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The ReadDown

Captivating First Sentences of the 21st Century

We searched our library for awesome stories with riveting first sentences.

  1. 1
    His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (Book 3) Book Cover Picture
    His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (Book 3) Book Cover Picture
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    The Amber Spyglass

    by Philip Pullman

    “In a valley shaded with rhododendrons, close to the snow line, where a stream milky with meltwater splashed and where doves and linnets flew among the immense pines, lay a cave, half-hidden by the crag above and the stiff heavy leaves that clustered below.”
    His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (Book 3) Book Cover Picture
    His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (Book 3) Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $8.99

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  2. 2
    The Blind Assassin Book Cover Picture
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    The Blind Assassin

    by Margaret Atwood

    “Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.”
    The Blind Assassin Book Cover Picture
    The Blind Assassin Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $18.00

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  3. 3
    Atonement Book Cover Picture
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    Atonement

    by Ian McEwan

    “The play—for which Briony had designed the posters, programs, and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper—was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch.”
    Atonement Book Cover Picture
    Atonement Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $25.00

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  4. 4
    The Cloud Atlas Book Cover Picture
    The Cloud Atlas Book Cover Picture
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    Cloud Atlas

    by Liam Callanan

    “Beyond the Indian hamlet, upon a forlorn, strand, I happened on a trail of recent footprints.”
    The Cloud Atlas Book Cover Picture
    The Cloud Atlas Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $17.00

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  5. 5
    The Shadow of the Wind Book Cover Picture
    The Shadow of the Wind Book Cover Picture
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    The Shadow of the Wind

    by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

    “I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time.”
    The Shadow of the Wind Book Cover Picture
    The Shadow of the Wind Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $34.00

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  6. 6
    The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Book Cover Picture
    The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Book Cover Picture
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    The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

    by Junot Díaz

    “They say it came first from Africa, carried in the screams of the enslaved; that it was the death bane of the Tainos, uttered just as one world perished and another began; that it was a demon drawn into Creation through the nightmare door that was cracked open in the Antilles.”
    The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Book Cover Picture
    The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $17.00

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  7. 7
    Dead Until Dark Book Cover Picture
    Dead Until Dark Book Cover Picture
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    Dead Until Dark

    by Charlaine Harris

    “I’d been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar.”
    Dead Until Dark Book Cover Picture
    Dead Until Dark Book Cover Picture
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    Mass Market Paperback
    $8.99

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  8. 8
    The Slap Book Cover Picture
    The Slap Book Cover Picture
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    The Slap

    by Christos Tsiolkas

    “One September evening when Walter Lasher returned from the city after a hard day’s work and was walking to his car in the station parking lot, a man stepped out from between two cars, walked up to him, and slapped him hard in the face.”
    The Slap Book Cover Picture
    The Slap Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $17.00

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  9. 9
    Ready Player One Book Cover Picture
    Ready Player One Book Cover Picture
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    Ready Player One

    by Ernest Cline

    “Everyone my age remembers where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest.”
    Ready Player One Book Cover Picture
    Ready Player One Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $17.00

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  10. 10
    Penguin Minis: The Fault in Our Stars Book Cover Picture
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    The Fault in Our Stars

    by John Green

    “Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.”
    Penguin Minis: The Fault in Our Stars Book Cover Picture
    Penguin Minis: The Fault in Our Stars Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $12.00

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  11. 11
    The Boys in the Boat Book Cover Picture
    The Boys in the Boat Book Cover Picture
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    The Boys in the Boat

    by Daniel James Brown

    “This book was born on a cold, drizzly, late spring day when I clambered over the spit-rail cedar fence that surrounds my pasture and made my way through wet woods to the modest frame house where Joe Rantz lay dying.”
    The Boys in the Boat Book Cover Picture
    The Boys in the Boat Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $18.00

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  12. 12
    Origin Book Cover Picture
    Origin Book Cover Picture
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    Origin

    by Jessica Khoury

    “I’m told that the day I was born, Uncle Paolo held me against his white lab coat and whispered, ‘She is perfect.'”
    Origin Book Cover Picture
    Origin Book Cover Picture
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  13. 13
    Redeployment Book Cover Picture
    Redeployment Book Cover Picture
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    Redeployment

    by Phil Klay

    “We shot dogs.”
    Redeployment Book Cover Picture
    Redeployment Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $16.00

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  14. 14
    Station Eleven (Television Tie-in) Book Cover Picture
    Station Eleven (Television Tie-in) Book Cover Picture
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    Station Eleven

    by Emily St. John Mandel

    “Jeevan’s understanding of disaster preparedness was based entirely on action movies, but on the other hand, he’d seen a lot of action movies.”
    Station Eleven (Television Tie-in) Book Cover Picture
    Station Eleven (Television Tie-in) Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $16.95

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  15. 15
    The Martian Book Cover Picture
    The Martian Book Cover Picture
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    The Martian

    by Andy Weir

    “I’m pretty much fucked.”
    The Martian Book Cover Picture
    The Martian Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $17.00

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