The First, and Sometimes the Last…
Do you have a favorite first line of a book? Many of us know “Call me Ishmael” from Melville’s Moby Dick. Great first lines help pull a reader into a story. With millions of books published every year, how do the books you read land in your hands? Do you only read from the best sellers list? Maybe you rely on your neighbors’ recommendations; or maybe the local librarian or book store employee. How often do you try to find your “own” next great read?
I took classes with a great creative writer professor during my undergrad days. She laid out some simple structures for writing; “show, don’t tell,” and “grab them with a great first line”. Since then, I use the first sentence as a guide when choosing a book. Sometimes the first sentence is the last sentence I read in a book. Other times, great times, I finish the book to find a great last line.
As I started thinking on this, I wondered, what are some great first lines of a book that you still remember? Could you name the title of a book based on its first line? Maybe you need the first and last line. For fun, I’ll be posting to the Library’s Facebook the first and last lines of random books. Specifically, random books from the adult fiction section of Merrill Memorial Library. Some of the books may come from the New Fiction display, some may come from the bottom shelf in the Adult Fiction room. Follow along once a week and see if you can figure out the title of the book from the first and last lines. Maybe you will find your next great read.
-Andi
Staff Picks
Finally, New Music from Peter Gabriel
Talk to me long enough and you will learn that my absolute favorite musician is Peter Gabriel. He can be a difficult artist to be a fan of since he releases such little new music these days. In fact, he hasn’t had a proper album release since 2002 with the release of Up. Much like George R.R. Martin, it seems like every year there is a rumor that this is the year we will get the new album.
2023 is the year I/O will actually happen for real it seems, and even though I adore his music, I have mixed feelings. I may have overstated that he hasn’t released new music in 20 years. There have been new albums of covers, and greatest hits, and music, written for films, but none have had the quality of his main body of work. Admittedly, I’ve been quite disappointed with these releases so with a true album being finally released I’m feeling anxious to hear if a new studio album has the quality I know and love, or if, like many other rockers of his era, his creative genius has merely peaked and I’m left holding him to an unrealistic standard.
In this era of the music industry, Peter Gabriel has also decided to experiment with how this next album will be released and once again I find myself having mixed feelings. He will be releasing one track each month on the full moon. No longer bound to the need to release a physical product, he can easily accomplish this by making a new song available on streaming platforms each month. I support the artistic vision here, but I grew up loving whole albums as a work of art, so it does feel a little bit of a let down that I’ll be getting the music piecemeal and will be robbed of the experience of delving into the music in my preferred fashion.
So far he has released two tracks, and unexpectedly, he seems to be releasing two different versions of each track: a bright side mix, and a dark side mix. Analyzing why one is dark and the other is bright has been quite intriguing. In general, the music has been of a better quality than what has been released in the past two decades–so that is a relief. I do have some nitpicky quibbles, but I think it probably stems from my irritation that I have to wait a month in between tracks. Having waited so long for new music from him it is hard not to be overly critical.
Any other Peter Gabriel fans out there? If you haven’t heard either of these new tracks off of I/O, Peter Gabriel has made them readily available on YouTube. I’d love to hear anyone else’s reactions to his latest project, or, similarly, if you have thoughts on your reaction to a long awaited release from one of your favorite artists.
-Ben
