Tell Me What To Read

[coalescent]

OK, gang, here's the deal: I'm on holiday next week. I am looking forward to nine consecutive days filled with sleeping, reading, and writing (and maybe just a little bit of socialising). But there's a problem, which is that even my I-must-read-this-soon buffer is overflowing, never mind my actual to-be-read pile (or the to-be-read sprawl, as I

Comments

[pikelet]

who can resist an opening line like "The girl from the future told me that the sky is full of dying worlds"?

When an opening line makes me think 'Christ, he really spent far too much effort trying to come up with a first line', it doesn't entice me.

[coalescent]

Quiet, philistine!

(Did I pick the right Who book? Technically they should both be on the list but this one looked more fun.)

[sparkymark]

Its not that great, treading familiar SF ground. And its the only 8th Doctor Novel with a map at the start of it. But it does have tigers that walk up to you and say "Hurroo".

[sparkymark]

Multiple apostrophe crime, sorry.

[coalescent]

The other one he gave me is The Adventuress of Henrietta Street by Lawrence Miles.

[sparkymark]

Well that one is just great: a pale city of apes and house full of whore-spys. My sole reservation is how, although the book is made up of reports from different characters, some of those characters unconvincingly decided to write down dialogue, which is a structural cop out.

[pikelet]

I'm trying to get him to read a range of books. Trouble is, he's only allowing me two.

So I went for some trad-ish stuff and some Mad Larry. Figured if nothing else, he'd get the point that it's not all formulaic.

[pikelet]

You picked the one that requires little in the way of explaining, yes :)

[grahamsleight]

There's a serious point here... I have the feeling writers get it battered into their heads repeatedly that Thou Shalt Have A Good First Line Else The Editor Will Read No Further, and so we get deluged with tons of first lines that are just trying too hard.

[coalescent]

What's the difference between a good first line and a first line that's trying too hard?

[grahamsleight]

a) It's a judgment call, of course.
b) Whether the first line is integrated with the tone/approach/content of all the other sentences that follow it. Whether you can imagine it working, and moving the story forward, and not sticking out like a sore thumb, if it was in the middle of the book starting a chapter or something.

Problem is, you can only really conduct this sort of argument by example. Perhaps if I dig out some good/bad first lines and post them on my LJ for folk to agree or disagree with?

[coalescent]

Whether the first line is integrated with the tone/approach/content of all the other sentences that follow it.

Which this one obviously is. I mean, c'mon! None more Baxter.

Perhaps if I dig out some good/bad first lines and post them on my LJ for folk to agree or disagree with?

For this you really need the powers of the clicky.

[grahamsleight]

None more Baxter.

You *really* need to see Spinal Tap :)

For this you really need the powers of the clicky.

I fear you are right. Let me ponder.

[coalescent]

You *really* need to see Spinal Tap :)

I hate to break it to you, bu it's a long time since that phrase had anything to do with that film. :p

[grahamsleight]

You young'uns, no sense of history.