Opening Lines

I've been thinking lately about opening lines of novels.  It started with picking up A Tale of Two Cities, with the famous, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of time . . ."  (We usually quote that part, but the first sentence - being Dickens - goes on for the first paragraph.)  I believe a first sentence is every bit as important as a good plot.

The first line can intrigue you: "I never knew dying would feel this way" or "Jak couldn't remember for sure, but he didn't think potatoes tasted this way on earth, or for that matter they weren't pink either." or "If I could only quiet my breathing, maybe he wouldn't find me."  First lines can foretell endings: "Who knew that I, who hated children, would end up the loving mother of ten." or "A firing squad seems a fitting end, even if I don't want to die." or "I never would have known that an olive branch would mean so much."  (Okay so, that last one wasn't a story I made up.)

I realize that I'm going about picking books all wrong.  I read the jacket cover; I'm even intrigued by titles.  But I think I'm going to start opening to that first page and checking out the first line.  Did this author care enough to capture my interest in one sentence?  I hope in the future I'll be able to do that for you.