# What is the first sentence from the book you are currently reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [April 20, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858 "2017-04-20T16:51:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 102
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2030 "2022-05-14T14:30:58Z")
Oliver R. Smoot was a newly arrived freshman at the internationally renowned centre of technological excellence, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1958. _Smoot’s Ear - The Measure of Humanity_ by Robert Tavernor ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2031 "2022-05-15T21:39:01Z")
“Billy Summers sits in the hotel lobby, waiting for his ride.” – _Billy Summers_, by Stephen King ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2032 "2022-05-18T22:46:26Z")
“It is early morning, and you’re asleep in bed.” _The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day_, by James Kakalios. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2033 "2022-05-20T13:16:16Z")
“The Martians had landed.” _Sci Fi_, by William Marshall (Note that this is a mystery set at a science fiction convention.) ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2034 "2022-05-21T01:34:09Z")
“…I’m older than dirt.” From a truly wonderful, magical book called “West With Giraffes.” Best I’ve picked up in forever. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2035 "2022-05-23T12:03:18Z")
“The chauffeur turned off the main road by the synagogue which took up most of the block, and headed past St. Matthias’ Church on the opposite corner, and up the hill.” _I’m Your Man - The Life of Leonard Cohen_, by Sylvie Simmons ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2036 "2022-05-23T17:52:32Z")
“Imagine catastrophe.” _Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy_, by Tim Harford ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2037 "2022-05-23T19:02:31Z")
“A crucial difference between my brother and me was that he spoke German and I didn’t — which is to say, he inherited my mother’s facility and I inherited my father’s all but total lack thereof; in fact, it became another aspect of Scott’s curious bond with my mother, as they’d lapse into German whenever they wished to speak or yell privately while in my presence.” _The Splendid Things We Planned_ by Blake Bailey ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2038 "2022-05-25T20:28:56Z")
“When Gullah people die, babies in the family get passed over the coffin so the dead person won’t come back from the beyond to take them away.” _Root Magic_ by Eden Royce ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2039 "2022-05-26T14:26:41Z")
“My brother, Joe, used to be so cool, then he had two kids and now he’s a loser.” _The New One_ by Mike Birbiglia ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2040 "2022-05-26T20:26:08Z")
“He’d been sitting on the sidelines, warming the bench, waiting, for almost seventy years.” _Soulmates_, by Mike Resnick and Lezli Robyn. (Note that this is a story collection; the above quote is from the first story, “Benchwarmer”, by both authors.) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2041 "2022-05-28T21:47:23Z")
“How did I screw up my life so badly?” _Crossing the Line_ by Derek Sanderson with Kevin Shea ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2022, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2042 "2022-05-30T01:38:08Z")
“The _Nellie_, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.” – _Heart of Darkness_, by Joseph Conrad ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2043 "2022-05-30T20:19:14Z")
“The watch was an eighteen-carat, rear-winding Waltham.” _Ivory Shoals_, by John Brandon ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2044 "2022-06-02T22:29:32Z")
“A translation dilemma is among my earliest memories.” _Translating Myself and Others_, by Jhumpa Lahiri. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2045 "2022-06-03T19:45:36Z")
“The shrill sound of the doorbell sliced through the silence.” _An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good_ by Helene Tursten ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2046 "2022-06-04T15:20:37Z")
“I am a botanist.” _In the Garden of Iden_ by Kage Baker ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2047 "2022-06-05T05:22:54Z")
“The pyramids of Giza are the defining symbol of ancient Egypt.” – _The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt_, by Toby Wilkinson ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2048 "2022-06-05T20:59:40Z")
“Imagine the thrill of seeing what no one has ever seen before.” _Atlas of the Invisible: Maps and Graphics That Will Change How You See the World_, by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/2049 "2022-06-06T02:12:46Z")
“For perhaps the thousandth time Coronel Hesparsyn cursed Lord Chiklquetl the Most High; but, as always, he did it silently.” _A Study in Sorcery_ Michael Kurland [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=101) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=103)