This post is a part of the Book Beginings and Friday 56 blog memes. And I always add a little extra, a quote from page 100. Visit more of my All About Books posts.
Fiction
The Fuhrer’s Orphans : a moving and powerful novel based on true events (David Laws)
Book Beginnings - He could picture the flinty expression, the accusing eyes, could almost feel the hand on his shoulder. It felt as if Father were flying with him. Peter Chesham swallowed hard and strapped himself to the bench seat, but the metallic snap of the belt buckle didn’t sound like a signal of safety.
Friday 56 - It was ghostly. Irregular patterns of light played out on the swarf-covered floor. On days when the sun shone, little clouds of dust would dance in the dank air. High above, the big old roof was a patchwork of glass skylights, some broken and letting in the light, others intact and blotting out the daylight due to a covering of lichen.
100 - She called it Black Wednesday. November 27th, the Reichsmarschall Day parade, was a dark cloud on Claudia’s horizon. She determined to duck it.
Nonfiction
A Night to Remember: The Sinking of the Titanic (Walter Lord)
Book Beginnings - High in the crow's nest of the New White Star Liner Titanic, Lookout Frederick Fleet peered into a dazzling night. It was calm, clear and bitterly cold. There was no moon, but the cloudless sky blazed with stars.
Friday 56 - Further aft, Dining Saloon Steward Ray went to his quarters on E Deck to get a warmer overcoat. Coming back up, he went forward on “Scotland Road” toward the main staircase. The jostling firemen and Third Class passengers were gone now. All was quiet along the broad working alleyway, except for water sloshing along the corridor from somewhere forward.
100 - Nor did anyone really know what happened to Captain Smith. People later said he shot himself, but there’s not a shred of evidence. Just before the end Steward Edward Brown saw him walk onto the bridge, still holding his megaphone. A minute later Trimmer Hemming wandered on the bridge and found it empty.
Credits
- Photo from the National Geographic Society
