"In a hole, in the ground, lived a Hobbit"

I know this'll get buried. Far far far underground, much farther than Bilbo.

But the hook is worldbuilding. Not a character, not an explosion, not a paradox, not humor, no witty observation or etc. World building. I'm not sure I can name a single other book I've ever read that begins with world building.

And I love it because it's intriguing like no other opening is, or possibly could be. I'm reminded of a bit from Stephen King's "On Writing" where he describes an average room, with an average seeming bunny in an average seeming cage, with the number eight in blue (I think it's blue) on its back. King calls it an example of telepathy by writing, because he knows the reader is thinking about, and concentrating on, that eight on the bunnies back. And in the opening of The Hobbit, having read all of nine words, you want to read more. Because you immediately have the question "What is a hobbit?"