# Yet another "Guess the book from the opening line" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2007, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408 "2007-11-22T06:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/41 "2007-11-23T15:46:12Z")
[QUOTE=bbs2k] “This all started because of a clerical error” [/QUOTE] Steve Martin’s _The Pleasure of My Company_? If so, I may set a new record for easiest one: “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.” ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/42 "2007-11-23T15:48:30Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Steve Martin’s _The Pleasure of My Company_? If so, I may set a new record for easiest one: [/QUOTE] Yup. Personal fave, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/43 "2007-11-23T15:49:54Z")
[QUOTE=bbs2k] Yup. Personal fave, thank you. [/QUOTE] By sheerest coincidence, I had just checked in his new biography _Born Standing Up_, so my mind was on him. Don’t know if I could have pulled it out otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/44 "2007-11-23T16:06:54Z")
> [@](#): > > “I want a hero, an uncommon want…” _Don Juan_ by Lord Byron. > [@](#): > > “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.” _The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “This time there would be no witnesses.” “There were crimson roses on the bench; they looked like splashes of blood.” ---
**Author:** ![GorillaGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8491ac/32.png) [@GorillaGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaGirl)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/45 "2007-11-23T18:10:22Z")
[QUOTE=Fretful Porpentine] “There were crimson roses on the bench; they looked like splashes of blood.” [/QUOTE] _Strong Poison_ by Dorothy Sayers “Snow was falling on Riverside, great feather-white puffs that veiled the cracks in the facades of its ruined houses, slowly softening the harsh contours of jagged roof and fallen beam.” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/46 "2007-11-23T18:25:46Z")
Gotten: “I want a hero…”: _Don Juan_, by Lord Byron. “One Christmas was…”: _A Child’s Christmas in Wales_, by Dylan Thomas. “I am always drawn…”: _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_, by Truman Capote. “Death was driving…”: _Winter Moon_, by Dean Koontz. “News item from…”: _Carrie_, by Stephen King. “She was born a thing…”: _The Ship Who Sang,_ by Anne McCaffrey. “The thousand injuries…”: “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allan Poe. “The essential Saltes of Animals…”: “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,” by H. P. Lovecraft. " ‘There are dragons…’ ": _A Wind in the Door_, by Madeleine L’Engle. “This all started…”: _The Pleasure of My Company_, by Steve Martin. “In my younger and more vulnerable years…”: _The Great Gatsby_, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “There were crimson roses…”: _Strong Poison_, by Dorothy Sayers. And here are the ones that have **not yet been guessed:** “AUTHOR: Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, came to power in 1740.” (can’t believe nobody’s gotten this one yet! what kind of geeks are you?!) “It begins, as most things begin, with a song.” “Death came for him by mistake.” “Snow was falling on Riverside, great feather-white puffs that veiled the cracks in the facades of its ruined houses, slowly softening the harsh contours of jagged roof and fallen beam.” “This time there would be no witnesses.” “THERE were four of us - George, and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking, and talking about how bad we were - bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.” “The first facet was purpose.” “The primroses were over.” “I went down to the Piraeus yesterday with Glaucon, son of Ariston, to pray to the goddess; and, at the same time, I wanted to observe how they would put on the festival, since they were now holding it for the first time.” “It began as a mistake.” “In a distant and second-hand set of dimensions, in an astral plane that was never meant to fly, the curling star-mists waver and part . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Doris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Sir\_Doris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Doris)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/47 "2007-11-23T18:35:54Z")
“This time there would be no witnesses.” **Dirk Gently’s Detective Agency** “THERE were four of us - George, and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking, and talking about how bad we were - bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.” **Three Men in a Boat** “The primroses were over.” **Watership Down** ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/48 "2007-11-23T18:41:26Z")
[QUOTE=Reno Nevada] Is this _A Wind in the Door_? And, right or wrong, I will add one: “THERE were four of us - George, and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking, and talking about how bad we were - bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.” [/QUOTE] Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) ---
**Author:** ![Severiane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@Severiane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severiane)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/49 "2007-11-23T18:56:44Z")
I didn’t find any of these, but here’s another one : “For a long time I used to go to bed early” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/50 "2007-11-23T19:09:21Z")
> [@](#): > > “It begins, as most things begin, with a song.” Gaiman, _Anansi Boys_. New: “There’s a light on in the attic.” Hint: It’s shelved in non-fiction. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/51 "2007-11-23T19:15:17Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] “I went down to the Piraeus yesterday with Glaucon, son of Ariston, to pray to the goddess; and, at the same time, I wanted to observe how they would put on the festival, since they were now holding it for the first time.” [/QUOTE] Plato’s _Republic._ “All states, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and are either republics or principalities.” “The Empire, having long been divided, must unite; having long been united, must divide.” ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/52 "2007-11-23T20:33:39Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] “All states, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and are either republics or principalities.” [/QUOTE] _The Prince_, Nicolo Machiavelli. “We were on our way to the colmado for an errand, a beer for my tìo, when Rafa stood still and tilted his head, as if listening to a message I couldn’t hear, something beamed in from afar.” ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/53 "2007-11-23T21:06:40Z")
[QUOTE=Reno Nevada] Is this _A Wind in the Door_? [/QUOTE] Yup! [QUOTE=Sir Doris] “The primroses were over.” **Watership Down** [/QUOTE] Affirmative. [QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [QUOTE=matt\_mcl] “I went down to the Piraeus yesterday with Glaucon, son of Ariston, to pray to the goddess; and, at the same time, I wanted to observe how they would put on the festival, since they were now holding it for the first time.” [/QUOTE] Plato’s _Republic_. [/QUOTE] Got it in one. 🙂 Two more: “Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress.” “When he was thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.” (Since that one was probably way too easy: ) “Midway in the journey of our life I came to myself in a dark wood, for the straight way was lost.” ---
**Author:** ![cromulent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b4bc9f/32.png) [@cromulent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cromulent)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/54 "2007-11-23T21:17:35Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] “When he was thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.” [/QUOTE] To Kill a Mockingbird. “In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him.” ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/55 "2007-11-23T21:24:47Z")
[QUOTE=cromulent] “In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him.” [/QUOTE] _The Prince & The Pauper_, Mark Twain. “One evening of late summer, before the nineteenth century had reached one-third of its span, a young man and woman, the latter carrying a child, were approaching the large village of Weydon-Priors, in Upper Wessex, on foot.” Anybody want to try Post #52? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/56 "2007-11-23T21:30:25Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] “Midway in the journey of our life I came to myself in a dark wood, for the straight way was lost.” [/QUOTE] Dante’s _Inferno._ “It was a dark and stormy night.” ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/57 "2007-11-23T21:54:41Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] . “One evening of late summer, before the nineteenth century had reached one-third of its span, a young man and woman, the latter carrying a child, were approaching the large village of Weydon-Priors, in Upper Wessex, on foot.” Anybody want to try Post #52? [/QUOTE] Is that Hardy’s _The Mayor of Casterbridge_? And that a ‘No’ on 52. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/58 "2007-11-23T22:00:07Z")
[QUOTE=j666] Is that Hardy’s _The Mayor of Casterbridge_? And that a ‘No’ on 52. [/QUOTE] Hardy is correct. What if I give you a hint on #52? ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/59 "2007-11-23T23:29:14Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] “It was a dark and stormy night.” [/QUOTE] Snoopy. [It wasn’t B-L] What’s the hint for #52? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/60 "2007-11-23T23:42:54Z")
[QUOTE=j666] Snoopy. [/QUOTE] Actually, IIRC, Snoopy was quoting some old-time author whose name I can’t recall ( and I refuse to google-cheat ), who was well regarded in his day, but these days is mostly known for that one line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408.md?page=4)