“At no time in the history of America has the awareness of the frame’s significance been so great, both as an art object and as a vehicle for aesthetically and historically enhancing a work of art.” A quote by Larry Shar in The Secret Lives of Frames: One hundred Years of Art and Artistry by Deborah Davis 2007.
“There was a thin robin’s-egg-blue dawn coming up over Tel Aviv when the intelligence analyst finished typing his report.”
The ODESSA File by Frederick Forsyth
Charles H. Barnard, captain of the American sealing brig Nanina, had only the best of intentions.
Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Treachery and Survival at the Edge of the World, by Eric Jay Dolin
The floral fragrances – a symphony of subtle sweetness – swirled with the earthier scants of mist-damp leaves and the nutrient-rich soil
Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens, by Andrea Penrose
Rían, wife of Huor, dwelt with the people of the House of Hador; but when rumour came to Dor-lómin of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and yet she could hear no news of her lord, she became distraught and wandered forth into the wild alone.
J.R.R. Tolkien, Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth
“How long, dear friend–how long?”
Kolymsky Heights, by Lionel Davidson
“It is a sepia photo, oval-shaped, glued inside a yellowed cardboard folder, showing a baby posed in three-quarter profile on a heap of scalloped cushions.”
The Other Girl, by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison L. Strayer
“My first impression was that the stranger’s eyes were of an unusually light blue.”
– Mr Norris Changes Trains, by Christopher Isherwood
“Listen, all of you people lying lazy on the beach, is this what you imagine is the meaning of the sea?”
The Eyes of the Amaryllis, by Natalie Babbitt
“Grab your magnifying glass, because this is a mystery story.”
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her, by Melanie Rehak
December 2016
Waltham, Massachusetts
In a tiny Catholic church, a large Jewish family comes in from out of town and files into a modest funeral service that will honor a local man, an Italian American, a hometown fixture who once ran the Monarch Diner on Main Street.
The Boys in the Light: An Extraordinary World War II Story of Survival, Faith, and Brotherhood, by Nina Willner
Through the doorway which led from her receptionist-secretary’s office into her own, Catherine Morris Perry instantly noticed the box on her desk.
Talking God, by Tony Hillerman
She would come at daybreak – the woman whose letter I held in my hands, the woman whose name I did not yet know.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
“At nine o’clock in the morning, towards the end of November, the Warsaw train was approaching Petersburg at full speed.”
– The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
“Sometime between May and November, 1876, Colonel Albert Augustus Pope took a trip that changed American life forever.”
Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way), by Sue Macy
“Kay Lynne wandered up and down the aisles of the seed library dug out beneath the county extension office.”
Telling the Map, by Christopher Rowe (This is a story collection; the sentence is from “The Contrary Gardener”.)
A graceful melody wafted through the air, the low, sonorous sounds of the violoncello deepened by the curling plumes of spice-scented cheroot smoke.
Murder at Kensington Palace, by Andrea Penrose
The three women stood in the sky above London and waited for the Blitz to come.
Blitz by Daniel O’-lets make this tangent 40 pages long- Malley
She was floating, arms outspread, water lapping her body, breathing in a summery fragrance of salt and coconut.
What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty
Officer Jim Chee was thinking that either his right front tire was a little low or there was something wrong with the shock on that side.
Coyote Waits, by Tony Hillerman
“‘Come on, love, push now!’ coaxed the midwife.”
Midwife on Call: Tales of Tiny Miracles, by Agnes Light
“Frank Burly is my name.”
The Time Machine Did It, by John Swartzwelder
“To some it’s a stage.”
The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly
It was all because of the Berlin Wall.
The Husband’s Secret, by Liane Moriarty
“The Victorian upper crust excelled at taking apart dinner.”
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, by Mary Roach
“A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories.”
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
The crawfish knew it was coming.
A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America’s Hurricanes, by Eric Jay Dolin
Darkness had settled over the city, and yet the night was quite pleasant, the first hints of summer warmth softening the breeze.
Murder at the Serpentine Bridge, by Andrea Penrose
Dellaria Wells had misplaced her mother.
The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner