The book meme.

Hans tagged me with a meme and, like Hans, I have no patience for these goofy little memes. But, hey, it’s Hans — what, I’m gonna say “no” to him? The idea is to grab the closest book and post the fifth full sentence on page 161. I’m afraid that, no matter what the sentence, this won’t be very exciting:

If possible, call for reservations, ask for Steve or Tanya.

That’s from the 1996 edition of “The Thru-Hiker’s Handbook,” by Dan “Wingfoot” Bruce. Just underneath that was Bill McKibben’s “Deep Economy” and Brett McLaughlin’s “Head Rush Ajax,” but rules is rules.

What’s your sentence?

Published by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Char­lottes­­ville, VA, USA. more »

36 replies on “The book meme.”

  1. Here’s mine:

    “A muncher is too big to gobble down at once, and is accomplished over a period of days or weeks.”

    It’s from a book about getting organized and staying organized for people who are severely disorganized.

  2. “If a feeder route to an IAF begins at a fix located along the route of flight prior to reaching the holding fix, and clearance for an approachis issued, a pilot should commence the approach via the published feederroute; for example, the aircraft would not be expected to overfly the feeder route and return to it.”

    FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook (PDF version; no paper books within reach right now…this was my most recent large download).

  3. Mine’s: “How do you make love stay?” from Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins.

    Immediate as a heartbreak, mind-stopping as a zen koan.

  4. Woops… I misunderstood the the task. that was just my favorite sentence.

    “Very rarely can a nine- or ten-month-old be confined in a playpen for more than a few minutes without lapsing into boredom.” – The New First Three Years of Life by Burton L. White

    Note to self – read the instructions.

  5. Pop up windows are not modal by default.

    Its actually from page 162, since I picked up an O’Reilly book and its mostly code samples. If we consider a line of code a ‘complete sentence’ then it would be this from page 161:

    private function closeHandler(event:CloseEvent):void { PopUpManager.removePopUp(_window); }

    (Note to self…get a life!)

  6. I’ve been reading this blog for quite some time, mainly for the witty, well-researched political/scientific/cultural insight but also because Waldo takes some truly awesome pictures. I rarely comment, but I thought I’d take up this task so Tim wouldn’t feel alone in his nerdiness.

    Here’s my line, from BAR/BRI’s bar review self-study course keyed to Ohio law:
    ‘Article 3 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) governs the rights and liabilities of parties to what the Code calls “commercial paper.”‘

    Thanks for fun, albeit brief, diversion.

  7. 5th full sentence on page 161?

    “This is a major effort by big corporations to transfer jurisdiction from state courts, where there is relatively quick resolution of people’s claims, to the dark hole of the federal judiciary, which doesn’t want them,” says West Virginia State Supreme Court of Appeals Judge Larry Starcher, whose court lost authority for many class actions under the new law.

    How’s that for a long one? :)

    It’s from Stephanie Mencimer’s BLOCKING THE COURTHOUSE DOOR.

    Please give my best to Amber!

  8. Some recite a mantra: ‘birth, ageing [sic], pain and death.’

    The sentence that precedes it is, “To remind themselves of the certainty of death, some Buddhists make their first thought on waking: ‘Wow! I made it through the night without dying.’ ”

    The book is _Buddhism For Mothers: a calm approach to caring for yourself and your children_ by Sarah Napthali

    I read this blog and cvillenews daily but I rarely comment – I love the passion and interesting points of view, not only of Waldo but also of some of the regular commenters. I enjoy it when the dissenters are respectful and thoughtful. (And when everyone is respectful and thoughtful.) I enjoy it tremendously when people admit they’re wrong, apologize to each other for attributing bad motives, for misunderstanding each other, for making assumptions. It’s annoying when anyone tries to argue their way out of an error, using sophistry, but I know nearly everyone does it occasionally in life, in 3D life or online. There’s stupid asshattery here sometimes, but more often than not there’s a pretty high level of thoughtful dialogue. And important info, insights, a good bit of humor and some good-natured ribbing. Great blog. Waldo, you do an excellent job. Thank you for being part of my daily information diet!

    ChrEliz (Christine Elizabeth, my first and middle names)

  9. “The major differences of image and style — Allen as the exuberant populist; Terry as the aloof establishmentarian — were somewhat belied by the reality of the candidates’ backgrounds.”

    Virginia in the Vanguard: Political Leadership in the 400-Year-Old Cradle of American Democracy, 1981-2006, by Frank B. Atkinson

  10. “You have got a terrible Congressman [Bertrand W. Gearhart] here in this district.”

    from The Wit and Wisdom of Harry Truman By Ralph Keyes

  11. The fifth sentence on page 161 of Berlitz’ “Essential French”:

    Vous vous êtes trompeé, madame.

    Translation: Lady, you are WRONG.

  12. “Sick motherfuckers, all of them.”
    From the book Right as Rain, by George Pelecanos. I was just going to look it up for my own enjoyment, but felt this one too good to keep to myself.

  13. “They had put him behind bars, as if he were a wild beast, a thing without sense or reason, without rights, without affections, without feelings.”

    -The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

  14. I read this blog and cvillenews daily but I rarely comment – I love the passion and interesting points of view, not only of Waldo but also of some of the regular commenters. I enjoy it when the dissenters are respectful and thoughtful. (And when everyone is respectful and thoughtful.) I enjoy it tremendously when people admit they’re wrong, apologize to each other for attributing bad motives, for misunderstanding each other, for making assumptions. It’s annoying when anyone tries to argue their way out of an error, using sophistry, but I know nearly everyone does it occasionally in life, in 3D life or online.

    Amen. Nobody likes admitting they’re wrong, but it’s not only wonderful when somebody does so, but others have the good sense to quietly congratulate the person for doing so, or say nothing, rather than gloat. I wrote just a few days ago that there wasn’t any way I’d buy an iPhone. But, on reviewing the facts, I changed my mind, and I bought one. Here’s hoping that turns out to have been the right decision. :)

    These quotes are great, folks. :) Y’all are an interesting bunch!

  15. “This would be more plausible as the first stage in the development of the man-world argument, and accords with Anaximenes’ known use of imagery.”

    The Presocratic Philosophers, ed. G. S. Kirk and J. E. Raven.

    Wish I could say I’ve read the whole thing. It’s on the coffee table because I started in on the Heraclitus section a while ago.

  16. “When we examine Titan through the telescope we see a barely perceptible reddish disc.”

    Pg. 161 from Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’

  17. “There were blue-eyed devils all over town.”

    Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides

  18. “Hopkins said that no harm had been done,” Churchill recalled.

    Franklin & Winston – Jon Meacham

  19. “Comparing a dachsund with a wolf, you wouldn’t even suspect that the former had been derived from the latter if you didn’t already know it.”

    from Jared Diamond’s ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel’.

    I initially reached for The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster next to it, but page 161 is very hard to pull a 5th full sentence out of.

    Oh, and BTW, “stupid asshattery” (by ChrEliz above) is now my favorite two word phrase.

  20. “Did the drum indicate that it had trichloroethylene in it?”

    From “Civil Action” by Jonathan Harr.

    That was actually the 2nd closet book. The closest book was Harry G. Frankfurt’s “On Bullshit,” but that doesn’t have 161 pages, only 67.

  21. “It applied against Africans who refused to take Richard’s word for Africa, and it applied against Algerians who did not feel that Paris was all that Richard had it cracked up to be.”

    James Baldwin in _Nobody Knows My Name_ writing about the (then) recently deceased Richard Wright.

  22. “They endure everything and bear everything so as to finish the contest and receive eternal life.”

    The Nostic Bible, 5th sentence,page 161

  23. oh, this one’s good:

    That was top secret Commando technique

    from “the Stars My Destination” by Alfred Bester, which I just borrowed from a friend and have not yet begun to read.

  24. “Certain that God has not left Himself without a witness, even in America, they have uncovered extra-biblical evidence of Jesus-in ancient manuscripts, personal visions, and the disembodied voices of spirits of the dead.”

    From American Jesus, How the Son of God Became a National Icon by Stephen Prothero.

  25. “I’ll tell you later,” said Harry curtly.

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling.

  26. “I’ll tell you later,” said Harry curtly.

    Has anyone adapted the old Tom Swifties for the Harry Potter era? Seems like a natural:

    “Harry, I think your Granitic Metamorphosis spell worked!” said Hermione stonily.

    “What makes you think I’m happy to see you?” asked Lupin waggishly.

  27. so the question remains; which is more effective, the top secret Commando technique, or the Big Mama technique?

  28. “He leaned back in his chair and said: You drive across the river on your way home at night, don’t you?”

    ‘Safire’s Political Dictionary,’ by William Safire.

  29. “So is drinking.”

    A coursepack reader. That’s from “Being a Man” by Paul Theroux.

    (Previous phrase: “…money is masculinity.”)

  30. Late to the party as usual, here’s mine:

    “As part of the project time management plan knowledge area, the activity resource estimating activity was completed.”

    from Project Management Professional Exam Prep Guide.

    Now, back to work!

  31. The fine, toothlike scales of shark skin are the most effective tool for breaking the compartments that separate the compound and the enzyme.

    -The Zen of Fish, The Story of Sushi from samurai to supermarket by Trevor Corson

    A father’s day gift Victoria got for me after hearing a fascinating interview with the author on NPR and knowing that I fancy the sushi.

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