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The First Lines Club
March 28, 2007

Today Stanley Fish has an op-ed in The New York Times called "Murder, I Read." I won't link to it, because you have to be subscribed to Times Select in order to read it. Here's the gist: he ponders how readers make their sometimes very quick book choices (Fish's example is of trying to choose a murder mystery at an airport book store). He dismisses jacket copy ("No, back-cover copy is written by an advertising flack who probably hasn't read the book and is trying for something short and punchy") and blurbs (he thinks that blurb-worthy authors "pass blurbs out to each other like party favors"), saying the only surefire way of deciding whether or not a book is worth your time is to read the first sentence.

Fish then gives several examples of first sentences, from worst to best. Since I can't give you the piece in its entirety, I won't try to give you all of his examples and explanations.

However, his "method" got me thinking: is it only to mysteries that one can apply the first-line rule? Do you do that when you're trying to decide whether or not to purchase a novel? A romance? A thriller?

I tend to choose books because I've read a review, or a galley letter, or know something about the author already and want to see more of his or her work. Is it fair to judge a book by its first line? It seems to work for Stanley Fish. I'd love to know if it works for  you, too -- examples, please!

Posted by Bethanne Patrick on March 28, 2007 | Comments (0)