Month / January 2006

by Edward Champion

The Best First Sentence in Fiction

Scott and I recently had a conversation about how important opening sentences are to narrative. But I’d like to take this one step further and dare you all to come up with the best first sentence in a short story or a novel that you’ve ever read. We’re talking an opening sentence so utterly irresistible, something that is so unquestionably curious and so absolutely tantalizing that you, as a reader, simply must read the whole thing!

Here’s my nominee:

“It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.” — Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers

And yours?

[UPDATE: Totally unrelated to the collaborative little quest here, Wendi is kind enough to point to Litline, the top 100 first sentences in fiction, which apparently was located by those swinging cats over at LHB.]

by Edward Champion

The Internet Works?

Here’s the deal: Over the weekend, bloggers have been organizing a plea to the Democrats to get a filibuster started in the Senate. The hope: to prevent Alito from becoming the next Supreme Court Justice. Amazingly, the filibuster has gone from just two supporters (Kerry and Kennedy) to being a mere two votes shy from forcing continued debate. So if this is successful, bloggers may have demonstrated that not only are they capable of getting their asses in gear, but they might be effective political force.

To show your support for a filibuster, here’s a handy link to get started. You have until 4:30 PM EST, 1;30 PM PST. Will this happen? We shall see.

Bah. 75-25. Cloture reached. Never mind. Meanwhile, how’s this for balls?

Meanwhile, meet me in the bar. This says it all.