judging books by ONLY their closing line

[@kattnisseverdeen8029]

I remember when I decided to randomly read the last line first and I picked the WRONG book. It was catching fire and the last line was “Katniss there is no district 12” 😂

[@alexandraa23]

when we were like 12, my friend ruined the end of the series for me so I literally just never read mocking jay LOL

[@runawayfromme77]

catching fire was the first thing that came to mind when i saw the title of this video! back in high school i liked to read the last line of the book before i start it, lemme tell you that after catching fire i immediately stopped 😅

[@Jay_lovescats]

I DID THE SAME THING! I was just like “I didn’t see that nope”

[@sweetviolents29]

This is made so much funnier by your username and icon lol

[@deepamishra9224]

This comment should come with a spoiler alert 😢

[@melissapetito3069]

omg i would love a video re-ranking these books after you read them to see if the final line was represantative of the book as a whole

[@annad1590]

Yesss

[@georginaashworth]

Yesssss

[@niezuleanu5241]

Yea

[@yusinu6642]

That's a good idea

[@kyraivens1651]

This reminded me of when i read The Fault in Our Stars like 10 years ago so it was before everyone and their mums knew how it ended and I decided to read the closing line which was 'I do, Augustus. I do.' and I thought they were going to get married

[@maggiefelisberto5281]

That closing line from Checkout 19 made me so angry; I can't believe you liked it

[@StarStar-ec1dd]

IKR

[@hannahohno]

exactly hahaha it would have put me off reading it at all. And to him was the complete opposite.

[@kathdong9685]

Totally! I'll just buy a dictionary if I need this...

[@mwu365]

The only one I really like lol

[@ralucahuruniuc]

Checkout 19 is my only DNF of this year and after this video I'm pretty happy I didn't push through 😅

[@kaitlynrae6352]

I feel like it would be so cool to rank the same set of books separately based on the cover, opening line, and closing line, and then compare each of those rankings with a final review of each book. Curious if the opening line/closing line would be more telling of the overall rating of the book…

[@anenadecastro]

Boosting this because he NEEDS to do a video about this. Amazing idea!! 😲😲😲

[@oa5538]

Yess

[@elsitacacahuete427]

Hundred Years of Solitude’s final line is as brilliant as the first line.

[@palcicaa]

Tbh that ending truly made it one of my favorite books of all time

[@melissagonzalez2464]

Maybe the last line of Checkout 19 is also the acknowledgment page lol

[@tiakiwi]

Aaaa I’m so happy you did this! Very interested to see if any of the ‘disappointing’ lines hit waayyy different once you know the context…intrigued to see the reviews for all of these!

[@ChemicalPenguinn]

The sass when Jack put the candy house at the bottom 🤣 I'd do the same, honestly

[@meikusje]

I thought that was a great last line tbh! It gives closure, but also presents opportunity.

[@shohinisen4068]

Ok but can we talk about the gorgeous artistic covers ?!

[@Christine-jg2ch]

I’ve just taken Checkout 19 off my want to read list 😂

[@bestnarryever]

Decided to immediately add “just by looking at him” to my TBR bc of the line and THE SYNOPSIS IS INCREDIBLE?!??? I’m shocked!

[@AsclepiusPress]

Final line of my fantasy standalone PHARMAKIDES: Mute swans understood the mysteries, and took note of which flowers were in bloom.

[@literally_elly]

I love that Jack had to read a last sentence that was a page and a half long 😂😂

[@cecileglangetas149]

My own selection: 1st place: Just By Looking at Him by Ryan O'Connell 2nd place: Real Life by Brandon Taylor 3rd place: Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder 4th place: Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka 5th place: Nevada by Imogene Binnie 6th place: Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart 7th place: The Sugar House by Jennifer Egan Last place: Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett Very curious about all of those books and excited to read them! Love your content, keep going ❤

[@F00L_Of_A_Took]

i cant believe checkout 19 got the first spot tbh. there were so many inconsequential words in a row i felt like language lost all meaning

[@Roscoethecat]

"I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. " Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King. Makes me cry every time I read it.

[@IAMXisasgoodaschocolatespread]

"I'm really good at forgetting things." Same Jack, same 😂.

[@MarianaQuesada]

"That's my closing line" Listen, I'm so used to the way you end your videos that I always say it along with you, 10 out of 10.

[@kaitlynnelson2139]

I used to do this with every book I read before I read it, to see if I could guess how the story arrives at that place. Until I spoiled a major character death, that is 😅

[@manonvo8615]

I can never remember all the books for my own ranking, but I would definitely put checkput 19 all the way last😹 it's unique yes... but I uniquely hated it

[@meikusje]

Are you reading my mind 😱 I finished Dave Egger's You Shall Know Our Velocity this weekend and thought: I know Jack Edwards has done videos on opening lines, but he should really do a video on closing lines as well. FYI: the closing line for YSKOV is "It stopped for a minute I swear, but then the sound and pictures came back on and for two more glorious and interminable months we lived".

[@Silviduhh]

Honestly this is my favorite way to pick a new book!! It’s intriguing. I also know right away if I’m curious how the MC got there. If I’m invested to see the build up. This is the superior way of picking books lol

[@Silviduhh]

Also have a poor memory, I never remember 😂

[@austret4609]

i don’t know why but before starting a new book i ALWAYS read the last line and then if i remember it it’s always interesting to see how my perspective and understanding of it changed after i finished the book and just what it really means

[@unidentifiedartist]

I DO THIS TOO!! I thought I was the only one! But I don't always do it lol- sometimes I forget

[@cfbg]

This seems goofy to me.

[@chelsealee144]

I actually have a ritual with every book that after i read the first chapter, i always read the last line of the book. It started when i was younger to curb the impulse of flipping to the end and just finding out the whole ending and then not reading the full book. I guessed it was like if i know the literal last line i wouldn’t have the impulse bc it’s the ultimate ending. Not sure how but it worker psychologically and books just tend not to have spoilers in the last line.

[@throneofpages]

you are so brave for doing this i would be terrified 🤡🥲

[@angeldsouza777]

This literally gave me anxiety! 😲 I would be devastated to know the final line before having read the book - how could that not colour the reading experience?! (Like seeing Tom Hanks already rescued in the trailer for Castaway...)

[@tyche3729]

omg I worked an event in which rachel yoda and a few other authors and musicians held readings and performances about motherhood and the relationship between a child and a mother! all of them were so well spoken and their delivery was great

[@neerajas10N]

Jack, please make the video of all the books you've read in 2022 🙏🙏🙏

[@AshtheViking]

He did- World cup of Books.

[@sundanceekid8]

jack I loved the video, as I always enjoy these video ideas that are fun and feel very natural in a way! jjdjd but this would be my ranking lmao: 1. Nevada 2. Just by looking at him 3. Checkout 19 4. Nightbitch 5. Real life 6. Notes on execution 7. Young Mungo 8. The candy house

[@jenniferbolt4146]

Notes on an execution was so good. The context was definitely needed.

[@xCarleex]

Song of Achilles has one of the best ending lines of all time. You should add that one to your next video.

[@MaxximusP]

He has already read Song of Achilles- so it wouldn't fit in this series

[@joon3638]

can you tell what was the last line of SOA?

[@Abhi-wl5yt]

@@joon3638 Lookaway if you don't want spoilers... . . . . . "Go," she says. "He waits for you." "IN THE DARKNESS, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun"

[@yourLittleSinner]

"Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out the sun.:

[@salvaahamed5640]

Go!, He waits for you is the best line

[@ameliareads223]

I would have ranked Checkout 19 4th. It was so confusing, but it did have a nice groove in reading it out loud. Maybe it makes more sense in context, but to me it just felt like a bunch of words.

[@Crixtine]

love this! i don't know why but i've always had the habit of reading the closing line before starting a book

[@francinecorry633]

I read Real Life and don't really remember the ending. It wasn't a favorite of mine. Just by the ending of Checkout 19, I wouldn't read it. I'd love to see you take those same books and rank the first line and then do a final ranking after you read them.

[@Marie-oh8es]

Great video! I would love it if you did this video with books you have already read, I think it would be so interesting to hear your thoughts on the closing lines in the context of the entire book.

[@maxallaire7113]

this series has made me STRESS about the first and last lines of my book 😆

[@tallactordude]

It would be interesting at some point with one of these videos, either the first line or last line ones, to have you go back to those same books after you have read all of them and see how the ranking of the books them selves compares to the ranking of either the first or last lines. And to be honest, the one you picked as first, just having listened to the last lines, I probably would’ve put about seventh on that stack.

[@aarabhiblackdale7724]

honestly, i would have put Nevada in my top spot solely because "so get the fuck off my back,Roland" made me laugh out so loud.

[@КристинаПроничева-р1ъ]

I legit thought he said “rodent” instead of “Roland” lmao 😂

[@fatimazafar6787]

checkout 19 was last for me and I was shocked when he put that on top.

[@azu_rikka]

Now, getting back to opening lines, please let us know what you think of the opening line of 'one hundred years of solitude', I LOVE that opening line, it gives you a glimpse of the present, past and future of what is/will/was happening in the story, just fantastic!!!

[@juanaabadiebottcher5508]

The last line is amazing too. Damm, the whole last paragraph is electric and you read it each time sort of breathless

[@juanaabadiebottcher5508]

I read it for the first time when I was fourteen and it changed me at a molecular level, lol

[@amolove24]

I used to do reading the closing lines with every book I read in middle school and would spoil myself all the time 😭 but that closing line of just by looking at him was so good

[@Larissa_KD]

My list would be exactly the same, but with Checkout 19 at the bottom hahahah

[@teneshaanderson4761]

I like that you actually show the books in the thumbnail

[@jmsl910]

yes!!!

[@sophiecaroline7222]

I just love the last line of Wuthering Hights. Gives me the chills.

[@Paaseliten]

Ooh! You should have read the closing line of The Great Gatsby. My favorite closing line ever.

[@Sazbo17]

What’s the closing line?

[@nl3064]

He's reading the closing lines of books he hasn't read yet. Were you not paying attention at all? It's pretty safe to assume that he's read Gatsby.

[@Paaseliten]

@@Sazbo17 The closing line of "The Great Gatsby": "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

[@emmal7510]

That last sentence in Checkout 19 might be impactful in context, but in the abstract it seemed, to me, like "competing for the longest sentence in English literature." 4,491 words (Ulysses). Proper sentence is only 1,287 words. (Absalom, Absalom) (According to Google.)

[@koalakarakookie]

I have read Notes On An Execution and I absolutely loved it even though I didn’t know how I would feel about it but the rest of the books sound like I just got more books I need to add to my tbr. I need to this when I finish reading the two books I’m currently reading for my next pick.

[@qcldenloux5543]

ever thought about becoming a rapper? the ending of checkout 19 was so funny to listen to

[@halimamuslimah]

Checkout 19 would've bee toward the end for me. I did like this video & look forward to you doing more like it. It was fun.

[@stkcrvn]

i agreed with u on the entire list except for checkout 19, that one made me so angry

[@jules48ee]

I am so excited for you to read Young Mungo. If we were allowed to rate books 6/5, this would get it. Probably my favorite book of the year. Happy reading!

[@darbo1701]

Ah yes, I doubt he'll ever get around to it. I mean, when did he first start talking about it? Probably when it released? LOL

[@jules48ee]

@@darbo1701 We can always hope 😅

[@kaseytucker9608]

I’ve been waiting for his review for ages! One of my all time favourite reads 😭

[@jules48ee]

@@kaseytucker9608 it was so good 👌👌👌

[@AJ-ms2pm]

I think song of achilles has one of the best closing lines(with having read it)

[@MediocreAtBesd]

not me adding books to my tbr solely cause of their final sentence so to get tl the part I love I gotta get through the whole thing

[@Lulu_Reads_Books]

Trust me, that last line of "Just By Looking At Him" is nothing compared to the opening line. IYKYK! 😂

[@deepamishra9224]

So True😂😂

[@Adeodatus100]

"The cannons of his adversary were thundering in the tattered morning when the Majesty of England drew himself up to meet the future with a peaceful heart." (Almost) the last line of the original version of T.H.White's "The Once And Future King". Gets me every time, especially after the preceding pages where the King muses that only Culture can save humankind, along with the abolition of the imaginary lines we call borders.

[@klatchabobby]

Something I've learnt about these is that I like my final lines to be normal length. Anything longer than say thirty words and it just becomes convoluted

[@gidabartfai4095]

Day 1 of asking Jack to read Hungarian fiction

[@shraddhakharole3631]

You can also make a video on comparing the opening/ closing line video an rating the actual book as a whole. Means the books that u rated highest as the best opening line did u like them as much as you did after reading it!!!

[@kaylieswartz2431]

You should read The God Child by Nana Oforiatta Ayim (if you haven’t already). It’s a poetic novel that tells the story of a Ghanaian emigrant and her journey in search for a sense of home.

[@deejahj8933]

What The hell was that...!! Lol now I want that book....👀 (Checkout 19) P.S. You should do audiobooks. (Read).

[@ember.readss]

YOU INSPIRE ME TO READ MORE

[@RunReadMeep]

Do this with books you have read and see if your rankings match the before and after 🙌🏽

[@hanjnk]

When you said ‘omg it’s so long’ I thought that was the last line 😂

[@TheNauglafel]

I think I'd put Notes on an Execution at the top because it feels more impactful than others somehow, I can imagine myself reading the book and being moved by that ending.. Checkout 19 is also a really good one, it doesn't give any clues about the story by itself which is really cool.. I've found the other ones generic or cheesy..

[@kulittt957]

I'd tell you to read Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint but I haven't even finished Volume 1 and I'm at 900 pages already. The last line needs context but once you understand it all you'll feel is pain or maybe something bittersweet.

[@Kenough_in_Wonderland]

The endless of Checkout 19 made me never ever want to read that book 😂

[@PokhrajRoy.]

On an unrelated note, I really love the Shirt featured in this video.

[@gracelola8897]

the line you read from checkout 19 is actually from an interview with her at the end, not from the actual body of the book!! still absolutely gorgeous though… classic CLB

[@Sirapa7]

Out of context, I love everything Jack wears. 😍

[@samanwitapanda7521]

Whenever I buy a book, the first thing I do is read the opening line of it and then the last line. I'm always scared to do that but it's fun. 😂

[@nishigandhasarma7644]

One hundred years of solitude, opening line, "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." Closing line, " Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth." And all the unhingery of Marquez's penmanship throughout. Just read it! Or I will start a bullying campaign

[@rosesisler9275]

I can't wait for your review of Candy House!! I read it and I have feels about it. Haha, this is a fun idea. Mad love, Jack-Jack!

[@victoriac7215]

Keep waiting anxiously for your review of Young Mungo. Interested to see what you think of it. I’ve just finished it.

[@kelseytaylor6314]

I was in foyles today and I heard 2 girls talking about you! You're so popular in London! Xx

[@izzydavie5505]

I always read both the opening and the closing line when I start a book!

[@liliszekely4361]

Oh trust me once you read Young Mungo that line will be a boat on the horizon after spending 4 days out in the ocean in a life jacket

[@wobbling-around]

Lots of things to say: 1. Thanks for listening to us because the was such a good idea and I just found a new book to add to my list because of the gorgeous final line. 2. When your book comes out, I'm expecting a live reading in London 🙃 3. My order wouls be: 1Just By Looking at Him 2 Nevada 3 Real life 4 Night bitch 5 Checkout 99 6 Yung Mungo 7 Notes on execution 8 The candy house

[@aarabhiblackdale7724]

pls ur silence was so loud when u placed candy house, istg i was in hysterics

[@annabanana8013]

Just because I absolutely loved Real Life I would pick that. I loved the finale sentence of the story. It’s very fitting.

[@MyHumbleNest]

Checkout 19 - WAY TO MUCH!!!!

[@mae__]

The stark difference from checkout 19 to the Candy House💀😂😂😂😂

[@AlexKillzMC]

Omg this shirt looks so good on Jack!

[@karakask5488]

I'm so curious about the books that are turned around on the shelves behind you. I hate when I can't see the titles of books!!!

[@kaseytucker9608]

i WISH if we were villains was in the lineup for this. that is a closing line to end all closing lines

[@brizhammer]

Bring back the kitchen roll.

[@mushkbaar]

These sound beautiful but I've read The Kite Runner and The God of Small Things and both those books are so great yet they literally end with one word.

[@lendrestapas2505]

Wittgenstein wins: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."

[@MelSaydam]

OMG! This video... I hate checking the end of the book or any spoilers but it was tempting! really tempting...Then I looked at the books and they were not on TBR but NOW after your video they are :D

[@readbyamity5440]

Checkout 19's cover looks so much like Cleo & Frank! My ranking: Could be tied 1. Nevada 2. Just By Looking at Him 3. Real Life 4. Night Bitch 5. Checkout 19 6. Notes on an Execution 7. Young Mungo 8. The Candy House

[@senauzun]

Admired your shirt for 10 minutes 54 seconds

[@cora2560]

Cant wait for part 2 of this video!!

[@mckinleyforth5157]

Is it just me that reads the ending lines of most books while I read them. I thought that was a common thing.

[@saanvimax]

1) Just By Looking At Him 2) Nightbitch 3) Real Life 4) Checkout 19 5) Young Mungo 6) Nevada 7) Notes on Execution 8) Candy House

[@stephaniefrost9720]

Omg i love real life! It takes place at my alma mater, University of Wisconsin-Madison and it made it sooo magical to read. On Wisconsin 👐🏻🔴⚪

[@mimicry.]

That shirt is amazing

[@elisereadsandwrites]

1. Real life 2. Nevada 3. Just by looking at him 4. Notes on an execution (but I’ve read it and know the meaning) 🤭

[@margerykemp2767]

how about you rank books on the basis of lines from the middle of the book?

[@Lillyjoy]

Wow some of those had such cool last lines!

[@aulbayne8600]

We’re reading The Death of Ivan Ilyich if you guys want to join :) (details in replies!)