# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/121 "2017-07-08T01:27:19Z")
_“We should turn back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them._ \*\* A Game of Thrones\*\* My sister has urged me to begin this series, and so I have. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/122 "2017-07-09T12:26:16Z")
A pompous little steward stopped us from walking the Borzois through tourist. Zany Afternoons, by Bruce McCall ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/123 "2017-07-09T15:51:50Z")
“At the age of 4, Paul Erdos remarked to his mother, ‘If you subtract 250 from 100, you get 150 below zero’.” _The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers_ ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/124 "2017-07-09T16:05:40Z")
“Man”’ said Terl, “is an endangered species”. _Battlefield Earth_, by L. Ron Hubbard. **Rhiannon8404** snagged a free copy at the ALA convention a couple weeks ago ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/125 "2017-07-09T18:14:50Z")
“Her name is Melanie.” - The Girl With All the Gifts. M.R. Carey. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/126 "2017-07-09T18:56:21Z")
From the preface: \*My purpose is to record and contemplate the origin, growth, maturity, and decline of Greek civilization from the oldest remains of Crete and Troy to the conquest of Greece by Rome. \* Will Durant, _The Life of Greece_, vol 2 of _The Story of Civilization_. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/127 "2017-07-09T19:37:14Z")
“He was born with the rank of Detective-Inspector, CID, on a very wet Saturday afternoon in a basement flat off Sloane Square, in London. The year was 1931.” _Preface from a Ngaio Marsh omnibus, in which she explains the origin of her fictional detective, Roderick Alleyn._ ---
**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:** [July 9, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/128 "2017-07-09T22:17:32Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > We had a similar thread years ago, but it quietly died. I always liked it. > > “Brian Engle rolled the American Pride L1011 to a stop at Gate 22 and flicked off the FASTEN SEATBELT light at exactly 10:14 P.M.” > > – _The Langoliers_, by Stephen King, the first novella in his collection _Four Past Midnight_. Since these are novellas, I’ll fudge a bit and give the first sentence from the second in the collection: " ‘You stole my story,’ the man on the doorstep said." – _Secret Window, Secret Garden_ ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/129 "2017-07-09T23:05:38Z")
Having noticed that this thread is still running, I may as well note that the novel I’m currently reading is perhaps the one most famous for its opening sentence. Sure, the likes of _Ulysses_ and _Nineteen Eighty-Four_ have famous opening sentences, but that’s surely not the most famous thing about them. One word: “catamite”. _Earthly Powers_ by Anthony Burgess. Very much a readable blast so far. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/130 "2017-07-09T23:44:51Z")
“The opening story about the wolves may seem like a bit of dark humor, but a cold reality runs deep in the punch line.” Brace For Impact by Michael Marks (good book, gets you thinking about today’s safety in life) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/131 "2017-07-10T00:13:56Z")
“Yashim flicked a speck of dust on his cuff.” The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin. Kind of a disappointing read so far; a fair amount of action but damn few surprises for something that’s supposed to be a mystery. More of an historical novel, which is fine as far as it goes, but not what I was hoping for. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/132 "2017-07-10T06:03:44Z")
The town of Gros Ventre was so far from anywhere that you had to take a bus to catch a bus. “Last Bus to Wisdom”–the final book by outstanding Western writer Ivan Doig ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/133 "2017-07-10T07:14:20Z")
“I have a painting in the hallway of my house in Berwick-upon-Tweed, by the Scottish artist Duncan Mackellar.” Eric Lomax, _The Railway Man_. ---
**Author:** ![arara123](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@arara123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arara123)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/134 "2017-07-10T15:09:03Z")
“Then slowly the night would open and the miracle unfold.” – _The Dark Bride_ by Laura Restrepo. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/135 "2017-07-10T15:12:44Z")
“How far do heredity and environment, respectively, mould character and foreshadow a career?” B. H. Liddell Hart. \*Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American \* Inspired by the preservers of Confederate Monuments in the news of late. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/136 "2017-07-10T15:18:46Z")
“Teddy Xanakis would have to steal the painting.” X Sue Grafton ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/137 "2017-07-11T04:57:47Z")
In the spring of her twenty-second year, Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life. Could be any romance novel, but actually an English translation of future Nobel winner Haruki Murakami’s _Sputnik Sweetheart_. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/138 "2017-07-11T16:18:01Z")
No doubt the following narrative will be received with entire incredulity, but I think it well that the public should be put in possession of the facts narrated in “An Antarctic Mystery.” - _An Antarctic Mystery_, by Jules Verne, trans by Mrs. Cashel Hoey, 1899, subtitled _A Sequel to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym_ There’a little too much narration up front (see above), and the OCR needed some decent proofreading, but a pretty good adventure story. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2017, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/139 "2017-07-15T04:45:50Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > “Brian Engle rolled the American Pride L1011 to a stop at Gate 22 and flicked off the FASTEN SEATBELT light at exactly 10:14 P.M.” > > – _The Langoliers_, by Stephen King, the first novella in his collection _Four Past Midnight_. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Since these are novellas, I’ll fudge a bit and give the first sentence from the second in the collection: > > " ‘You stole my story,’ the man on the doorstep said." > > – _Secret Window, Secret Garden_ And now the third novella in _Four Past Midnight_. [/QUOTE] : “Everything, Sam Peebles decided later, was the fault of the goddamned acrobat.” _The Library Policeman_, by Stephen King ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858/140 "2017-07-15T06:08:20Z")
“According to Genesis, it took as few as four people to make the planet too crowded to stand, and the first murder was a fratricide.” - ‘Dead Beat’, Jim Butcher “First of all, it was October, a rare month for boys.” - ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’, Ray Bradbury [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-sentence-from-the-book-you-are-currently-reading/784858.md?page=8)