Great first sentences in literature
As both a reader and a writer, I've come to appreciate the power of a truly excellent first sentence. I don't think it's a coincidence that some of the most memorable and best-loved books ever written have truly amazing first sentences. In many cases, you can name the book just from the power of those all-important opening words. Think of Melville's "Call Me Ishmael," or Dickens's "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Classic. Unforgettable. Here are fifteen of my very favorites. Trust me, every single one of these books lives up to the promise of that first sentence.

“The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia” by Laura Miller
I am nobody's skeptic. As a matter of fact, I consider myself very, if hardly conventionally, religious. That said, I read Salon co-founder Laura Miller's The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia with a constant grin on my face, as passage after passage made me cry out with delight, "friend!" Here is someone who seems to not only understand the love I felt for C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, a love that still endures very deeply in my heart, but also my love of stories and reading. Indeed, she helped me understand that love better, and by consequence, the person I am and the writer I want to be.

“European Romanticism: A Brief History with Documents” by Warren Breckman
Warren Breckman's European Romanticism: A Brief History with Documents takes an interesting approach: it allows readers to discover a topic as historians would, but reading through the actual documents of the period, including literature, essays, letters, and more. A fairly brief introduction—some forty pages—gives a very thorough overview and introduction. After that, the period is the reader's to explore.

“The Magicians” by Lev Grossman
When I first browsed through Lev Grossman's The Magicians at Blue Elephant Bookshop, I knew it was a book that was coming home with me. The jacket blurb promised a book for adults who, as young readers, had adored the Narnia, Oz, and Harry Potter stories, and books like T. H. White's The Once and Future King. And indeed, The Magicians draws liberally and lovingly from those sources. There is a magic school filled with eccentric professors and strange wonders, teaching by turning students into animals (as Merlyn does with the Wart in The Once and Future King), and even a hidden fantasy world accessed through a sleepy "between" wo

Grocery Items: Bacon and Tomato Sauce
When I titled the blog, I was still intending to review mostly books. But since I left the the door open, and since the weekend is the time for grocery shopping (otherwise, you miss the really long lines, and the fact that they're out of a lot of stuff), I'm going to pass along a few tips. Specifically, I highly recommend Dei Fratelli brand tomato sauce and Wright Brand Bacon for my bacon-eating friends.