First Line Friday!

Today is First Line Friday! I began First Line Friday because first lines have always intrigued me since I heard an author say that writing the first sentence is, by far, the most difficult part of writing a novel. The reasoning was that a first sentence can make the reader continue reading or cause the book to be tossed aside. So, go to your To Be Read Pile, choose as many books as you want and share the first line. Be sure to include the title and author so that if your reader also finds it intriguing, they can find the book. Also, share your thoughts about the first line. Does it draw you in? Is it...exciting...thought provoking...scary...funny?Join in, if you enjoy first lines as much as I do! Be sure to use my great First Line Friday graphic and leave me a comment so I can read your blog! I'm not the only one with a meme celebrating first lines... Becky at Page Turners at http://pageturnersbooks.blogspot.com/ hosts Book Beginnings... check her blog, too.

"St. Louis
Gabriella's Journal
5 April 1846 1st Entry
This morning I watched my fiancé kill a French nobleman."
Gabriella
Earl Murray
This first line is precisely why I adore first lines! How can you not want to read this book?!? I've never even heard of this author but, unless this novel falls really flat, I'll read more by him... just based on this first line. Many scenarios come to mind when I read this... is it murder? Is it self-defense? Did the fiancé kill for her honor? Who is the nobleman? Is his title the reason why he was killed?

I found this novel at The Friends of the Library bookstore. I always stop there right after I pick up my holds. The cover of this book caught my eye. It is perfectly reminiscent of the West. Lately, I have thought that I'd like to read a "western". I was thinking about Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey but this novel might suffice for now.


Today, I carried blue faux-suede bag to lunch with a group of friends. We really don't see each other much, as a group, any more. It seems as our kids get older... they're all in sixth grade... we're not walking them to and from class. It used to be a lot easier to take the conversation from the school parking lot to a nearby coffee shop. My friend, B, has kind of moved away. She and her kids moved to another city for her job while her husband has stayed in our neighborhood for his job. B comes back about once a month so we do see her. They choice-enrolled their daughter at the school that J attends and that M will attend in the fall. She was accepted and took the placement tests yesterday. So, of course, the lunch conversation revolved around our hopes that they will move back and her daughter will go to school with M. Not only will they both get a great education but B will be here permanently and maybe we'll get together more often.

So, are you Book Blog hopping? I have found some really cool blogs! It seems like there are a lot of blogs that focus on young adult novels. At first, I wasn't really interested in the reviews... although I love other aspects of their blogs, then I noticed titles that M was interested in. We love our librarian, A. If I have some concerns about a book that M wants to read, I'll ask her opinion. She knows M very well and will honestly let me know if it's appropriate for her. Reading these blogs that "specialize" in YA novels is just another tool to help me guide her reading choices. To think... I probably would not have read those blogs had I not been part of the Book Blog Hop.