# 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:** 183
**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:** [February 26, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3651 "2026-02-26T23:28:50Z")
“So you’ve decided to come down here, slumming.” _The Ancient Ones_ by David Brin “On a hill high above the city of Cusco, Peru, Marcela Salas Calcina, a master weaver of ceremonial textiles from the remote village of Q’eros, and her husband Lorenzo, a shaman, make the vertical warp by passing a ball of yarn back and forth as each one wraps the thread on their end of the loom, staked into the ground by four posts.” _With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories_, by Nicole Nehrig. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3652 "2026-02-27T10:57:31Z")
“They show you how to make bombs on the internet. If you know where to look.” _The Impossible Fortune_ by Richard Osman. Latest in the Thursday Murder Club series. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3653 "2026-03-02T14:49:55Z")
“‘They made a silly mistake, though,’ the Professor of History said, and his smile, as Dixon watched, gradually sank beneath the surface of his features at the memory.” _Lucky Jim_, by Kingsley Amis “It would be reasonable to assume that anything living deep inside Earth’s crust, far away from the reach of sunlight, would be a leftover from the surface world, marooned and condemned to die.” _Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth_, by Karen G. Lloyd ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3654 "2026-03-03T02:20:09Z")
Betty Rodman was in torment. _A Christmas Railway Mystery_, by Edward Marston ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3655 "2026-03-03T02:59:38Z")
The girl was surprisingly beautiful in the moonlight. _The Red Winter_ by Cameron Sullivan ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3656 "2026-03-04T04:09:06Z")
A flicker of weak light skittered over the stone floor, followed by the soft scrape of steps and the whispered _whoosh_, _whoosh_ of mist-dampened wool. _Murder on Black Swan Lane_, by Andrea Penrose ---
**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:** [March 4, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3657 "2026-03-04T06:27:58Z")
“Basit Deniau’s greatest architectural triumph is the house he died in.” _Rose/House_ by Arkady Martine ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3658 "2026-03-06T00:05:32Z")
A thick mist had crept in from the river. _Murder at Half Moon Gate_, by Andrea Penrose ---
**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:** [March 7, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3659 "2026-03-07T00:10:43Z")
“(we) the ones made of nebula & who have traveled from far, far, far away from (here) worked on the space shuttle ship to the best of our natural ability, but lucile still had a slow yellow limp & systemic pain in her motherboard.” _Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere_, by Anastacia-Renee’ “There are three sides to every story: yours…mine…and the truth.” _The Kid Stays in the Picture_, by Robert Evans. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3660 "2026-03-11T22:56:15Z")
“‘Honestly,’ muttered Lucius Claudius, his nose buried in a scroll, ‘if you go by these accounts in the _Daily Acts_, you’d think Sertorius was a naughty schoolboy, and his rebellion in Spain a harmless prank.’” _Crime Through Time III_, edited by Sharan Newman (Note that this is a collection of historical mysteries, and the above quote is from “The Consul’s Wife” by Steven Saylor.) “Many writers have their idiosyncratic gastronomic preferences.” _Curiosities of Literature: A Feast for Book Lovers_, by John Sutherland. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3661 "2026-03-12T00:25:31Z")
There’s a flock of shadows under the old oak. _Coram House_ by Bailey Seybolt ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3662 "2026-03-12T00:46:01Z")
Sir Pierre Morliax, Chevalier of the Angevin Empire, Knight of the Golden Leopard, and secretary-in-private to my Lord, the Count D’Evreux, pushed back the lace at his cuff for a look at his wrist watch-three minutes of seven. _Lord Darcy_ by Randall Garrett. From the first story, _The Eyes Have It_ ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3663 "2026-03-12T04:11:03Z")
From where Bill Buchanan sat with his back resting against the rough breccia, he could see the side of Whiteside’s head, about three feet away. _The Fallen Man_, by Tony Hillerman ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3664 "2026-03-14T02:20:08Z")
Deputy Sheriff Teddy Bai had been leaning on the doorframe looking out at the night about three minutes or so before he became aware that Cap Stoner was watching him. _Hunting Badger_, by Tony Hillerman ---
**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:** [March 15, 2026, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3665 "2026-03-15T03:03:09Z")
“To some it’s a stage.” – _The Proving Ground_, by Michael Connelly ---
**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:** [March 15, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3666 "2026-03-15T22:47:16Z")
“At 19.00 hours, ship’s time, I made my way to the launching bay.” _Solaris,_ by Stanislaw Lem “Like much of my life until that sixteenth year, it was a sunny day.” _Knots in My Yo-yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid_, by Jerry Spinelli ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3667 "2026-03-16T00:19:36Z")
“Halloo?” _Murder at Queen’s Landing_. by Andrea Penrose ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3668 "2026-03-18T03:44:26Z")
When the cat came through the little trapdoor at the bottom of the screen it made a _clack-clack_ sound. _Skinwalkers_, by Tony Hillerman ---
**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:** [March 18, 2026, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3669 "2026-03-18T22:31:21Z")
“It was the last letter in Irene Redfield’s little pile of morning mail.” _Passing_, by Nella Larsen “Our species, _Homo sapiens_, spent most of its evolutionary history without the horse.” _Horses: A 4,000-Year Genetic Journey Across the World_, by Ludovic Orlando, translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/3670 "2026-03-19T02:11:13Z")
The moon had risen just above the cliff behind her. _A Thief of Time_, by Tony Hillerman [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=182) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=184)