# 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:** 47
**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:** [January 1, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/923 "2020-01-01T21:21:36Z")
“The machine was ready.” _The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind_, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2020, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/924 "2020-01-02T03:09:34Z")
“Theo imagined the worst. The message said only that Vincent had ‘wounded himself.’” _Van Gogh: The Life_ by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith (2011) ---
**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:** [January 3, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/925 "2020-01-03T16:44:49Z")
“My mother came from a small town in Poland, my father from a small town in Maine.” _Davita’s Harp_, by Chaim Potok ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/926 "2020-01-03T17:32:29Z")
Does a non-fiction book begin with the introduction? “For six months in 1919, Paris was the capital of the world.” Or chapter one? “On December 4, 1918, the _George Washington_ sailed out of New York with the American delegation to the Peace Conference on board.” _Paris - 1919_, by Margaret Macmillan ---
**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:** [January 5, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/927 "2020-01-05T19:28:19Z")
I choose whichever sentence I think is more interesting. “In the gathering darkness of a cold winter evening on 9 November 1965, just before sixteen minutes and eleven seconds past five o’clock, a small metal cup inside a black rectangular box began slowly to revolve.” _Connections_, by James Burke. ---
**Author:** ![Clarisse\_McClellan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Clarisse\_McClellan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clarisse_McClellan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/928 "2020-01-06T04:30:27Z")
“I didnt hear the siren” The Wildlands by Abby Geni ---
**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:** [January 7, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/929 "2020-01-07T16:11:57Z")
“When I got back to HaveRatton Station, a bunch of humans tried to kill me.” _Exit Strategy_, by Martha Wells ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/930 "2020-01-08T05:32:27Z")
DEDICATION - This book is dedicated to what most authorities seem to agree is a fundamental requirement for good health: Staying Alive. _I Feel Much Better, Now That I’ve Given Up Hope_, by Ashleigh Brilliant (1984) ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/931 "2020-01-08T08:15:18Z")
“This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child.” _The Magician’s Nephew,_ Chronicles of Narnia ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/932 "2020-01-08T19:26:30Z")
“In the late afternoon, when the long December night had already darkened the skies, we opened Christmas cards, taking turns, reading the messages, enjoying this once-a-year being in touch with far-flung friends.” _A Stone for a Pillow_, by Madeleine L’Engle ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/933 "2020-01-09T02:11:07Z")
She stood before the Inquisition on that twenty-second day of August, 1320. Eve’s Herbs A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West by John M Riddle. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2020, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/934 "2020-01-10T14:13:07Z")
“In dust and blood–with the sharp tang of terror still in his nostrils–a man’s mind will sometimes pull forth odd relevancies.” _The Postman_, by David Brin. ---
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/935 "2020-01-10T19:58:19Z")
"In 1903, it must have seemed to Mr. and Mrs. Davidson that their three sons had gone their separate ways. _Harley-Davidson An Illustrated Guide_ by Peter Henshaw and Ian Kerr ``` Photography by Garry Stuart ``` ---
**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:** [January 12, 2020, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/936 "2020-01-12T04:44:47Z")
“When the men in black suits came, my daughter offered them tea.” _The Secrets We Kept_ by Lara Prescott (2019) “His name was Gaal Dornick and he was just a country boy who had never seen Trantor before.” _Foundation_ by Isaac Asimov (1951) ---
**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:** [January 12, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/937 "2020-01-12T18:59:14Z")
“My ordeal began on a Friday early in September.” _Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio_, by Peg Kehret. ---
**Author:** ![Casparlatete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/casparlatete/32/3377_2.png) [@Casparlatete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casparlatete)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/938 "2020-01-12T22:16:05Z")
You were my September song, summer lasted too long Time moves so slowly, when you’re only fifteen You were my September song, tell me where have you gone? Do you remember me, we were only fifteen ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/939 "2020-01-13T00:39:02Z")
“From the first stirrings of childhood the American acquires an ever-thickening encrustation of ideas, beliefs, and dogma that makes life all the simpler.” _There Are Alligators in Our Sewers_, by P. Dicksen & J.C. Goulden ---
**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:** [January 13, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/940 "2020-01-13T01:13:00Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > You were my September song, summer lasted too long > Time moves so slowly, when you’re only fifteen > You were my September song, tell me where have you gone? > Do you remember me, we were only fifteen From what book? ---
**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:** [January 13, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/941 "2020-01-13T14:39:50Z")
“There is a photograph in existence of Aunt Sadie and her six children sitting round the tea-table at Alconleigh.” _The Pursuit of Love_, by Nancy Mitford ---
**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:** [January 13, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/942 "2020-01-13T18:59:33Z")
“On May 9, 1979, a group of tobacco industry executives gathere to hear about an important new program.” _Merchants of Doubt_, Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=46) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=48)