Tuesday, 4 July 1939, and a hot, humid Independence Day in New York City.
The Rise of Germany 1939-1941 (The War in the West Vol 1), by James Holland
Once, years ago, I left home looking for a grand adventure and spent five months staring at mud.
On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor
Formori Greece
At night here I often dream of my parents.
Voice of our Shadow Jonathan Carroll
Yes. I always felt Susan never got her due.
“Our father is dead and I have come to discuss matters of his estate.”
Dust & Grim, by Chuck Wendig
“And with that, I put down my Peterson pipe, tapping the chamber upon my armrest, chuckling mightily.”
Comedy Bang! Bang! The Podcast: The Book, edited by Scott Aukerman
“By the time they had lived seven years in the little house on Greentree Avenue in Westport, Connecticut, they both detested it.”
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson
“My sainted mother taught me the seven acts of corporeal mercy: to feed the hungry; refresh the thirsty; clothe the naked; shelter the traveller; comfort the sick; visit those imprisoned; and bury the dead.”
The Poison Thread, by Laura Purcell
“The residents of Wakarusa, Indiana, could spin gossip faster than a spider spins its web.”
All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
“There is NO such thing as a line.”
Along Those Lines - The Boundaries That Create Our World by Peter Cashwell
“Though English was the language of my parents, the language in which I was raised and schooled, I have never felt I belonged to it.”
Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing: Encounters with the Mysteries and Meanings of Language, by Daniel Tammet
“The first thing Vasha did in the morning was wind her watch.”
The Future Second by Second, by Meridel Newton
“It’s perfectly formed.”
Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution, by Menno Schilthuizen.
“Even on the Sabbath dawn Penn Station was a busy place.”
The Long Gray Line by Rick Atkinson
“In the end, each of us has only one story to tell.”
The Marriage of Sticks by Jonathan Carroll
“Nicholas Hansard knew that he was trapped.”
The Scholars of Night, by John M. Ford
I’m not sure what to use as the first sentence of this book. So I’ll just put all of them.
Foreword (by a different author): “At risk of stepping on stage with too much flair, a note: About halfway through this book, the book you now hold, I felt a few tears coming on.”
Introduction: “Forgive me for the title of this book.”
First sentence of first entry: “As a child, I hated it when adults would say, ‘Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.’”
101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered, by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann
“In the summer of 2021, the woman flew into Miami International with nothing to declare but the clothes she stood in, a phony passport, an iPhone with a broken screen, and a ballpoint pen.”
Dark Angel by John Sandford
“By the time the front door closed, the car was parked outside Claire Arden’s home, waiting for her.”
The Passengers by John Marrs
“As I returned from lunch to my Cleveland, Ohio office on November 22, 1963, someone in our elevator said, ‘The president’s been shot.’”
JFK, Oswald and Ruby: Politics, Prejudice and Truth by Burt W. Griffin
“Tempelhof Airport is quiet now, being turned into a giant park by the Berlin City Council.”
Daring Young Men: The Heroism and Triumph of the Berlin Airlift, June 1948 - May 1949, by Richard Reeves