First Page Mysteries
The most frequented posts on this blog are from my First Pages series. It makes sense—while my original intent in posting first pages of a successful novel was to study the opening pages from the viewpoint of a writer. What made the first lines enticing for a reader? What made them continue to read?
It’s been a lot of fun to see all the ‘clicks’ on those pages, ostensibly from curious readers who want to see if they want to read that book on their own. And while I don’t make money on those clicks, they do bring a smile to my face.
So, I thought it in the interest of getting back to blogging, I’d start a Monday feature called, “First Page Mysteries”. I’ll be posting first pages or middle pages on Instagram on Mondays and you can guess which novel those pages are from.
This first Monday, I thought I’d make it easy on you all:
Tell Dr. Bookworm!
Let me know which book this first page comes from in the comment section below.
What is your favorite opening lines/pages of a novel?
P.S. In case you are wondering, I still held with my New Year’s Day tradition in honor of my Lola. She held a New Year’s Day raffle for her grandchildren when she was still alive. In recent years, I’ve been sending books to her great-grandchildren (my nieces and nephews) for New Year’s Day. Here are some of the books I sent out:
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho—I’ve been hearing about this book EVERYWHERE. A picture book about the lovely shape of almond eyes? Yes, please.
What We’ll Build by Oliver Jeffers—A book written by Jeffers for his daughter. Still one of my favorite author-illustrators.
My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World by Malcolm Mitchell—a picture book about finding a book that’s right for you, this book is written after my own heart.
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E.Scwab —ghosts. Something I won’t read about, but will write about. This one is destined to be a good one, by one of Mini Me’s favorite writers.
The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis—a gothic style mystery with the Bronte sisters as main characters. Mini Me will love it!
Winterborne Home by Ally Carter—a middle grade mystery! I’m reading Carter’s YA Gallagher Girls series now and am really enjoying the voice of the main character.
The Whispering Wars by Jaclyn Moriarty —set in the world of Bronte Mettlestone, which Little Lion received as a gift and loved.
Brother Wars by Steven K. Smith
Investigators by John Patrick Green—a graphic novel with alligators as detectives. My nephews loved this one so I decided to get it for my other nephews too. :D Also, there seems to be a theme of spies and detectives with my selection this year.
8 Little Planets, ABCs of Space, and ABCs of Biology by Chris Ferrie—fantastic board books featuring Science topics. What’s not to love? I wish I thought of it first.
Gossie & Gertie by Olivier Dunrea—hands down one of my favorite board book series of all time. Because ducks. Okay, Gossie and Gertie are actually goslings, but my eight-year-old heart would group them with ducks. And I absolutely love how Dunrea creates such great characters with so little words. I may have read this series outloud a million times or two to my girls.
