First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books.
I love Titanic. By this I mean both the actual ship and learning every possible fact about it that I could in my youth, as well as the movie. Oh Lord, the movie. It came out right before my 15th birthday, and the fifteen year old in me will never stop crying at the end. From the last 45 minutes, to the final scene where they're all together again, I bawl like a baby. Still. I'm 35 now.
Anyway.
I've always been struck by the complete opposite reactions of the two most talked-about ships that night who were NOT named Titanic. We have one ship, close enough to easily rescue all on board, and another who was much farther away, but risked its own collision within the ice field by speeding right through at top speeds in a desperate attempt to reach her in time. I found this one via BookBub just the other day for $1.99 and I so hope it is worth the price. (Also, yes, I fell off the BookBub-Avoiding-Wagon. You'll hear all about that on Saturday with my Stacking the Shelves post.)
"At the beginning of the 20th century the Cunard Line, once the dominant passenger liner on the North Atlantic, was confronting the gravest crisis of its sixty-year history."
This line is taken from the beginning of Chapter 2, "The Carpathia and Arthur Rostron".
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Happy Reading!
Sarah
Like you I am completely fascinated by the Titanic sinking for a whole host of reasons - not least of which is the fact (I discovered in my teens) that two of the steerage passengers from Ireland - although not from where my father was born there - had the same uncommon surname. I've always wondered if they were actual relatives but have never researched it enough to find out. You may have already noticed that I've reviewed several Titanic related books on my Blog. They are (if you missed them):
ReplyDeleteThe Discovery of the Titanic by Dr Robert D Ballard
Shadow of the Titanic – The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived by Andrew Wilson
Titanic Lives – Migrants and Millionaires, Conmen and Crew by Richard Davenport-Hines
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Have you seen the movie 'A Night to Remember'? It's very good. Based on the Walter Lord book it's very realistic and even has some dialogue apparently spoken as the ship was sinking. One of the technical assistants on the movie was a Titanic survivor which adds to the realism.
But to my 'First Words'.
"The sun had fled the sky hours ago, and with it, Xanadu's winged children. Before it dipped beneath Bombay's horizon, a thousands kilometers to the east, Lenore Myles had taken one last dive from the central tower. She trusted her reflexes and balance less than the central computer that kept her and a dozen others dancing on the thermals."
Saturn's Race by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes.
I have not checked out all of your Titanic reviews but I did notice them - and all the books you've mentioned are on my TBR except A Night to Remember, which I have read many times. I also have read Lord's follow-up, The Night Lives On.
DeleteI have not seen A Night to Remember but have been told many times that it is very good. I'll have it on the list with A Lion in Winter (which I refuse to watch until I am done with my book about Eleanor. I refuse to let me lenses be colored by fiction!)
Happy Friday!
BookBub is evil. I downloaded two books today ... as though I needed more books.
ReplyDeleteI'm sharing the first line of The Man Who Never Was by James L Rubart on my blog.
I'm currently reading The Esther Paradigm by Sarah Monzon, a modern marriage of convenience story based on the Book of Esther. Here's the first line of the Prologue:
Hannah Pratt stared out across the grainy hills as the wind blew a gentle kiss over the crest.
It is the best worst thing that has ever happened to me. A few months ago I decided to get serious about my finances because I am supposed to be an adult, and also to stop letting that '1-click' buying get me. I was doing so good. So, so good. Then I decided to take a tiny peek at the free cozy mystery choices and BOOM! I was sucked right back in.
DeleteHappy Friday!
Last November I had a nightmare. - The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday!
Happy Friday Caryl, thanks for coming by!
DeleteThis sounds really interesting - I'd heard that, I think, about the two ships... No FLF for me today - I have a book release! PTL! - But right now, I'm reading The Cottage by Michael Phillips. Here's the first line:
ReplyDelete"The letter two weeks before had been brief. Less than half a page. Yet in an instant it had turned her life upside down."
That's so awesome, congratulations on the book release. What an accomplishment! Happy Friday!
DeleteHappy Friday!
ReplyDeleteMy first lines come from a book im reading now, Where Hope Begins by Catherine West.
My husband is leaving me. The thought , the reality, presses against my throat as I stand outside and take in the view from the back patio of our home.
Have a great weekend and happy reading!😁
Happy Friday to you as well Susan, thanks for coming by!
DeleteHappy Friday!
ReplyDeleteToday over at my blog, I am sharing the first line from the novel An Improper Proposal by Davalynn Spencer. Here, I will share the first line from Janet Ferguson's novel Leaving Oxford.
"Baby steps. Sarah Beth LeClair forced one foot in front of the other and willed herself to soak in the new life bursting around her on the University of Mississippi campus."
Happy Friday to you also!
DeleteAh, to be young and in college again...Have a lovely weekend.
Happy Friday! On my blog today, I'm sharing the first line from Jody Hedlund's book, Love Unexpected. Here, I will share the first line from the second chapter of the book I'm currently reading, Mail-Order Revenge by Angela K. Couch. "The town of Bumble Bee appeared to consist of the sign bearing its peculiar name and a cluster of rustic buildings." Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteHey Anneliese, thank you for stopping by. Happy Friday!
DeleteI love that movie!! I remember going to see it in the theater twice when I was a teenager. :) In fact, for me, it's the only movie I know of that has been in the theater the longest...several months. Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteOh girrrrrrl, I saw it so many times in the theatre! It was bad, like, every weekend it seemed. Did you go when it was re-released in 2012 for the 100th anniversary?
DeleteOoh this looks good! I love Titanic history as well!
ReplyDeleteThe book I'm sharing on my blog is The Butterfly and the Violin, but I'll share here what I'm currently reading- All Things New by Lynn Austin: "Josephine Weatherly thought she'd already lived through the darkest hour of this endless war, but she had been wrong." Hope you have a great weekend!
Hey Becca, thanks for coming by! I have yet to put my finger on what it is that still draws us to the story, over 100 years later. No disaster has captured our imaginations quite the same, not even the Lusitania, which was a really big deal in its own right.
DeleteHappy Friday!
Someone just posted a photo of the Titanic's "Triple Expansion Marine Engine". It's colossal! There's a human figure on the second level overlooking it for scale, I think.
ReplyDeletehttps://i.imgur.com/fmC5Kty.jpg
Holy guacamole, it is enormous! I can't wait to go to Belfast some day to see the dry docks where she was built. I was in Ireland in 2010, but around Dublin, and we did not have time to go. I was very sad about that, to be so close to where she was made, but not get to see it for myself.
DeleteI'm sharing from Where the Fire Falls on my blog today but I'm currently reading The Backcountry Brides Collection, so here is the first line from the first novella, Shenandoah Hearts by Carrie Fancett Pagels:
ReplyDeletePrologue
Philadelphia 1753
"Ladysmith, you have a gentleman caller--maybe two." The voice of her employer, Jacob Owens, held a slight tease.
Happy Friday!
Hi Yvette, thanks for stopping by. Happy friday!
Delete