“Contrary to what you’ve heard, I did not entertain the troops at Valley Forge.”
Dear Bob… Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.'s of World War II, written and compiled by Martha Bolton with Linda Hope
“Our story begins in the company of the Right Honorable Christopher Birdwood Thomson, First Baron Thomson of Cardington, Privy Councillor, Commander of the British Empire, peer of the House of Lords, ex-brigadier, ex–General Staff, ex-Cheltenham, ex-Woolwich, ex–Royal Engineers, ex–a lot of other things. His official title is Secretary of State for Air, which has a nice Shakespearean ring and is an apt description of what he does for a living.”
His Majesty’s Airship by S.C. Gwynne
“The rose is part of a larger group of plants in the Rosaceae family (the term “Rosaceae” refers to a family of flowering plants).”
Rosa: The Story of the Rose, by Peter E. Kukielski with Charles Phillips.
“The California Bear, a serial torturer-murderer who had eluded justice for close to four decades, wanted a cookie.”
California Bear by Duane Swierczynski
I started it this morning and I’m having a hard time putting it down. Quite entertaining thus far.
“I rise into darkness, away from the garden they watered with the blood of my friends.”
Morning Star by Pierce Brown
The way into the underland is through the riven trunk of an old ash tree." Underland - Robert MacFarland.
Sounds like a fantasy novel but is non-fiction mixed with a bit of philosophy. Its about the places beneath our feet - caves, mines and (I think) glaciers. I’ve only just started it. So far, so good.
“The crown is heavy on her head, the petals shaking pollen into her eyes, watering them, sending heat to her nose, flushing her cheeks.”
Bitter Become the Fields: A Horror Anthology, edited by Jes McCutchen, Victoria Moore, and H. V. Patterson. (Note that the above sentence is from the first story, “One with the Woods” by Rowan Witt.)
He ambled into the room, sat in the indicated chair, and said nothing. The baffled expression had been on his face for some time and was getting a bit tired of wearing it.
Wasp by Eric Frank Russell (1957)
“On the scale of catastrophic things in the world, being a twenty-nine-year-old virgin isn’t that bad.”
Unorthodox Love, by Heidi Shertok
"The front page of the late city edition of The New York Times on Tuesday, December 24, 1940, included headlines such as EVE OF CHRISTMAS FINDS BUSTLING CITY IN FESTIVE SPIRIT juxtaposed next to CHURCHILL BIDS ITALY OUST MUSSOLINI; GREEKS TAKE ANOTHER COASTAL TOWN; GERMANS RAIN BOMBS ON MANCHESTER.
– On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service, by Anthony Fauci MD
“In the centuries before Rome adopted Christianity as its official religion, the Eternal City served as a symbol of world domination imposed by vigorous military leaders and efficient civilian administrators.”
Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe by Judith Herrin
None of the five Americans spoke much as the university van took them from Flughafen Wien-Schwechat – Vienna International Airport, just southeast of the city – to the Institute of Science and Technology campus on the western outskirts of Klosterneuburg.
To Turn the Tide, by S M Stirling
“Imagine millions of ordinary people plagued by a fear that technology is accelerating out of control.”
Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech, by Brian Merchant.
“Rocco Fitch spotted the beggar on his regular morning walk to get a latte at Emilio’s Coffee Shop.”
Road Trip, by David Keener
“Move it!”
Raising Hell Plus, by Norman Spinrad (Note that this is a collection of some of his short works, and the sentence is from “Raising Hell”.)
“The face of Nicholas Easter was slightly hidden by a display rack filled with slim cordless phones, and he was looking not directly at the hidden camera but somewhere off to the left, perhaps at a customer, or perhaps at a counter where a group of kids hovered over the latest electronic games from Asia.”
The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
The cold winds of autumn were setting in, and the leaves just beginning to turn amber and crimson.
Give Me Tomorrow: The Korean War’s Greatest Untold Story – the Epic Stand of the Marines of George Company, by Patrick K O’Donnell [G Co, 3/1 Marines]
“Oh, merde.”
A World of Curiosities, the 17th Chief Inspector Gamache novel by Louise Penny
William Moulton Marston, who believed women should rule the world, decided at the unnaturally early and altogether impetuous age of eighteen that the time had come for him to die.
The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore
“O Lord, we come this morning
Knee-bowed and body-bent
Before thy throne of grace.”
God’s Trombones by James Weldon Johnson (Note that this is a poetry collection, and the sentence is from the first poem, “Listen, Lord”.)
“Equations and formulas (or should that be formulae?).”
An Equation for Every Occasion: Simple Formulas for Surviving the Unexpected, by Chris Waring.
Nobody sensible takes a leisure cruise in February.
Death on the Tiber, the twelfth Flavia Alba mystery by Lindsey Davis.
“The Mississippi is well worth reading about.”
Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain