Possibly my favorite book lede ever, from Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Angel’s Game.
(Insert obligatory “The Angel’s Game is decent, but if you’ve never read his first book, The Shadow of the Wind, get your ass on down to a bookstore/library/Amazon and do so now” shill.)
I read his books whenever I lack writing inspiration (and, seeing as how it’s NaNoWriMo, I’m in great need of such things lately). Speaking of NaNoWriMo, if you want to see bits and pieces from the novel-in-progress, make sure you’re following wordcetera.