It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: The Best (?) from the Bulwer-Lytton Contest
Scott Rice

This was just a really fun book compiled of entries from the Bulwer-Lytton contests held in 1983 and 1984. Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) was the author to first use the opening sentence, "It was a dark and stormy night." It really isn't bad, except that is the only part of the sentence anyone can actually remember. The rest of the sentence, like the rest of his writings, is sub par to say the least. As a fun way to get creative, San Jose State University created this contest to see who could write the best-worst first sentence. This book is the result of that contest. Some books I read because I like reading stories about other people's lives, made up or real. Other books I read because I truly want to learn more on the subject. But this book was just different. Very fast to read and very entertaining. It was like reading a bloopers reel.