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  1. Quote

    | 316 notes
    It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” The one everyone knows (and quotes). Parodied, spoofed, and misremembered, Austen’s celebrated zinger remains the archetypal First Line for an archetypal tale. Only Dickens comes close, with the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light etc…

    Jane Austen
    Pride and Prejudice (1813)

    The 10 best first lines in fiction

    Our guide to the greatest opening lines of novels in the English language, from Jane Austen to James Joyce

  4. Photo

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    Photographs of the year 2011 I took this during the 25 January revolution. It was just before sunset, so the light was good and the colours came out well. I went up to the roof of a building overlooking Tahrir square. More and more people were arriving and you could hear them chanting below. People were filled with revolutionary feeling, but it was a joyful, vibrant atmosphere; they were excited and I was happy to be part of that moment. I was completely in awe of their fervour Photograph: Mohammad Abd al-Razeq Abdullah al-Baba Abdullah al-Baba/AFP/Getty Images

    Photographs of the year 2011

    I took this during the 25 January revolution. It was just before sunset, so the light was good and the colours came out well. I went up to the roof of a building overlooking Tahrir square. More and more people were arriving and you could hear them chanting below. People were filled with revolutionary feeling, but it was a joyful, vibrant atmosphere; they were excited and I was happy to be part of that moment. I was completely in awe of their fervour Photograph: Mohammad Abd al-Razeq Abdullah al-Baba Abdullah al-Baba/AFP/Getty Images

  5. Link

    | 23 notes
    2012: What will make the news?

    But what will 2012 bring? Tell us your news predictions for the new year. Here are some things you might answer:

    • What will happen to the Eurozone? Will any member countries leave the Euro?
    • Who will win the Republican primaries in the US?
    • Will Usain Bolt take victory at the London Olympics? Who will take the honours at the Games?
    • Will we see a shift in party leaders in the UK political scene?
    • What films will be blockbuster successes next year and which will see Oscars glory?

  6. Links round up: The best of 2011

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    More and more lists of ‘the best’ of 2011 (and the worst!) are appearing in the build up to the New Year this weekend. As well as a crop of Guardian articles looking back at the year that has been, we round up some of the other good top ten lists we’ve seen on Tumblr:

    Feel free to add your own 2011 review post link by reblogging this post. We look forward to reading some more before the year is out!

  7. Photo

    | 50 notes
    Photographs of the year 2011 This is absolutely my favourite shot. I saw on TV that Reeves corner in Croydon was on fire and decided to go and have a look. There was a small crowd of people in their pyjamas, from the flats which were on fire. A Romanian man pushed through the crowd to the police, shouting that there was a woman still in the building. The next minute I saw two little feet on the window ledge of the second floor. After a few seconds she just fell. The police and crowd below didn’t really catch her, it was more like they broke her fall. She was crying and ran off really quickly Photograph: WENN/Amy Weston

    Photographs of the year 2011

    This is absolutely my favourite shot. I saw on TV that Reeves corner in Croydon was on fire and decided to go and have a look. There was a small crowd of people in their pyjamas, from the flats which were on fire. A Romanian man pushed through the crowd to the police, shouting that there was a woman still in the building. The next minute I saw two little feet on the window ledge of the second floor. After a few seconds she just fell. The police and crowd below didn’t really catch her, it was more like they broke her fall. She was crying and ran off really quickly Photograph: WENN/Amy Weston

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