# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/121 "2007-11-27T03:15:59Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] Oh, oh, _Jumps up and down and waves hand_. Is that Master and Commander? I love O’Brian!!! [/QUOTE] Yes! ---
**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 27, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/122 "2007-11-27T04:02:38Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] I almost submitted this one myself! Walter Miller, **A Canticle for Liebowitz**. [/QUOTE] You got it. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Like\_Tears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@Time\_Like\_Tears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Like_Tears)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/123 "2007-11-27T04:22:44Z")
Everyone has guessed the ones I knew, due to my late arrival. Here are some more, randomly picked from my shelves. Some easy, some more difficult. “Corde, who led the life of an executive in America–wasn’t a college dean a kind of executive?–found himself six or seven thousand miles from his base, in Bucharest, in winter, shut up in an old-fashioned apartment.” ““I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one.”” “Once upon a time when the world was young there was a Martian named Smith.” “The Salinas Valley is in Northern California.” “On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it was Court Hand and Summulae Logicales, while the rest of the week it was the Organon, Repetition and Astrology.” ---
**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 27, 2007, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/124 "2007-11-27T04:28:45Z")
“Once upon a time when the world was young there was a Martian named Smith.” _Stranger in a Strange Land_ “On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it was Court Hand and Summulae Logicales, while the rest of the week it was the Organon, Repetition and Astrology.” _The Once and Future King_. And I’m sure the one in between is something by Steinbeck, but I have no idea what. ---
**Author:** ![Vimp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vimp/32/4186_2.png) [@Vimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vimp)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/125 "2007-11-27T04:37:18Z")
[QUOTE=Fretful Porpentine] “An easterly is the most disagreeable wind in Lyme Bay – Lyme bay being that largest bite from the underside of England’s outstretched south-western leg – and a person of curiosity could at once have deduced several strong probabilities about the pair who began to walk down the quay at Lyme Regis, the small but ancient eponym of the inbite, one incisively sharp and blustery morning in the late March of 1867.” [/QUOTE] “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” - John Fowles "Charlie Asher walked the earth like an ant walks on the surface of water … " ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/126 "2007-11-27T05:03:57Z")
[QUOTE=KatiRoo] “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” - John Fowles "Charlie Asher walked the earth like an ant walks on the surface of water … " [/QUOTE] A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore “My first memory is of a time ten years before I was born, and the memory takes place where I have never been and involves my daddy whom I never knew.” ---
**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 27, 2007, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/127 "2007-11-27T05:31:50Z")
No Googling! Only I may google, and that’s to check others’ answers (I didn’t google the answers I supplied myself). Preferably brains only, though you may check in your own bookcases (no libraries or bookstores!) ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/128 "2007-11-27T06:34:06Z")
[QUOTE=Time Like Tears] “The Salinas Valley is in Northern California.” [/QUOTE] _East of Eden_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Like\_Tears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@Time\_Like\_Tears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Like_Tears)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/129 "2007-11-27T15:17:41Z")
[QUOTE=Fretful Porpentine] “Once upon a time when the world was young there was a Martian named Smith.” _Stranger in a Strange Land_ “On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it was Court Hand and Summulae Logicales, while the rest of the week it was the Organon, Repetition and Astrology.” _The Once and Future King_. And I’m sure the one in between is something by Steinbeck, but I have no idea what. [/QUOTE] Right on all three, and [QUOTE=lobstermobster] _East of Eden ?_ [/QUOTE] she got the title. Yay! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/130 "2007-11-27T16:26:31Z")
“The first facet was **purpose**.” - _An Oblique Approach_, Eric Flint & David Drake “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/131 "2007-11-27T16:44:20Z")
Hmm… I don’t know any more of the unsolved ones… so I’ll just throw out a couple more. Ok, this one has a prelude before the first chapter, but I like the first chapter’s first sentence better, so I’ll include both. “This is the room of the wolfmother wallpaper … It was a bright, defrosted, pussywillow day at the onset of spring, and the newlyweds were driving cross-country in a large roast turkey.” And this one’s a bit harder because it’s such a short sentence. “It was love at first sight.” ---
**Author:** ![Aholibah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Aholibah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aholibah)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/132 "2007-11-27T16:53:00Z")
> [@stucco](#): > > Here’s mine: > “The full truth of this odd matter is what the world has long been looking for, and public curiosity is sure to welcome.” My (unconfirmed by Google) guess is _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ by Robert Louis Stevenson. My submission: “The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/133 "2007-11-27T16:54:37Z")
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of course they became heroes.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/134 "2007-11-27T17:05:20Z")
[QUOTE=RedRosesForMe] And this one’s a bit harder because it’s such a short sentence. “It was love at first sight.” [/QUOTE] **Catch-22**. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/135 "2007-11-27T17:08:30Z")
[QUOTE=muldoonthief] “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” [/QUOTE] William Gibson, Neuromancer. ---
**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 27, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/136 "2007-11-27T17:10:24Z")
[QUOTE=Aholibah] My (unconfirmed by Google) guess is _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ by Robert Louis Stevenson. My submission: “The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.” [/QUOTE] Hmm … _The Picture of Dorian Grey?_ ---
**Author:** ![Aholibah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Aholibah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aholibah)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/137 "2007-11-27T17:11:58Z")
[QUOTE=Fretful Porpentine] Hmm … _The Picture of Dorian Grey?_ [/QUOTE] Well done, **Fretful**!! (And I was terribly disappointed that I came to this thread too late to answer your _Strong Poison_ submission. You and I have bonded over Lord Peter before.) ---
**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 27, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/138 "2007-11-27T17:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] (no libraries or bookstores!) [/QUOTE] Well, then, I’m done. 🙂 Sorry to see no one’s tried the (I thought) very easy one I submitted from the non-fiction shelves, though. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/139 "2007-11-27T18:36:19Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Well, then, I’m done. 🙂 Sorry to see no one’s tried the (I thought) very easy one I submitted from the non-fiction shelves, though. [/QUOTE] A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein? ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408/140 "2007-11-27T19:07:59Z")
[QUOTE=Time Like Tears] Right on all three, and she got the title. Yay! [/QUOTE] ? What does this mean? Was I supposed to put the author? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-guess-the-book-from-the-opening-line/427408.md?page=8)