Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They’d love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

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This weeks Top Ten topic is …

Top Ten Nine Favorite Beginnings/Endings In Books

I’m going to focus on the beginnings side as the endings could be kinda spoiler-ish, and I want to encourage people to try these books. As well as not potentially spoil the ending for anyone reading them now. Some of these will probably be quite popular, but oh well. Oh, and I’m not limiting myself to middle grade or young adult or adult or “modern” or “classics”. It will be a mix.

Quotes are in no particular order. Enjoy 🙂

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling (MG) [Goodreads]

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they didn’t hold with such nonsense.
(Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury (London: 1997), p. 7)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Goodreads]

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
(Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Oxford Children’s Classics (Oxford: 2010), p. 1)

White Cat by Holly Black (YA) [Goodreads]

I WAKE UP BAREFOOT, standing on cold tiles. Looking dizzily down. I suck in a breath of icy air.
(White Cat by Holly Black, Gollancz (London: 2010), p. 1)

A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton [Goodreads]

TWENTY-THREE STORIES UP AND ALL I COULD SEE OUT the windows was grey smog. They could call it the City of Angels if they wanted to, but if angels were out there, they had to be flying blind.
(A Kiss of Shadows, Bantam Books (2001), p. 11)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (YA) [Goodreads] [review]

After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point.
(Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury (London: 2012), p. 1)

The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (YA) [Goodreads]

THE PIPE UNDER THE SINK WAS LEAKING AGAIN. IT WOULDN’T have been so bad, except Nick kept his favourite sword under the sink.
(The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Breenan, Simon and Schuster (London, 2009), p. 1)

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (YA) [Goodreads] [review]

Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her true love.
(The Raven Boys, Scholastic (London: 2012), p. 1)

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs [Goodreads]

I didn’t realize he was a werewolf at first. My nose isn’t at its best when it is surrounded  by axle grease and burnt oil – and it’s not like there are a lot of stray werewolves running around.
(Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, Orbit (2008), p.1)

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (YA) [Goodreads] [review]

Here is everything I know about France: Madeline and Amélie and Moulin Rouge. The Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, although I have no idea what the function of either actually is.
(Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Speak (2010), p. 3)

And just for a bit of fun, if you’re thinking about picking up The Raven Boys here are 10 more reasons why you should!

Those were nine of my favourite opening lines. What are your top ten beginnings/endings in books? Let me know in the comments below, or link back to your Top Ten post so I can see what makes your list.