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Apr. 26th, 2005
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collie13
1. Choose five to ten of your all time favorite books.
2. Take the first sentence of the first chapter and make a list in your journal.
3. Don't reveal the author or the title of the book.
Y'all get to guess the book. When someone gets it, I'll post why it is one of my favorites.
1. They moved swiftly, silently, with purpose under a crystalline, star-filled night in western Siberia. Tom Clancey - Red Storm Rising. Another good epic tale, a bit dated now, but still a good read. (Patrik Holmström, who doesn't have a journal, got this one.)
2. The blue Mercedes turned into the big circular drive of the Beverly Hills mansion at precisely five after six.
3. I always get the shakes before a drop. Robert A Heinlein - Starship Troopers. Far and away my favorite Heinlein, this book more than anything else affected my views towards military service. (Target ID by arib)
4. Once there was a dead man. Larry Niven - A World Out of Time. My favorite Niven story of all time. The epic scope of the tale, the changed Earth, everything just grabbed me as a kid and still hasn't let go. (cmdr_zoom got this one.)
5. George Enos was gutting haddock on the noisome deck of the steam trawler Ripple when Fred Butcher, the first mate, sang out, "Smoke off the starboard bow!" Harry Turtledove - The Great War: American Front. I'm a sucker for alternate history, and the Great War/American Empire/Return Engagement series has to be one of the all-time greatest efforts in that genre. You really believe in the Confederacy of these books. (That fine Southern gentleman aurictech kindly identified this book.)
6. In the nighttime heart of Beirut, in one of a row of general-address transfer booths, Louis Wu flicked into reality. Larry Niven - Ringworld. Again, Niven's epic scale and vision blew me away. (valkyrwench and smdr_zoom have simutanious timestamps getting this one.)
7. Two tanks, American, which showed signs of hard use, moved slowly down a path.
8. On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travelers into the gulf below. Thorton Wilder - The Bridge at San Luis Rey. This book, more than any other, affected how I view history... not merely as dates and events, but as the people who were part of those events. The Canterbury Tales do the same thing, but I read those later on. (ID by an anonymous poster.)
9. Samuel Spade's jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of his mouth. Dashiell Hammett - The Maltese Falcon The best hard-boiled detective story ever, and set in my hometown! (pauldrye got this one.)
10. The anchorman looked earnestly into the cameras, seemingly wide-awake despite the early morning hour.
collie131. Choose five to ten of your all time favorite books.
2. Take the first sentence of the first chapter and make a list in your journal.
3. Don't reveal the author or the title of the book.
Y'all get to guess the book. When someone gets it, I'll post why it is one of my favorites.
2. The blue Mercedes turned into the big circular drive of the Beverly Hills mansion at precisely five after six.
arib)cmdr_zoom got this one.)aurictech kindly identified this book.)valkyrwench and smdr_zoom have simutanious timestamps getting this one.)7. Two tanks, American, which showed signs of hard use, moved slowly down a path.
pauldrye got this one.)10. The anchorman looked earnestly into the cameras, seemingly wide-awake despite the early morning hour.
