![]() OPENING LINESįortunately for all of us, there are opening lines that will never fail the test of time or lose their places as the best ever. ‘David,’ she said tearfully, ‘I don’t want to be a farmer no more.’” I went to ‘tongue’ on this tongue-lashing from Power of Positivity by Clare Fisher, “The tongue has no bones, but it is strong enough to break a heart.” It is all touch and go with this one. While “ It was a dark and stormy night” takes the cake or candle for all time, there are a few that are fun like “The night resembled nothing so much as a giant Labrador in excellent health: cold, black and wet”, and “ Stanley looked quite bored and somewhat detached, but then penguins often do.” The one that would have made the police look for Rudolph the red nosed reindeer was, “Like an overripe beefsteak tomato rimmed with cottage cheese, the corpulent remains of Santa Claus lay dead on the hotel floor.” This next one almost ran over me, “A tear rolled down her face like a tractor. The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has been celebrating the best of the worst opening lines since 1982. For example, Eoin Coffer, who wrote the Artemis Fowl books, opened his Highfire with “Vern did not trust humans was the long and short of it.” The one that caught me wondering, and kept me from wandering in my library, was Waiting by Ha Jin, which is from Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent: “Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyou.” When it comes to books, the first few lines have the power to either turn off readers or make them want to continue to the end. While this is not the shot that will be heard around the world, I hope it will get you to read on, and not write off the bookshelves. ![]() Noted for writing about the black experience in the US, she won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. Thanks for looking, please get in touch if you have any questions.“They shoot the white girl first.” This is the first sentence in ‘Paradise’ by American writer Toni Morrison. Spells and Binding Legends of Valour Seekers and Saviours Magical Justice Water Spirits Ghosts Fairies and Elves The Fall of Camelot The Book of Christmas Tales of Terror Gods and Goddesses Night Creatures Giants and Ogres Fabled Lands The Book of Beginnings The Lore of Love The Secret Arts Magical Beasts Wizards and Witches Dwarfs Dragons I will post internationally, although cost may be prohibitive - please contact me if you are interested. ![]() All have dust jackets, these all show some signs of wear and a few are torn in places - see photos - but the spines and bindings are solid. All of the books are in good condition for their age, internally no inscriptions, folds or torn pages, however there varying degrees of off-white discolouration but the text & art are unaffected. It's time for them to move on now and find a new home, as it's really not likely they'll ever get back on the book shelves. For the last 15 years, they have been boxed up and have spent their time in storage. The Enchanted World Books published by Time-Life Books Set of 21 Books - all bought in the mid 1980s, one owner from new! I have had these lovely books since new, having collected them from Time Life Books when they first came out in. ![]() ![]() Item: 132583470681 Vintage The Enchanted World by Time Life Books, Set of 21 Books: 1980's, job lot. ![]()
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