Discussion: Hooked Right from the Start

[neonpossibilities]

I just started a book I had in my reading list for a while and this is the very first paragraph:

The monk heard that a ship had arrived carrying one of the dog-headed people whom travelers speak of when they tell tall tales of the one-eyed and the winged, and he went out to the docks to see if it was true. This is how he first laid eyes on the relic thief; this is how the voyage to steal the corpse of Saint Nicholas began.

The book is "Nicked" by M. T. Anderson and I was immediately sucked into the story!

Did you ever read a book that grabbed your interest right from the first few lines/chapter? Or, on the other hand, were there any books you found boring and uninteresting at the beginning that revealed their potential later on?

Comments

[matsushima]

I'm not one of those people who feels like I have to finish every book I start, so if a book doesn't catch my fancy pretty quick, I'll probably drop it…

… but the opening line that sticks in my head - literal decades since the last time I read it - is from Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick: I never had a brain until Freak came along and let me borrow his for awhile, and that's the truth, the whole truth. The unvanquished truth, is how Freak would say it… (I looked it up to confirm the punctuation and I remembered it word for word, all of these years later.)

The book I initially struggled to get into but absolutely adored is The Golden Compass because I was 12 or so and confused and impatient for the narrator to explain what a dæmon is. I'm glad I stuck it out!

[neonpossibilities]

I used to be, then I realized life is too boring (and my TBR is too long) to read books I don't like ;3

Oh, that is a great opening, no wonder it stuck with you! :D

I loved His Dark Materials, although I first read it many moons ago so I can't remember if I was immediately into it or if it was more of a slow burn. What I do remember was me closing the last book and staring into space for quite some time, thinking some part of me had been rewritten entirely. I was a very dramatic teenager, can you tell? xD

[zenigotchas]

Lots of times.

Based off recent additions to my reading log, I would say the recent ones I've been reading have had really good beginnings. Maybe not always because they have lovely hooks, but because the pacing was good or because they introduced the topic/theme(s) of the story really well (including Spawn despite its many struggles in other parts of the writing department). But if I had to name some favorites:
-The original Getter Robo (Starts off with violence that seems senseless at first but then ends up establishing our main protagonist's personality and the overarching themes of the story)
-Sonic The Comic (Just does a good job establishing the worldbuild/lore and the protagonist's personality)
-Most of the Junji Ito manga I've read (I also think the art itself is a good introduction to his twisted worlds. A Father's Love has a very strong opening)
-The Killing Joke (it's cold, it's silent, it tells you what's going on, you understand the tone and mood. All without any exposition)
-In general I think a lot of the horror/dark/creepy stuff I like tends to have very strong beginnings (but you HAVE to have strong beginnings in stories like that since you're trying to ease them into the anxiety filled atmosphere of death).
There's probably more but this is off the top of my head.

I am not someone who really enjoys finishing a book out of the hope that it gets more interesting? I drop stuff that seems unpleasant within the first few chapters. Hell the times I've tried to hold out often blew up in my face and I felt I had wasted my time and should've tapped out the moment I realized I wasn't enjoy it at the start.

If I get spoiled and discover it heads into a direction I like then MAYBE I might return to it. But for me the beginning is super important for giving me a good reason to want to keep reading. And I probably wouldn't rec that book to someone on the basis of "it gets better, you just have to be patient." To me that has always felt more like an excuse for boring/poor begginings, personally.

[neonpossibilities]

you HAVE to have strong beginnings in stories like that since you're trying to ease them into the anxiety filled atmosphere of death

That's a very good point, the setting and the mood are everything!

Hell the times I've tried to hold out often blew up in my face

Oof, me too /o\ I can confirm that there were so many boring books that stayed boring or took a dive for the worst. I find that for books, sticking to them in the hope they'll improve will only lead to disappointment!

[silversea]

A weak beginning isn't completely detrimental to me, and I'm willing to keep reading, just much slower. That being said, if a book doesn't grab my interest by the 25-40% mark, I'll drop the book.

Gideon the Ninth's opening was rather memorable and hooked me in immediately. Gideon's narration is so distinctive and fun, setting up her character very well.

As much as I love The Spear Cuts Through Water, it admittedly took me a few attempts to get through the beginning. There's quite a lot of worldbuilding, the narration is different from what I'm used to, and I was preoccupied with other things when I first read it. I did like the beginning, it just demanded more attention than what I had at the time. When I finally came back and read it earlier this year, I was thrilled to love it.

Here's the thing though, I liked the beginning, I just recognized it wasn't the best time for me to read. If I didn't like the beginning, I don't think I would have bothered trying again at all.

[neonpossibilities]

Gideon definitely hooked me right up, mostly in a "WTF am I reading?" way. I just had to know what was going on!

I just recognized it wasn't the best time for me to read

I really feel that! There's a nonfiction book I've been wanting to read for a while, "Pigeons" by Andrew D. Blechman. I love animals and learning about them, so it seems like it would be the perfect book for me! Alas, I started it a month or two ago and my brain just would not let me enjoy it. In the end I gave up and shelved in for later. I know there will come a time when I'll enjoy this, but not right now.