From One Book Lover

I am seeing the author and illustrator of my favorite book ever.  At one of my favorite bookstores ever.  With Carole. Okay, breathe.  (Which is more than I did when I saw the writing on the wall.) When Carole and I were in Politics and Prose for Sara Gruen's reading (more on that later), Carole sought a couple of Newbery Award -winning books for her collection in the children's book section.  (She found two of the rarer titles, which was a lovely addition to the evening.) As Carole stood at the cash register with her purchases in hand, my eye caught a sign on the wall behind the bookseller: Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer will be here at.... At that point, I stopped breathing and grabbed Carole's shoulder. "What?" Carole aske, alarmed.  (Normally I'm not speechless.) I pointed at the wall. The gasp Carole uttered was worthy of a Juster-Feiffer lover. The Phantom Tollbooth is my "desert island" book, and I keep extra copies on hand...

After reading Entertainment Weekly list of classic first lines of novels, I winced.  There were some old favorites, to be sure, and I was thrilled to see Neil Gaiman on the list.  Alas, there also were just as many tired titles crowding the shelf. It's like Rachel in the television series "Friends," who tells everyone her favorite movie is "The English Patient" but it's really "Weekend at Bernie's."  What if we all stood up and said, " Call me Ishmael is tired. Can we please retire it and replace it with another?" Okay, maybe not in the quiet of our local library.  But you get the picture. So, let me be the first to stand up and choose new first lines of novels to celebrate (and links to my reviews of those books). My father had a face that could stop a clock. — The Eyre Affair There once was a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself — not just sometimes, but always. — The Phantom Tollbooth The ...