# Guess the book from the opening line **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963 "2003-04-15T22:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/121 "2003-04-18T01:43:00Z")
Ooh, I wanna play! Here’s my three. “One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it;-- it was the black kitten’s fault entirely.” “There are two reasons why a writer would end a sentence with the word “stop” written entirely in capital letters STOP.” “Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about a primeval forest.” Am I the only one surprised that no one has used “Call me Ishmael” yet, or is that one just too obvious? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/122 "2003-04-18T02:36:24Z")
It’s too obvious. _Moby Dick_ > [@](#): > > ## quote: > > ## Originally posted by Shodan It was not long after dawn, when the captain of HMS frigate Lydia came up on deck. > > Horatio Hornblower Close, but the name of the novel is _Beat to Quarters_. Regards, Shodan Oh yes, and “It is a truth universally acknowledged…” is _Pride and Prejudice_. Jane Austen rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/123 "2003-04-18T03:41:49Z")
Oh, I forgot one of the all-time classics: > [@](#): > > “Where’s Papa going with that axe?” ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/124 "2003-04-18T04:10:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mcms\_cricket \* > \*\*“Gene Cernan was having the time of his life.” > > I think this is > _Back to the Moon_ …?\*\* Jahwol! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Frankd6 \* > \*\ ***Ranchoth** is that _The White Mountains_ by John Christoper? > \*\* It is! My favorite book…Gads, I thought I was the only one who’d ever heard of it. “DESCRIBE, USING DIAGRAMS WHERE APPROPRIATE, THE EXACT CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO YOUR DEATH.” “There are some parts of space where even the huma heart, eternally optimistic, finds it hard to feel itself welcome.” “The parking lot stretched away to the north, cheerless and vacant.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/125 "2003-04-18T04:19:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fizzestothetop \* > \*\*“One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it;-- it was the black kitten’s fault entirely.” > \*\* _Through the Looking Glass_, Lewis Carroll ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/126 "2003-04-18T04:29:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fizzestothetop \* > \*\*Ooh, I wanna play! Here’s my three. > > “One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it;-- it was the black kitten’s fault entirely.” > > “Call me Ishmael” yet, or is that one just too obvious? \*\* **Through the Looking Glass** by Lewis Carroll **Moby Dick** , by Heman Melville “This time there would be no witnesses.” “For something to exist, it has to be observed.” ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/127 "2003-04-18T10:31:40Z")
> [@](#): > > “Call me Ishmael” yet, or is that one just too obvious? Pretty obvious. How about, “Call me _Isabel_,” instead? ---
**Author:** ![Fiat\_Lux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Fiat\_Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiat_Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/128 "2003-04-18T10:38:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ranchoth \* > \*\* > > “DESCRIBE, USING DIAGRAMS WHERE APPROPRIATE, THE EXACT CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO YOUR DEATH.” > > \*\* **Red Dwarf** , by Grant Naylor ---
**Author:** ![Loneraven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@Loneraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loneraven)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/129 "2003-04-18T12:26:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fizzestothetop \* > **"Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about a primeval forest."** Not sure, but is it _The Little Prince_, by Antoine de Saint-Expuery? And “Where’s Papa going with that axe?” is _Charlotte’s Web._ ---
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/130 "2003-04-18T13:01:20Z")
The first and third are indeed Through the Looking Glass and The Little Prince. I’ve reading a lot of children’s books lately. Anybody got any ideas about the second one? Jeez the only one I’ve been able to guess correctly is Charlotte’s Web and somebody already posted it before me. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/131 "2003-04-18T13:03:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Man With The Golden Gun \* > \*\*“They called him Moshe the Beadle, as though he had never had a surname in his life.” \*\* _Oliver Twist_, right? (I wouldn’t really know, as I don’t like Dickens and read Twist because I was forced to.) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/132 "2003-04-18T13:37:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Loneraven \* > And “Where’s Papa going with that axe?” is _Charlotte’s Web._ Correct. And isn’t that just the best start to a children’s book ever. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/133 "2003-04-18T13:41:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lee \* > \*\* > > “This time there would be no witnesses.” > > “For something to exist, it has to be observed.” \*\* The first one is Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Are you sure about that second quote? If your’re thinking of Terry Paratchett’s Thief of Time, someone stole the first few paragraphs out of your book. ---
**Author:** ![Ludo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ludo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/134 "2003-04-18T16:32:26Z")
Here we go: 1. “The beet is the most intense of vegetables” 2. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/135 "2003-04-18T16:46:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ludo \* > \*\*Here we go: > > “The beet is the most intense of vegetables” > > \*\* Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/136 "2003-04-18T17:20:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jess \* > \*\*Pretty obvious. How about, “Call me _Isabel_,” instead? \*\* That would be _When Sisterhood Was in Flower_, by Florence King. How about: “Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last…” ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/137 "2003-04-18T17:33:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by koeeoaddi \* > \*\*“Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last…” \*\* Ahab’s Wife by Sena Naslund how about this? "For many days we had been tempest-tossed. " ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/138 "2003-04-18T17:36:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ludo \* > \*\*Here we go: > > 1. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” \*\* Or in Latin: In principio erat verbum… The Gospel according to St. John. A terrific beginning, even if you don’t believe. ---
**Author:** ![Fiat\_Lux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Fiat\_Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiat_Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/139 "2003-04-18T17:55:10Z")
How about this arresting opening: ‘If you’re going to read this, don’t bother’ ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963/140 "2003-04-18T18:14:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeVena \* > \*\*how about this? > > "For many days we had been tempest-tossed. " \*\* Space, I mean Swiss Family Robinson [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/168963.md?page=8)