can catch the attention of reader for many reasons: they can be bold, or outlandish, or curious, questioning or quite simple. No matter how it is done, if it's done well, it successfully draws the reader in to turn the page.