
Happy Tuesday!! This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is to share ten opening lines that we find funny, interesting, well-written, etc. I’m focusing my list on ten opening lines in classic novels that feel very relevant right now.
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
1984 by George Orwell – April felt pretty topsy-turvy indeed.
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.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – This is sort of how everything feels right now: so many emotions all at once that you don’t know what to think!
Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce – Confused? So am I.

All this happened, more or less.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut – How I feel when I update my friends on what I’ve been up to lately…
Β I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Clark – Pretty much sums up how wild everything feels right now.

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – My forlorn thoughts whenever it’s raining outside and I’m sitting at my desk, gazing out my window.
The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – How I imagine my family feels whenever they walk into my room after I’ve been lighting candles for hours.
“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Sort of how I feel about summer… what will summer be without beach trips and ice cream stands and camping and little road trips to visit friends and fireworks and cookouts?
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – Me when I finally leave my room after hours of studying.

Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf – Always looking for little ways to make each day brighter!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list! It was so fun to make. What are your favorite opening lines? What do you think of the ones I’ve mentioned, or of the novels they come from? Let me know in the comments section below!
Yours,
HOLLY
I do love the opening of the hobbit! And Dorian Gray made my list this week too! Great choices π
My TTT: https://lifewithallthebooks.com/2020/05/26/top-ten-tuesday-great-opening-lines/
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Thanks so much!! π
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Great list! The opening line to A Tale of Two Cities does feel particularly poignant right now. & ‘All this happened, more or less’ is also a very apt one for these strange times!
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Thank you! I completely agree, I think “All this happened, more or less” might be my favorite of this list π
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Such a lovely list, Holly! Some of your reasons for choosing these opening lines really had me chuckling π I love those opening lines for Tale of Two Cities but I have yet to read it, even though every time I see it I want to immediately pick it up!
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Haha I’m so glad, thank you!! I highly recommend A Tale of Two Cities–such a brilliant novel!
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1984 was honestly decades ahead of its time. Great list.
My TTT .
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Absolutely!! Thanks so much!
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Great list!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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Thank you!!
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I really enjoyed this – absoutely spot on.
Lynn π
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Thanks so much!! π
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Great list! I love the opening line of 1984, and one of these days I need to try I Capture the Castle.
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Same here!
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Thank you!! I highly recommend I Capture the Castle–it’s such a lovely read.
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Great list, I love your twist on the topic! Though I have to say, between what I’ve (tried to) read of James Joyce before, plus this opening line, I’m thinking he might not be an author for me… π³
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Thank you!! Haha and I definitely feel that about Joyce–he’s an odd one for sure!
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I only tried reading one of his works (I think it was Dubliners?) but I just didn’t get it.
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I loved this!
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Thanks so much!!
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I feel opening lines are important like vvv important
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Absolutely!!
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I love your twist on this week’s topic! And I love the opening line for I Capture the Castle – I almost included it on my list as well π
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Thank you so much!!
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Haha, love The Hobbit one, very much how I feel right now π
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Haha same!! π
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Oh I love this! The opening lines of Mrs. Dalloway get me every time. So much meaning in those few words. And I have to admit that while I do love the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities, I did not enjoy most of the book. It was a beast. Ha! Great post! β€
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Thank you! β€ I feel the same way about Mrs. Dalloway–those first few words definitely pack a punch!
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The 1984 choice was inspired. April certainly did feel like the world had been turned upside down. But then May has also been similar π
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So true!! And May is almost over already?! When did that happen? π
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Great list – thanks for sharing! The Jane Eyre feels very apt right now doesn’t it?
My TTT is here https://bookloverssanctuary.com/2020/05/26/top-ten-tuesday-opening-lines/
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Thank you!! And it definitely does!
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I like your spin on the topic. Iβve read almost all of these books. The Hobbit was a childhood favorite for me.
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Thanks so much!
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Okay, it’s actually really eerie how well those quotes apply to our current situation. Yikes!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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Right! I had that same eerie feeling when I was writing this post… Happy TTT! π
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These really do feel relevant! Nice way to do this topic.
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Thank you!
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A Tale of Two Cities is one of the greats isnβt it. Itβs my fav Dickens. Was obsessed with it when I first read it and reread it countless times through my teens. Iβm long overdue a reread πππππ§‘π
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It’s so good!! I haven’t read it since I was in high school, so I’m definitely due for a reread as well! π
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wow this are all so relevant I love this take on the topic!
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Thanks so much!!
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Ahh what a brilliant and so, so relevant list, I love it so much, Holly! π
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Thank you so much, Marie! β€
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Love this post! April did feel very topsy turvy indeed (and I love that opening line from 1984). And I agree about tale of two cities and I capture the castle! Really relate! And yup to Jane Eyre and little women. I really like your reasoning for picture of dorian gray as well. haha I’m most definitely the hobbit right now!
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Thank you!! Haha same, definitely some hobbit vibes coming from me π
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Love this idea! One of my favourite opening lines is:
“Two households, both alike in dignity
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”
–I guess I don’t even have to mention the source π
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Ooh thatβs such a great one! A true classic π
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Love these! They are so relevant to what’s been going on these days!
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Thank you!!
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Hi Holly!! I love this list of opening lines. Usually I am intimidated by classics but this makes me feel more like reading them more. Little Women in one of the books that I hope to read soon π
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Thank you!! I’m so glad! β€ Hope you enjoy Little Women, it's such a lovely read!
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