The First Line

I saw this meme somewhere, sometime, and I can't remember when or where, or even if it's exactly the same as this, but... list the first line to 10 of your favorite books. Already I am varying and listing 11. Can you tell from which books come the following lines? If so, let me know!

1. When he was thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.

2. Marley was dead, to begin with.

3. I used to have a cat, an old fighting tom, who would jump through the open window by my bed in the middle of the night and land on my chest.

4. "Holy One, I wonder if any man born into the world was blessed with every virtue by your Father in heaven."

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

6. Anyone who watches even the slightest amount of TV is familiar with the scene: An agent knocks on the door of some seemingly ordinary home or office.

7. Millions upon millions of years ago, when the continents were already formed and the principal features of the earth had been decided, there existed, then as now, one aspect of the world that dwarfed all others.

8. When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake-not a very big one.

9. Where's Papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

10. For months the great pleasure excursion to Europe and the Holy Land was chatted about in the newspapers everywhere in America and discussed at countless firesides.

11. The seller of lightning rods arrived just ahead of the storm.


There are so many more books that I love that I am wanting to pull others out and put more in, so I'll just stop and stick with these. I'm looking forward to your list as well.