# 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:** 66
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1307 "2020-11-26T15:01:14Z")
Its a long one - “Slammed right and left by battering, 60 mph wind gusts, blinded by snow squalls at the leading edge of an Arctic storm, search and rescue pilot Lieutenant David Neel was doing his best, early on that cold December morning in 2004, to shake off the sudden bouts of vertigo and keep his H-60 helicopter on course and in the air.” _On the Edge of Survival_ - Spike Walker. This true-life story checked all (well, most) of my boxes. Aviation, ships and sea faring, and ‘man against nature’ survival against long odds. I recently had the chance to meet and speak with one of the pilots involved after our mutual friend sort of badgered him into telling the story. He was modest but at the same time rightfully proud of what they accomplished. I had to get the book to get all of the many details Its an amazing story that is legendary in the Coast Guard community. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1308 "2020-11-26T23:38:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Nobody ever believes me when I tell them my uncle Earl owns a museum. — _The Hollow Places_, Ursula Vernon ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1309 "2020-11-26T23:45:37Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And Thoreau often went into town to have his laundry done and to enjoy meals cooked by his sister, IIRC. His sister also cleaned his house, and he also ate over at the Emersons pretty frequently. There’s an amazing thread on Twitter about it, if you’re interested. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2020, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1310 "2020-11-27T04:46:59Z")
“Late during one of those perfect twilights when the sky shimmered with copper like the last pulse of heat burning out of a body, Padilla and Bigelow turned off the highway onto a narrow residential street that brought them directly into the sun.” – _The Forgotten Man_, by Robert Crais ---
**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:** [November 27, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1311 "2020-11-27T17:10:40Z")
In _Walden_, Thoreau makes it very clear that he often has dinner at other people’s houses, and occasionally mentions borrowing things from them. Still, I enjoyed reading his observations about nature. Back to the thread: “From where I sit, the story of Arthur Less is not so bad.” _Less_, by Andrew Sean Greer ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1312 "2020-11-27T21:09:58Z")
“When the Moon rose in the Third Northern Hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule to witness the joining of three Tides.” _Piranesi_, by Susanna Clark ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1313 "2020-11-27T23:10:03Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Commodore Eddie Cantrell looked past the bowsprit of the USE steam cruiser _Intrepid_ into the nautical twilight brightening the eastern horizon. > > _1637: No Peace Beyond the Line_ by Eric Flint and Charles E Gannon This, which I started yesterday. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2020, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1314 "2020-11-28T04:55:52Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > In _Walden_, Thoreau makes it very clear that he often has dinner at other people’s houses, and occasionally mentions borrowing things from them. Still, I enjoyed reading his observations about nature… Ah, thanks. Pardon the snark, then. I had read elsewhere that he tried to portray himself as much more of a rugged individualist and noble, nature-loving loner than he really was. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2020, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1315 "2020-11-28T12:20:23Z")
“On September 12, 1876, the crowd overflowing the auditorium of Baltimore’s Academy of Music was in a mood of hopeful excitement, but excitement without frivolity.” -_The Great Influenza - The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History_ by John M. Barry ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1316 "2020-11-28T16:13:23Z")
“Now the black man screamed _No!_, now the black man screamed _Get out, motherfucker_, and Carp, a big-boy at thirty, felt the explosion behind his eyes.” _The Hanged Man’s Song_, by John Sandford ---
**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:** [November 29, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1317 "2020-11-29T20:58:53Z")
“The city was hers for a single hour, just the one magic hour, only hers.” – _The Watchman_, by Robert Crais ---
**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:** [November 29, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1318 "2020-11-29T21:04:49Z")
“Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits.” _The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic_, by Stephen R. Covey ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1319 "2020-11-29T21:28:48Z")
"Letter 1 To Mrs Saville, England St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17– You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings." - _Frankenstein_, by Mary Shelley. The whole book is that flowery shit. I love it. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1320 "2020-12-01T23:42:59Z")
“It is exactly midnight, which means Mother’s Day has just begun.” _Where Are You Now?_ by Mary Higgins Clark ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1321 "2020-12-02T00:20:35Z")
“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.” _Hunger Games_, by Suzanne Collins ---
**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:** [December 5, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1322 "2020-12-05T00:08:21Z")
“The day is bright and warm for December 1, but the logs in the marsh pond are bare.” All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings, by Gayle Boss ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1323 "2020-12-05T01:11:50Z")
“Rusty Rutherford emerged from his apartment on a Monday morning, exactly one week after he got fired.” _The Sentinel_ by Lee Child and Andrew Child. A Jack Reacher 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:** [December 5, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1324 "2020-12-05T20:47:08Z")
“I bounded over the gray, dusty terrain toward the huge dome of Conrad Bubble.” _Artemis_, by Andy Weir ---
**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:** [December 5, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1325 "2020-12-05T21:20:20Z")
“Now Uther Pendragon, King of all Britain, conceived an inordinate passion for the fair Ygraine, duchess of Cornwall, and having otherwise no access to her, he proceeded to wage war upon her husband, Gorlois the duke.” _Arthur Rex_ by Thomas Berger ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/1326 "2020-12-05T21:30:36Z")
> The Great War had brought Paul Lewis into the navy in 1918 as a lieutenant commander, but he never seems quite at ease when he was in his uniform. _The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History_ – John M. Barry Sidenote: I learn to my amazement that there was no such thing as medical science prior to about the 1870s or 1880s. Medical schools were supported by student fees, and students were not required to have any kind of degree at all (even a highschool degree!) prior to admission. They performed no labs, experiments, or autopsies. Most never used thermometers or stethoscopes. You could become a doctor by attending lectures for a few months and didn’t even have to pass an exam. I’m at chapter 5 and still learning about the history of medical practice and how it changed in a short period of time once doctors were willing to apply the scientific method to the practice. Amazing stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=65) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=67)