“The machine was ready.”
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer.
“Theo imagined the worst. The message said only that Vincent had ‘wounded himself.’”
Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith (2011)
“My mother came from a small town in Poland, my father from a small town in Maine.”
Davita’s Harp, by Chaim Potok
Does a non-fiction book begin with the introduction?
“For six months in 1919, Paris was the capital of the world.”
Or chapter one?
“On December 4, 1918, the George Washington sailed out of New York with the American delegation to the Peace Conference on board.”
Paris - 1919, by Margaret Macmillan
I choose whichever sentence I think is more interesting.
“In the gathering darkness of a cold winter evening on 9 November 1965, just before sixteen minutes and eleven seconds past five o’clock, a small metal cup inside a black rectangular box began slowly to revolve.”
Connections, by James Burke.
“I didnt hear the siren”
The Wildlands by Abby Geni
“When I got back to HaveRatton Station, a bunch of humans tried to kill me.”
Exit Strategy, by Martha Wells
DEDICATION - This book is dedicated to what most authorities seem to agree is a fundamental requirement for good health: Staying Alive.
I Feel Much Better, Now That I’ve Given Up Hope, by Ashleigh Brilliant (1984)
“This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child.”
The Magician’s Nephew, Chronicles of Narnia
“In the late afternoon, when the long December night had already darkened the skies, we opened Christmas cards, taking turns, reading the messages, enjoying this once-a-year being in touch with far-flung friends.”
A Stone for a Pillow, by Madeleine L’Engle
She stood before the Inquisition on that twenty-second day of August, 1320.
Eve’s Herbs A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West by John M Riddle.
“In dust and blood–with the sharp tang of terror still in his nostrils–a man’s mind will sometimes pull forth odd relevancies.”
The Postman, by David Brin.
"In 1903, it must have seemed to Mr. and Mrs. Davidson that their three sons had gone their separate ways.
Harley-Davidson An Illustrated Guide by Peter Henshaw and Ian Kerr
Photography by Garry Stuart“When the men in black suits came, my daughter offered them tea.”
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott (2019)
“His name was Gaal Dornick and he was just a country boy who had never seen Trantor before.”
Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951)
“My ordeal began on a Friday early in September.”
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, by Peg Kehret.
You were my September song, summer lasted too long
Time moves so slowly, when you’re only fifteen
You were my September song, tell me where have you gone?
Do you remember me, we were only fifteen
“From the first stirrings of childhood the American acquires an ever-thickening encrustation of ideas, beliefs, and dogma that makes life all the simpler.”
There Are Alligators in Our Sewers, by P. Dicksen & J.C. Goulden
From what book?
“There is a photograph in existence of Aunt Sadie and her six children sitting round the tea-table at Alconleigh.”
The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford
“On May 9, 1979, a group of tobacco industry executives gathere to hear about an important new program.”
Merchants of Doubt, Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway