“Half an hour after Tim Jamieson’s Delta flight was scheduled to leave Tampa for the bright lights and tall buildings of New York, it was still parked at the gate.”
The Institute, by Stephen King
“The very first measurement, like the first word or first melody, is lost to time: impossible to localize and difficult even to imagine.”
Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants, by James Vincent.
From Murder, She Wrote, A Fatal Feast:
“Mornin’, Mrs. Fletcher.”
“Late March in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains wasn’t yet spring by any means, but there were a growing number of days when spring could be dreamt of.”
Storm Watch by C.J. Box, #23 in the Joe Pickett series
“There was a letter from the Clearys at the post office.”
The Best of Connie Willis: Award Winning Stories, by Connie Willis. (Note that the above sentence is from the first story, “A Letter from the Clearys.”)
“Melville, South Carolina was out of money, it was out of jobs, it was out of hope, and today it was out of astronauts.”
Badasstronauts, by Grady Hendrix
Most of human history is irreparably lost to us.
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, by David Graeber and David Wengrow
“The wind howls, the rain comes down in sheets, and Patty is still dead.”
Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, by Seanan McGuire
“A man stands at the end of a drafty corridor AKA the 19th Century and, in the flickering light of an oil lamp, examines a machine made of nickel and ivory, with brass rails and quartz rods.”
Time Travel by James Gleick
Just put this on hold at the library. 
‘Drat,’ said Mercy Porter, balancing the tray on a concrete cherub as she tugged at the latch on the Garden Apartment gate.
Away with the Fairies (Phryne Fisher #11), by Kerry Greenwood
Two armies faced each other across the River Epte in northern France.
Empires of the Normans: Conquerors of Europe, by Levi Roach
“The Belle Isle police riot of April 30, 1967, was the first riot I ever played.”
The Hard Stuff - Dope, Crime, The MC5 & My Life of Impossibilities , by Wayne Kramer
“The American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce somewhere remarked that unfortunately universes are not as plentiful as blackberries.”
Are Universes Thicker Than Blackberries? Discourses on Godel, Magic Hexagrams, Little Red Riding Hood, and Other Mathematical and Pseudoscience Topics, by Martin Gardner.
“In his last years Marco’s older brother had become one of those people whose possessions swallowed them entirely.”
Lost Places by Sarah Pinsker (Note that this is a story collection, and the above sentence is from the first, “Two Truths and a Lie”.)
"It was about the Beginning of September 1664, that I, among the Rest of my Neighbours, heard in ordinary Discourse, that the Plague was return’d again in Holland; for it had been very violent there, and particularly at Amsterdam and Roterdam [sic], in the Year 1663, whither they say, it was brought, some said from Italy, others from the Levant among some Goods, which were brought home by their Turkey Fleet; others said it was brought from Candia; others from Cyprus.
– A Journal of the Plague Year, by Daniel Defoe
“I came up with the title for this book in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election.”
I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb by Tossie Wiley Jr.
“Asgeir Gunnarsson farmed at Gunnars Stead near Undir Hofdi church in Austfjord.”
– The Greenlanders: A Novel by Jane Smiley.
“I still remember everything, the warm night, the rows of seats, all taken, and mine right at the front.”
Lev’s Violin: A Story of Music, Culture, and Italian Adventure, by Helena Attlee
“THE FIRST THING ANTOINETTE Ricci ever lost was her father, but she was so young when it happened that she never really felt like she could be held responsible.” Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
“Linh arrived on Prosper Station blown by the winds of war amidst a ship full of refugees who huddled together, speaking tearfully of the invading armies: the war between the rebel lords and the Empire had escalated, and their war-kites had laid waste to entire planets.”
On a Red Station, Drifting, by Aliette de Bodard
“West Virginia’s Wheeling Standards held a Fourth of July picnic in 1877 and the festivities included a contest to see who would catch a greased pig.”
Tales from the Dugout: 1,001 Humorous, Inspirational, & Wild Anecdotes from Minor League Baseball, by Tim Hagerty.