The 52 Book Club: 2025 / 2026 Challenge discussion

WEEKLY CHECK-IN
January 8, 2024 -- Week 2

We're starting WEEK 2/52 (our challenge week starts on Mondays this year). Every Monday, we'll post a fun discussion question about books, reading, or the challenge -- so feel free to chime in!

This week, we'd love to hear the very first line in the book you're currently reading. Did it hook you? Do you think first lines are important to a book?

Then take a look through the other comments and see which first lines most jump out to you!

Happy week two, everyone!

The first line of my book is "A crack echoed through the boreal landscape, a momentary chaos in the still afternoon air".

The first line in my book is "The man is dead." I was hooked by the end of the paragraph: "No drunk with any self-respect lies down next to a dog turd." I laughed out loud. Crude but effective.

“The afternoon holds the beautiful promise that it will soon be over.”

Yep, that a hook for me.

Gail W wrote: "The first line in my book is "The man is dead." I was hooked by the end of the paragraph: "No drunk with any self-respect lies down next to a dog turd." I laughed out loud. Crude but effective."

Please tell me what book this is—sounds great!

“Mrs. Peabody was hot and out of breath.”

I don’t usually pay special attention to the first line, unless it’s really an attention-getter. I generally already know I’m planning to keep reading, so it doesn’t have to really grab me.

"Our empire is fading." - Cake Eater by Allyson Dahlin
This line didn't hook me, but the description of the book had already done that, so I didn't really need a hook. I think those first lines are important, though, especially if the blurb isn't an overly descriptive one.

"It would probably shock the average American to learn just how little we know about those who go missing in the wilder parts of this great nation of ours."

Yes this hooked me and I do believe the first line is important. If I don't get hooked within the first couple of pages I tend to get bored.

I'm reading three books at the same time. The first lines are:

"This is the story of what a Woman’s patience can endure, and what a Man’s resolution can achieve."

"Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway."

"On the morning of the worst, most earth-shattering day of Ray McMillian’s life, he ordered room service: scrambled eggs for two, one side of regular bacon (for Nicole), one side of vegan sausage (for him), one coffee (for Nicole), one orange juice (for him)."

I think out of these the first one hooked me the most.

I'm reading multiple books. Here are 2:
Apeirogon: "The hills of Jerusalem are a bath of fog" (yes)
Bloomsbury Girls: "Evie Stone sat alone in her tiny bedsitter at the north end of Castle street, as far from the colleges a student could live and still be keeping term at Cambridge" (yes)

I would to see this question repeated throughout the year

"On the morning of the worst, most earth-shattering day of Ray McMillian's life, he ordered room service: scrambled eggs for two, one side of regular bacon (for Nicole), one side of vegan sausage (for him), one coffee (for Nicole), one orange juice (for him)."

When I began reading the book, it made me feel hungry and crave food, especially since it was my lunchtime. I believe that the first paragraph or chapter is more important than the first sentence. "No" can be a complete sentence, conveying much or nothing depending on context.

"This introduction is mandatory." It's from I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons.

If I hadn't been listening to the audiobook and hadn't heard Kevin Hart read this line, it probably wouldn't have hooked me. It's Kevin Hart, and for the most part he's entertaining. Hearing him say that first line made me laugh since he acted like it was serious, the whole point of the book is to spread humor - especially when it was getting started.

I'm not counting the quotes by famous people that start each new section. That said, my first sentence is "In my first memory, I am three years old and I am trying to kill my sister." It certainly did interest me.

"When they told him Lucinda Hayes was dead, Cameron thought of her shoulder blades and how they framed her naked spine, like a pair of static lungs."
-Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka

I love her writing style so much, I'm excited to read more from her.

"The lights go out." Not the most interesting line in the world, and the only reason I'm reading The Guest List by Lucy Foley is for a book club.

I was born without a voice, one cold, overcast day in Brooklyn, New York.

From Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum. Reading for a local book club is a heartbreaking novel about the Palestinian culture between the old country and the US.

I'm also reading a couple:
>"Theodosia Browning leaned back from the clutter of her antique wooden desk, balanced a bone china cup and saucer on one knee, and took a much-needed sip of Lung Ching tea."
>"'Mrs. Land worked as a computer out at Langley,' my father said, turning right out of the parking lot of the First Baptist Church in Hampton, Virginia."
>"Questions, always questions."

“I was born to be a wanderer.” Is the first sentence in the book I started today- Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle.

Can be used for
17 Nominated for a Booker Prize
24 A cover without people on it
28 A yellow spine
31 Includes a personal phobia (flying, plane crash)
41 A sticker on the cover

Kathi wrote: "Gail W wrote: "The first line in my book is "The man is dead." I was hooked by the end of the paragraph: "No drunk with any self-respect lies down next to a dog turd." I laughed out loud. Crude but..."

Kathi, it is Blind Goddess by Anne Holt, a translated work, first in a mystery series, from Norway. I really liked it.

"Plaire is not a wealthy town." from The Pleasing Hour by Lily King. I'll read any story she writes!

Gail W wrote: "Kathi, it is Blind Goddess by Anne Holt, a translated work, first in a mystery series, from Norway. I really liked it."

Thank you!

"From his perch atop the highest turret, Edward Statham, the Thirteenth Earl of Unsworth could see out across his domain--from the winding gardens and rolling parks to the lakes and woodlands beyond." - A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton

The first line doesn't always matter to me. Some hook me in, but a lot of times, it's something within the first chapter. For the book mentioned, the first line is okay, however this is the line that really is more of a hook. “I do not wish to disturb you, your lordship, but there is a body in the garden…”

The first line (excluding a quote from Dante’s Inferno at the start of the chapter) is :
“Do people remember the exact moment they fall in love?”

Interesting question, which definitely got me thinking.🤔
Title-Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan for Prompt 3-More than 40 chapters.

Question: I searched and couldn't find an answer... is there a specific shelf label everyone uses?
just finished my first book for the challenge.

Kristi—if you search under 2024 Challenge, there will be threads there for the individual prompts, along with the master list of prompts.

The first sentence of my current book is
“I came to the Palace because the man I sought kept a room there”

thanks Andrea! I have that. was just wondering if there was an actual "shelf" label for when you complete it. my book club shelves all our reads under "book club reads" so we can easily find which ones we've already done.

Kristi wrote: "thanks Andrea! I have that. was just wondering if there was an actual "shelf" label for when you complete it. my book club shelves all our reads under "book club reads" so we can easily find which ..."

We don't have an official one or a group one, we each just make our own since how the challenge is tracked is so individual. Mine's called "2024 the 52 book club".

I just finished listening to The Island by Elin Hilderbrand. Since I’m an audiobook girl, the favorite quote part of my reading journal is going to be a challenge all by itself. Now I’m reading The Editor by Steven Rowley.

Depending on whether you count the introduction or not the first line in my book is either
"Sweetgrass has just come into bloom at the edge of my pond, the first grass to flower and so mark its presence in the tangle of winter-brown thatch" or
"She fell like a maple seed, pirouetting on an autumn breeze."

"Every seven-year-old deserves a superhero." It didn't hook me, but it's a powerful statement for the rest of the story.

"Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barreled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone elses's forehead, and pulled the trigger."

First line from Beartown by Fredrik Backman.

Yes, I'm hooked.

Sherry wrote: ""Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barreled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone elses's forehead, and pulled the trigger."

First line from..."

I didn't mean to read this- but definitely sounds promising - will see :-)

I'm reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi:
"The night Effia Otcher was born into the musky heat of Fanteland, a fire raged through the woods just outside her father's compound."- raging fire while someone is coming to this world... it definitely hooked me:-)

The first line from my book was "The letter had been sent by a dead man. There was no doubt in my mind.
From the book At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities
I am reading it for prompt #5 Magical Realism. I don't know if I was hooked but it make me curious.

They’d driven all the way to Mr Styles’s house before Anna realized that her father was nervous. ~ from Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. This is a group read at my public library. Love Historical Fiction.

"Driving down the highway, James Alden pointed out the sign announcing the city of Rosedale to his four grandchildren, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny."
I love this series, so the first lines always hook me!

"Only three people were left under the red and white awning of the grease joint: Grady, me, and the fry cook." - from Water for Elephants

First lines are pretty important to me because they set the scene for the entire book. If it doesn't hook me right away I tend to enjoy the book less and take longer reading it. This one definitely hooked me. It gets me thinking about why the characters are there and doing what they're doing so of course I'm going to keep reading to get those answers.

"It would be inaccurate to say that my childhood was normal before they came."

First lines aren't very important to me. I've read books that have had a great first line, but if I get 30-50 pages in and I'm bored with the book, its unlikely that I'll finish it.

"Weyward is used in the First Folio edition of Macbeth. In later versions, Weyward was replaced by Weird" Weyward: A Novel by Emilia Hart.
It didn't hook me entirely but it sparked my interest alright. I like weird.
I do believe the opening of a book is where you can get a general idea of what you're dealing with.
I started the book on Monday and I'm about to finish it already.

"The small, boisterous cafes and roadhouses were just beginning to close as Saturday night reeled toward Sunday morning in the tiny Appalachian border town of Pound, Virginia."

Can't say it hooked me, but it's a long one! I think they can be important, but not make or break for me.

“On the cold, black night of March 31, 2007, my mother and I scrambled down the steep, rocky bank of the frozen Yalu River that divides North Korea and China.” —In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park

Uhm, no, I wouldn’t say this is exactly a riveting first sentence, as the premise of the book is about the author escaping. I usually try to reserve judgement through at least a few paragraphs to the end of the first page. As I start a new book, I find I have to adjust my reading to the new tone and writing style of a different author, a different story. Making a judgement call from a first sentence doesn’t really allow me to get a full feel for how the author writes. Plus, I’ve read some amazing first sentences that were followed up by lackluster tales.

"On August 12, 2000, Abby Morris, out of breath with sweat trickling down her temple, was hurrying down the gray ribbon of gravel road for her nightly walk" - The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf.

The fist line didn't really pull me into the book. I'm 83% finished with the book and realize that Abby has not been mention since page 3. Are we going to find out in the end that she is of some importance to the story? I'm also going to be upset if we don't find out what happened to the dog.

I am at the moment reading 3 books, one I started reading today.

1. "Mrs Frisby, a brown field mouse, hummed softly to herself as she folded her son Timothy's clothing: a sweater, a jacket, a red scarf."
Racso and the Rats of Nimh

Afer reading that first line, I read 6 chapters of it before reading some library books.

2. "Att skapa kontakt med lyssnarna har alltid varit en av radions kungstankar och många gånger har man förstått att därvidlag utnyttja lyssnarnas stora förmåga att uttrycka sej i brevform." Folkloristisk brevlåda: lyssnarbrev valda och kommenterade av Bengt af Klintberg

And the book I started today,
3. "Många i Sverige byter namn." Byta namn?

"Maybe it was that Cyrus had done the wrong drugs in the right order, or the right drugs in the wrong order, but when God finally spoke back to him after twenty-seven years of silence, what Cyrus wanted more than anything else was a do-over." Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

...and yes i was hooked.

All the Light We Cannot See

"At dusk they pour from the sky."

It did hook me because I wanted to know what was going on.

"In my almost eight years of matchmaking, there's one thing I know to be true: love is like the moon."

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen

I appreciate a great first line, but it's not completely necessary. The first PARAGRAPH better draw me in.

The first line in my current book is " I'll be your date to the wedding."

The Spanish Love Deception, and no, it didn't hook me. I dont think it's really important, BUT it's getting good.....

The first line of my book (Dead Until Dark) is "I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar". I think first lines are very important because they can instantly tell you what the book will be like, if it interests you, etc. However, a bad first line isn't a deal breaker for me. One of my favorite books (Stargirl) started off with "When I was little, my uncle Pete had a necktie with a porcupine painted on it." This line is so minuscule that it doesn't really give insight, and yet it is still one of my favorites.

I should say that the first line of Dead Until Dark didn't hook me automatically, but I did appreciate the info it provided. It somewhat prepared me for what to expect, without telling too much of the plot. It stayed simple. This is about vampires and the main character has wanted to meet one. Done. Short and sweet.

Dang, that was kind of long, sorry

"Most of human history is irreparably lost to us." (The Dawn of Everything)

Probably not many nonfiction books have gripping first lines. The last book I finished began with "Why is there so much poverty in America?" (Poverty by America)

I think the last time a first line sucked me in was "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board." (Their Eyes Were Watching God)

I recently read Their Eyes Were Watching God for my AP Literature class and I actually really enjoyed it. I still have mixed feelings over Tea Cake though.