Best Last Lines

“The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” – James Bryce

I was recently a guest at Karen Cioffi – Writing for Children where I blogged about first lines in books for children. Previously I’d written a post about Best First Lines in Novels. Talking about first lines made me wonder if there were any lists for the best last lines in novels. I’m happy to say I found several.

The following are some of my favorites. I selected them because they were fun, famous or sounded like a good first line making me want to read the book.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

He loved Big Brother. – 1984 by George Orwell

I don’t hate it he thought, panting in the cold air, the iron New England dark; I don’t. I don’t! I don’t hate it! I don’t hate it! - Absalom, Absalom! By William Faulkner

It was the nightmare of real things, the fallen wonder of the world. The Names by Don DeLille

Go, my book, and help destroy the world as it is. Continental Drift by Russell Banks

YOU HAVE FALLEN INTO ART – RETURN TO LIFE – Willie Masters’ Lonesome Wife by William H. Gass

The knife came down, missing him by inches, and he took off. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

P.S. Sorry I forgot to give you the mayonnaise. Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan

“Terminal.” The End of the Road by John Barth

He waited for someone to tell him who to be next. The Open Curtain by Brian Evenson

This is the difference between this and that. A Novel of Thank You by Gertrude Stein

So I mean listen I got this neat idea hey, you listening? Hey? You listening…? J R by William Gaddis

I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath, and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers, for the sleepers in that quiet earth. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

I have to toss in one from a children’s book.

But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing. The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne

If you’d like to read more last lines, Best Last Line from Famous Books at docstoc.com lists lines from 100 books and lastlines at saidwhat.com are two of the best sources I found.

Does your novel have a great last line? If so, I’d love to hear it. Do you have a favorite last line from a novel you’ve read? Would a good last line make you want to read a novel you haven't read before?

I hope you can stop by next Monday (5/10) when guest blogger L. Diane Wolfe will be talking about types of burnout (writer burnout, promoting burnout), how to avoid and how to deal with it. Diane is an accomplished speaker and author. Her books are Overcoming Obstacles with Spunk! and The Circle of Friends series. The fifth book in the series, Heather was recently released, so I have a feeling this is a topic Diane has been dealing with lately. To find out more about Diane, visit Spunk on a Stick blog and website and come back next week.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Tags: James Bryce, first lines, last lines , Faulkner, Wuthering Heights, Orwell, Dickens, Gaddis, L. Diane Wolfe,

New Read or Reread?

“Rereading, we find a new book.” – Mason Cooley

My wonderful sister, who knows how I panic over coming up with blog ideas, recently forwarded me a Dear Book Lover column by Cynthia Crossen in the Wall Street Journal. It featured a letter from a woman who liked to read the same novels over and over. The woman seemed a bit apologetic about it.

The article states: “And Nabokov wrote, "When we read a book for the first time the very process of laboriously moving our eyes from left to right, line after line, page after page, this complicated physical work upon the book, this stands between us and artistic appreciation."

I’m embarrassed to admit I can’t think of a book I’ve reread (with two exceptions). My own manuscripts are exceptions because the editing process makes rereading a gazillion times mandatory. The children’s books that I’ve read aloud, first to my daughter and then to my grandson, are another exception.

The article goes on to say: “In praise of rereading in the New York Review of Books, Larry McMurtry wrote, "Reversal of fortune can, I suspect, be a spur to rereading; where once one had read for adventure, now one rereads for the safety of the unvarying text."

Looking over the books on my shelves, I spot books that I thoroughly enjoyed and may even appreciate more the second or third time through. But these same shelves also contain many books I haven’t had the opportunity to read yet. Those books look more enticing to me because I don’t know how they end. Besides the books on my shelves, I have a long list of other books I want to buy to read, plus there are new releases daily. In other words, so many books and so little time.

I agree with Ms. Crossen when she says: “If rereading enriches, however, it also lacks the thrill of the chase, the feeling of being mugged by the writer and forcibly hauled into a previously unimaginable world.”

According to an article I found from the American Library Association, the most reread books were (Sorry, the most recent survey I found was from 2004, but my research was limited by some very important factors, such as the rapidly approaching happy hour.):

J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Shakespeare's collected works
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter series
Laura Ingalls Wilder - Little House on the Prairie series
A.A. Milne - Winnie the Pooh
Alice Walker - The Color Purple

What about you? Are you a one-time reader or a rereader? What books do you reread?

Thanks for stopping by,


Tags: Mason Cooley, Wall Street Journal, Nabokov, McMurtry, Tolkien, Rowling, Dickens,

Paraskavedekatriaphobia Anybody?

"Superstitions are habits rather than beliefs." - Marlene Dietrich

Are you paraskavedekatriaphobic? If so, you are not alone. It has been reported that more than 60 million people worldwide suffer from the morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13. Convincing these sufferers that their superstition is a habit may be impossible. Some of these people are unable to get out of bed on this day, much less drive a car or work.

Every year has at least one and at most three Friday the 13ths. A month that begins with a Sunday will always have a Friday the 13th in it. There will be three in 2009—February, March and November.

The cost of absenteeism, travel cancellations for planes and trains, and reduced shopping on this day is around a billion dollars in America. A British study concluded that even though there were less cars on the road on Friday the 13th (as compared with other Fridays) more accidents were reported.

Do you alter your schedule on Friday the 13th? Or do you have any superstitious habits like the following writers?

Isabel Allende began writing her first published book on January 8, so that’s the day she has started all subsequent books.

Alexandre Dumas, the elder, ate an apple at 7 a.m. each morning under the Arc de Triomphe.

Bharati Mukherjee will not leave the house if someone sneezes just as she's getting ready to leave and she doesn't cut her nails on certain days of the week.

Stephen King goes through these motions when he sits down to write; "I have a glass of water or I have a cup of tea. I have my vitamin pill I have my music; I have my same seat; and the papers are all arranged in the same places."

Charles Dickens walked twenty to thirty miles a day. He also placed objects on his desk in exactly the same position, always set his bed in north/south directions, and touched certain objects three times for luck.

To read more about the origins and legends of Friday the 13th visit About.com.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: Dietrich, Roosevelt, Allende, Dumas, Mukherjee, Stephen King, Dickens, Friday 13, Paraskavedekatriaphobia ,

Best Times or Worst for Authors May Depend on Who You Are

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” - Charles Dickens


According to an article I recently read online, Best and worst times for book business, the days of growing an audience for emerging writers over several books may be a thing of the past. If books don’t start out at the top of the best-seller list, they’re deemed failures.

Evidently one major publishing house is temporarily not acquiring new manuscripts in an attempt to stay afloat. Yet another, that represents some of the biggest commercial authors around, is giving bonuses to every employee equal to a week’s salary, in addition to regular bonuses.

Ester Newberg, a literary agent representing some blockbuster authors says, “It is seriously going to be a time for known commodities. I would hate to be starting out in the business.”

So much for my timing!

Although this is certainly is discouraging news to authors like myself, I can’t help but feel fortunate that I found a publisher who is still willing to take a chance on “unknown commodities.” Thank you, ArcheBooks!

In an attempt to change my status from unknown to known, I’ll be doing a book signing for The Ride at Barnes and Noble, 4010 South Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, Florida, on Saturday, December 6, 2008, beginning at 3:00pm. If you will be in the area, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello. Or, if you have friends or family in the area, please pass the word along. Remember books make great gifts and this is the holiday season.

Thanks for stopping by.



Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Dickens, Barnes and Noble, book signing, best-seller list,