Jumping on the book meme bandwagon
Apr. 20th, 2005 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ivyficI can't resist a time-wasting meme when I'm at work.
Book Meme, stolen from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
feiran and darkling1. Post the opening line of ten favorite books for friends to guess.
This is partly a list of books that have been my favorite at some point, padded out with some classics to make me seem cultured.
1. Taran wanted to make a sword; but Coll, charged with the practical side of his education, decided on horseshoes.
The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander (darkling1's guess was close enough.)
2. Just before dusk in the late afternoon of June 16, 1832, I found myself walking along the crowded docks of Liverpool, England, following a man by the name of Grummage.
(If I hadn't looked this up, I wouldn't have a clue as to this one either.)
3. Meung, a pretty market town on the Loire and the birthplace of Jean de Meung, author of the Romance of the Rose, was more or less used to disturbances of one sort or another because of the troublous times.
(What a crap sentence. I’m going to blame the word ‘troublous’ on the translator.)
4. On the 24th of February, 1815, the lookout of Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon, from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples.
5. Captain First Rank Marko Ramius of the Soviet Navy was dressed for the Arctic conditions normal to the Northern Fleet submarine base at Polyarny.
(Just look at that sentence for a moment. Eleven out of its twenty-four words are capitalized. That's just ridiculous.)
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy guessed byshnayder
6. “Captain Pellaeon?” a voice called down the portside crew pit through the hum of background conversation.
Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn (first book of the Stars Wars Thrawn Trilogy) guessed byjethrien
7. Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes guessed bydarkling1
8. Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself in a dark wilderness, for I had wandered from the straight and true.
(Or some variation thereof, based on the translation.)
Inferno by Dante Alighieri guessed byfeiran
9. Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov was the third son of a landowner from our district, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, well known in his own day (and still remembered among us) because of his dark and tragic death, which happened exactly thirteen years ago and which I shall speak of in its proper place.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky guessed bydarkling1
10. The blade of the lightsaber hissed through the air. Obi-Wan Kenobi could not see its red gleam through the blindfold pressing on his eyes.
(OK, this is the first sentence of a series of books I really like, though the first book is probably the weakest. And I give you two sentences because the first one is pretty non-descript.)
Bonus: Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier guessed byfeiran
And a thank you to amazon for making all these books searchable. I only have a few in my possession at the moment.
Book Meme, stolen from
feiran and darkling1. Post the opening line of ten favorite books for friends to guess.This is partly a list of books that have been my favorite at some point, padded out with some classics to make me seem cultured.
1. Taran wanted to make a sword; but Coll, charged with the practical side of his education, decided on horseshoes.
The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander (
darkling1's guess was close enough.)2. Just before dusk in the late afternoon of June 16, 1832, I found myself walking along the crowded docks of Liverpool, England, following a man by the name of Grummage.
(If I hadn't looked this up, I wouldn't have a clue as to this one either.)
3. Meung, a pretty market town on the Loire and the birthplace of Jean de Meung, author of the Romance of the Rose, was more or less used to disturbances of one sort or another because of the troublous times.
(What a crap sentence. I’m going to blame the word ‘troublous’ on the translator.)
4. On the 24th of February, 1815, the lookout of Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon, from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples.
5. Captain First Rank Marko Ramius of the Soviet Navy was dressed for the Arctic conditions normal to the Northern Fleet submarine base at Polyarny.
(Just look at that sentence for a moment. Eleven out of its twenty-four words are capitalized. That's just ridiculous.)
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy guessed by
shnayder6. “Captain Pellaeon?” a voice called down the portside crew pit through the hum of background conversation.
Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn (first book of the Stars Wars Thrawn Trilogy) guessed by
jethrien7. Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes guessed by
darkling18. Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself in a dark wilderness, for I had wandered from the straight and true.
(Or some variation thereof, based on the translation.)
Inferno by Dante Alighieri guessed by
feiran9. Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov was the third son of a landowner from our district, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, well known in his own day (and still remembered among us) because of his dark and tragic death, which happened exactly thirteen years ago and which I shall speak of in its proper place.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky guessed by
darkling110. The blade of the lightsaber hissed through the air. Obi-Wan Kenobi could not see its red gleam through the blindfold pressing on his eyes.
(OK, this is the first sentence of a series of books I really like, though the first book is probably the weakest. And I give you two sentences because the first one is pretty non-descript.)
Bonus: Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier guessed by
feiranAnd a thank you to amazon for making all these books searchable. I only have a few in my possession at the moment.
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-20 03:46 pm (UTC)7) Gotta be Don Quixote.
9) Brothers Karamazov (never read it, probably should)
Hey, I probably should have remembered to check Amazon for quotes for my own list! Ah, well.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-20 04:21 pm (UTC)8) The Inferno/Inferno/Dante's Inferno, whateveryouwannacallit.
Bonus: Rebecca
I was so convinced that I should know #2 that I finally caved and looked it up--and I was right! Doesn't count for meme purposes, of course, but YAY for that book! Definitely a lifetime favorite. :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-04-20 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-20 07:24 pm (UTC)7 and 9 are also easy, though I've never actually read either.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-20 08:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-20 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-20 08:38 pm (UTC)I still like the comment I once read that Clancy does a very nice job of describing inanimate objects in great and loving detail...much more so than his characters...
no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 01:09 am (UTC)