Probably the hardest part about writing a book is how to start a story in the first place. Though there are many advises from professional editors and famous writers themselves, it is still the most crucial part where your literary genius must shine.

It's often said that a book shouldn't be judged by its cover, but what about its opening lines? The beginning of it carries the daunting task of hooking the prospective reader in and has a very brief window of time to do so. And with so many books to read, the competition between them is wast. Having that in mind, we've rounded up the first lines of some of the world's most famous books, and they stand as excellent examples of how a short sentence or two can set the tone for an entire story - and define its legacy for decades to come.

Scroll through each poignant piece of literary genius and most known book quotes below in our list. Be sure to let us know which must-read books have you read. And if you haven't laid your eyes on any of these best books to read, you will definitely pick your next read here.

#1

'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy' By Douglas Adams

'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy' By Douglas Adams

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Jeremie Guerra
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A true must read :) Specially if you want to know the answer to life, universe and everything ^^

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#2

'The Martian' By Andy Weir

'The Martian' By Andy Weir

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John L
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Great novel! And yes, it was better than the movie, because you are able to get inside Mark Watney's brain.

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#3

'Fahrenheit 451' By Ray Bradbury

'Fahrenheit 451' By Ray Bradbury

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John L
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a huge SciFi reader, but never could get interested in him for some reason. I've always been an H. Beam Piper sort of fellow. ;D

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#4

'1984' By George Orwell

'1984' By George Orwell

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John L
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To this day I'm still trying to decide which is most depressing; this one or "Brave New World".

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#5

'Anna Karenina' By Leo Tolstoy

'Anna Karenina' By Leo Tolstoy

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Nancy E
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I loved this book & even though I tend to be an optimist, I've read a lot of dark Russian literature

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#6

'The Great Gatsby' By F. Scott Fitzgerald

'The Great Gatsby' By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Wanda Queen
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can think of a few people right now who would do well to remember the same.

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#7

'Middlesex' By Jeffrey Eugenides

'Middlesex' By Jeffrey Eugenides

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Master Markus
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember hearing this line, getting interested, and then hearing a summary and being less interested for some reason.

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#8

'The Go-Between' By L.P. Hartley

'The Go-Between' By L.P. Hartley

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#9

'The Princess Bride' By William Goldman

'The Princess Bride' By William Goldman

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#10

'The Crow Road' By Iain Banks

'The Crow Road' By Iain Banks

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John L
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let's hope and pray it was meant figuratively and not literally. 😱

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#11

'Pride And Prejudice' By Jane Austen

'Pride And Prejudice' By Jane Austen

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#12

'Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone' By J.K. Rowling

'Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone' By J.K. Rowling

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KK
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That "thank you very much" sells it and hooked me from the frist sentence.

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#13

'A Tale Of Two Cities' By Charles Dickens

'A Tale Of Two Cities' By Charles Dickens

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Charm Valenzuela
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"looking to the LEFT because you never treated me right... Looking to the RIGHT because you left me...looking DOWN because you messed me up... looking UP because you let me down...

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#14

'Peter Pan' By J.M. Barrie

'Peter Pan' By J.M. Barrie

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Yugan Talovich
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All children, except one, grow up, and now he's President, so help us.

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#15

'The Metamorphosis' By Franz Kafka

'The Metamorphosis' By Franz Kafka

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Beth Arriaga
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This book was, like so many on this list, much better the second time I read them, as an adult and not for an assignment in school!

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#16

'Their Eyes Were Watching God' By Zora Neale Hurston

'Their Eyes Were Watching God' By Zora Neale Hurston

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#17

'A Frolic Of His Own' By William Gaddis

'A Frolic Of His Own' By William Gaddis

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#18

'Howl's Moving Castle' By Diana Wynne Jones

'Howl's Moving Castle' By Diana Wynne Jones

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Raluca Neacsu
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ive read this! I really really enjoyed it. The only similarity to the film is at the beginning, the introduction. The book itself is simply a whole new world. Its hard to explain but the best i can do is say it was simply the best, it made me feel like a child again

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#19

'Slaughterhouse-Five' By Kurt Vonnegut

'Slaughterhouse-Five' By Kurt Vonnegut

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#20

'The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe' By Douglas Adams

'The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe' By Douglas Adams

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Lyndsay B
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."

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#21

'The Hobbit' By J.R.R. Tolkien

'The Hobbit' By J.R.R. Tolkien

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Evie Heaven
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cannot stand what they made in the movies from this series.

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#22

'The Catcher In The Rye' By J.D. Salinger

'The Catcher In The Rye' By J.D. Salinger

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Master Markus
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This book was one I hated when I was a teenager, but then laughed about when I was an adult.

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#23

'Back When We Were Grownups' By Anne Tyler

'Back When We Were Grownups' By Anne Tyler

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Nadine Hughey
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love Anne Tyler, in spite of the lumps in the throat!

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#24

'Waiting' By Ha Jin

'Waiting' By Ha Jin

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#25

'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' By Lewis Carroll

'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' By Lewis Carroll

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Master Markus
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a big volume of all of the Wonderland stories and poems, they've been some of my favourites since childhood.

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#26

'The Color Purple' By Alice Walker

'The Color Purple' By Alice Walker

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Juley Goodwin
Community Member
2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everybody should read this book. It stays with you

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#27

'Lolita' By Vladimir Nabokov

'Lolita' By Vladimir Nabokov

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Adriana E. Henricy
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Its so amazing how people believe its about love when its about pedophilia and abuse :/

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#28

'One Hundred Years Of Solitude' By Gabriel García Márquez

'One Hundred Years Of Solitude' By Gabriel García Márquez

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Beth Arriaga
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Love in Time of Cholera by him was even better - amazing author

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#29

'Middle Passage' By Charles R. Johnson

'Middle Passage' By Charles R. Johnson

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Cleo Pindar
Community Member
4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

:D "Cherchez la femme," as we say in French: "look for the woman," when there is trouble with a man. (Meaning, look for the woman he is trying to impress.)

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#30

'Scaramouche: A Romance Of The French Revolution' By Rafael Sabatini

'Scaramouche: A Romance Of The French Revolution' By Rafael Sabatini

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#31

'Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale' By Herman Melville

'Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale' By Herman Melville

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Sick Boy
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Should've started with: "Call me crazy, but this book is brimming with descriptions that mask the simplistic storyline."

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#32

'Chromos' By Felipe Alfau

'Chromos' By Felipe Alfau

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HauntedForests
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

With so many rules that apply to grammar and pronunciation, absolutely.

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#33

'Tracks' By Robyn Davidson

'Tracks' By Robyn Davidson

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Dawn Lemirand-Poepping
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Are you sure this isn't the first line to Tracks by Louise Erdrich?

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#34

'David Copperfield' By Charles Dickens

'David Copperfield' By Charles Dickens

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Sick Boy
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ladies and gentlemen, Charles "the Destitute Porn" Dickens...

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#35

'Notes From Underground' By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

'Notes From Underground' By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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#36

'The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' By Laurence Sterne

'The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' By Laurence Sterne

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#37

'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea' By Jules Verne

'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea' By Jules Verne

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John L
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read this in grade school, and was mesmerized by it at the time. I'm almost afraid to give it a go once more, because I may be disappointed.

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#38

'The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn' By Mark Twain

'The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn' By Mark Twain

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John L
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My teacher read both "Tom Sawyer" and this one to the class, and we all loved it. As I grew older, I read them personally, and still can't make up my mind which of the two I like best. It must be the "Rugged Individualism" in Mr. Clemens that I found so appealing, and is probably why I am such an H.Beam Piper follower.

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#39

'Charlotte's Web' By E.B. White

'Charlotte's Web' By E.B. White

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Nancy E
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of my all time favorite children's books. I'm not ashamed to say that I boo-hooed through the movie either.

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#40

'Goodbye To Berlin' By Christopher Isherwood

'Goodbye To Berlin' By Christopher Isherwood

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#41

'Breakfast Of Champions' By Kurt Vonnegut

'Breakfast Of Champions' By Kurt Vonnegut

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Doc Thissen
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This book was my introduction to Kurt Vonnegut.

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#42

'The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader' By C. S. Lewis

'The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader' By C. S. Lewis

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#43

'The Trial' By Franz Kafka

'The Trial' By Franz Kafka

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Sick Boy
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is one of those that stood the test of time bloody well.

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#44

'Don Quixote' By Miguel De Cervantes

'Don Quixote' By Miguel De Cervantes

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Nancy E
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah, who else would tilt at windmills. Good book !

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#45

'Gone With The Wind' By Margaret Mitchell

'Gone With The Wind' By Margaret Mitchell

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Nancy E
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Loved the book & didn't find it a snooze at all !

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#46

'Murphy' By Samuel Beckett

'Murphy' By Samuel Beckett

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Iapetos
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah Samuel Beckett, master of insignificance.

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#47

'The Stranger' By Albert Camus

'The Stranger' By Albert Camus

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Pol Macqueron
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait for the rest of it. "Or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure." Incredible start!

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#48

'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' By Ken Kesey

'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' By Ken Kesey

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Master Markus
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a great book. I really do like the movie, but the book is from the perspective of Chief Bromden, whom I consider much more interesting than McMurphy.

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#49

'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas' By Hunter S. Thompson

'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas' By Hunter S. Thompson

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#50

'Neuromancer' By William Gibson

'Neuromancer' By William Gibson

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Daria B
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of my all-time favorites. I remember I loved this book from the very first sentence.

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#51

'The Bell Jar' By Sylvia Plath

'The Bell Jar' By Sylvia Plath

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#52

'2001: A Space Odyssey' By Arthur C. Clarke

'2001: A Space Odyssey' By Arthur C. Clarke

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John L
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once upon a time, growing up, I read a short story "The Star". It made such an impression on me that I just had to read more Clarke. I couldn't find 2001 at the time, but did locate "The City and the Stars", and "Rendezvous with Rama". By the time I managed to get a copy of 2001, I was already mesmerized by O'Neil Cylinders, and this work was a little bit of a put-down. His dry English prose may have been the reason why.

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#53

'Paradise' By Toni Morrison

'Paradise' By Toni Morrison

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#54

'Jane Eyre' By Charlotte Brontë

'Jane Eyre' By Charlotte Brontë

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#55

'The Outsiders' By S.E. Hinton

'The Outsiders' By S.E. Hinton

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#56

'A Clockwork Orange' By Anthony Burgess

'A Clockwork Orange' By Anthony Burgess

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cybersandwitch
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Love this book. Had to read it three times to understand it, but well worth it.

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#57

'The End Of The Affair' By Graham Greene

'The End Of The Affair' By Graham Greene