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kksweety
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Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 103 Location: Liverpool UK
[PUZZLE] #111 - Green - Opening Lines Text reads:
Sometimes the opening line to a book is so powerful and moving it stays with you long after you've finished the final page. That's true for some but certainly not all of the examples below. Can you name the nine books in question?
A
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
B
Call me Ishmael.
C
It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents- except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.
D
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
E
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
F
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.
G
The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel.
H
A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green.
I
I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 12:49 pm
Last edited by kksweety on Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
spugmeistress
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Joined: 22 Feb 2005 Posts: 460 Location: manchester, uk
Quote:
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much
woo harry potter! by default (since its the only one of em i *havent* got) it's
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
harry potter and the philosopher's stone by JK Rowling.
Unless they've got a sneak peek of the new one (4 days left!) which i somehow doubt...
i vaguely recognise the 'it was the best of times, it was the worst of times' but i think thats probably more through other people referencing/parodying it than anything else, no idea where it originally comes from and i think i'll lay off the google til someone better read people than me have had a chance :)
rach =)
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:02 pm
firefox
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Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Posts: 333
A. All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
B. "Call me Ishmael."
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
C. It was a dark and stormy night;...
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Paul Clifford by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
D. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, by J.K. Rowling
E. "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife"
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
F. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ....."
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
G. The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel.
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
need i say more?
Neuromancer by W. Gibson. legendary
H. A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green.
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
I. "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink."
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
I capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:26 pm
rose
...and then Magic happens
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 4117
too late Dude I know all of these -- but was too late. All of these sentences are so famous that it was Red Card easy.
This makes me think there is more to it than that. How about you?
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:33 pm
Last edited by rose on Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
firefox
Unfettered
Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Posts: 333
i know fairly easy to know/find.
and hmm, there could be more yes, for a green it seems a little easy. we dont have much to work with
maybe:
Quote:
finished the final page
is a hint we need to match up the openings with something on the final pages of each of those books.. not sure where/how that takes us to anything
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:34 pm
cassandra
Entrenched
Joined: 25 Mar 2005 Posts: 831
I Capture the Castle is a little more obscure in the US...but I loved that book.
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 2:09 pm
newone
Guest
films Am i correct that Neuromancer is the only one that hasnt been filmed yet?
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 5:33 am
tanner
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Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 875 Location: (x,y,z,t,i, ...)+
totally off topic but my favourite opening line of any book is
"It was the day my grandmother exploded." from Iain Banks, The Crow Road
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:22 am
cassandra
Entrenched
Joined: 25 Mar 2005 Posts: 831
Re: films
newone wrote:
Am i correct that Neuromancer is the only one that hasnt been filmed yet?
I don't believe Paul Clifford has been, unless it's under a completely different title.
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:35 pm
Reason
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Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 408 Location: West London
tanner wrote:
totally off topic but my favourite opening line of any book is
"It was the day my grandmother exploded." from Iain Banks, The Crow Road
Seconded...
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:40 pm
oliverkeers13
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Joined: 23 May 2005 Posts: 917 Location: London, UK
The Day My Grandmother Exploded is the name of my next band
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:42 pm
Seej
Unfettered
Joined: 30 Nov 2004 Posts: 614
Careful with your punctuation on D; copying and pasting firefox's answer won't work.
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
It should have an apostrophe:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 2:37 pm
BrianEnigma
Entrenched
Joined: 05 Oct 2003 Posts: 1199 Location: Pacific Northwest
Seej wrote:
Careful with your punctuation on D; copying and pasting firefox's answer won't work.
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
It should have an apostrophe:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
It worked for me with "Sorcerer's"
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 2:45 pm
ezmo
Greenhorn
Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 4
Has anyone any idea why it won't accept my answers?
I've know they are all spelt right but it locked me out. I've put the apostrophe in but it just won't take them!
Do we have to put the author in as well?
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:35 pm
Hunting4Treasure
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Joined: 06 Aug 2005 Posts: 385 Location: Tampa Bay Area, FL USA
ezmo wrote:
Has anyone any idea why it won't accept my answers?
I've know they are all spelt right but it locked me out. I've put the apostrophe in but it just won't take them!
Do we have to put the author in as well?
Not unless you post the answers you're entering so we can *see* what's wrong.
And, no, they *only* want the title of the books, not the authors.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:33 pm
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