Red Dragon, Book Opening Lines, and Friday Celebrations

Today is the August meeting of The Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a book club hosted by The Armchair Squid, and this is my first time participating in the group. The rules of the club are simple - post about the best book you've finished during the past month and visit other bloggers who are doing the same.

My choice for this month was an easy one. The best book I read in August was Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.

Red Dragon on Amazon

I know this book is old but I had never read it before, and I haven't seen either of the movies made from it. But I became totally addicted to the tv show Hannibal this summer and I wanted to read the book that inspired it.

Once I started this book I couldn't stop and I was turning pages well into the night until I came to the end. That was both a good and a bad thing, because when I took my dog Clancy outside in the dark after finishing the book I was scared to death when I heard footsteps in my parking lot. I froze and nearly had a heart attack, certain Hannibal Lecter was coming up behind me. Fortunately, the footsteps only belonged to one of my neighbors. :D

According to one of the reviews on Amazon, "if you haven't read [Red Dragon] you haven't had the creeps."

I definitely second that and now wish I had read this book years ago. I not only loved the book, I also got more addicted to the series after reading it. A big thumbs up from me.

Thanks to Armchair for giving me the heads-up about this monthly meeting!

In keeping with the book theme, my Friday Faves list for this week is five of my favorite book opening lines. These are in no particular order, except for this first one, which is my all-time favorite.

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." ~ 1984, George Orwell

 


"Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered that she had turned into the wrong person." ~ Back When We Were Grownups, Anne Tyler

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . ." ~ Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier




 
 

“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish aboard.” ~ Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston





 

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." ~ Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling






 
I have to say this was probably the hardest topic yet to narrow down to just five. I could easily have gone on all day.

Finally, Friday brings another round of the Celebrate the Small Things Bloghop, hosted by Vikki at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.

I'm celebrating that I have a long weekend thanks to the Labor Day holiday. The beginning of the new school year is always a stressful time at the college where I work and I am really looking forward to the break.

And speaking of the weekend, I'm celebrating the return of college football. Go Buckeyes! :)

Finally, I'm celebrating that we are heading into September and my favorite time of the year. I love autumn!

What are you celebrating? Did you read a book you particularly loved this past month? And what are your favorite book opening lines?

Happy weekend, all! :)