TRIVIA: Memorable from the Very First Words

Everyone knows that "Four score and seven years ago" begins the Gettysburg Address. Very few people can tell you what comes after that without looking it up in a history book. I certainly can't. The same is true for books. Some first lines are instantly recognizable, while others are a little bit harder to place.  See how many of these famous lines you recognize. They start off easy, and get harder.

If you want to know how you did, click back in one week (8/16) for the answers:

1. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

2. "If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle."

3. "The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another his mother called him 'WILD THING!' and Max said 'I'LL EAT YOU UP!' so he was sent to bed without eating anything."

4. "In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon."

5. "In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived 12 little girls in two straight lines. They left the house at half past nine in two straight lines in rain or shine."

6. "The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day."

7.  "Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin."

8. "Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversation in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversations?'"

9. "When he was nearly 13 my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow."

10. "All children, except one, grow up."

Bonus First Lines:

11. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair . . . "

12. "Call me Ishmael."

13. "Two households, both alike in dignity/In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,"

14. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

15. "Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes."

Now it's your turn! Leave a comment with YOUR favorite book quote!

— Carly H., STACKS Staffer

Comments

[Comment #1]

that's cool yaar.

[Comment #2]

1. Harry Potter
2. Series of Unfortunate Events A Bad Beginning
3.Where the Wild Things Are
4. Goodnnight Moon
5. Madeline
6. The Cat In the Hat
7. Pooh Bear
8. Alice in Wonderland
9. ?(okay, i looked that one up. To Kill a Mockingbird)
10.Peter Pan
11-15: ????????????

[Comment #3]

i tried to memorise the first paragraph of HP 1 once and only memorised the first line

[Comment #4]

1. Harry Potter
2.Series of Unfortunate Events
5.Madaline
7.Winney the Pooh
8.Alice in wonderland

"...So long as men can breath, or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee."~Sonnet 18

[Comment #5]

1.Harry potter 1
2.The bad beginning
3.Where the wild things are
4.Goodnight moon
5.Madeline
6.The cat in the hat
7. Winnie the pooh (?)
8. Alice in Wonderland
9.(?)
10. PETER PAN (I love tinkerbell)

[Comment #6]

My favorite book starts like this. I challenge you to find out what it is. "In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisability really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes."

[Comment #7]

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone (that book rocked!!)
2. ????
3. Where the wild things are
4. goodnight moon
5. Madeline
6. ??
7. robin hood
8. alice in wonderland 9. ??
10. Peter Pan

[Comment #8]

2.the bad begining