Stolen bus book snippets

I see a lot of people reading on the bus in to downtown in the morning. Sometimes they're reading something that's obviously for their profession, such as a software engineering book or something about the law or something about shipping logistics. Other times they're reading fiction.

Ah, fiction. I remember it well. I haven't read fiction in ... (checking watch) ... (now checking calendar) ... um, way too long. Longer than I care to admit to you. So, as is the great American tradition, I get my thrills vicariously, on the bus.

Here are some snippets of fiction I've seen over people's shoulders recently:

• "Basil was ushered into the antechamber." (I love this sentence! In this one sentence, you learn so much about the story. For one thing, that it's set in a time period and country in which people had antechambers and ushers. For another thing, that it's set in a time period and country in which people were named Basil. This must have been a historical romance, a historical drama, or a British murder mystery. Hint: If someone is named "Basil," he's most probably evil.)

• "I don't know how it all can change." (A boring sentence. I have no interest in reading this book.)

• "About that time and for almost two years our hanging out stopped [. . . ]" (I couldn't see / remember any more. This was from something with a dramatic-looking cover and the title, "The Shack." Maybe it's horror? Someone stuck out in the middle of the countryside in a remote shack, stalked by a relentless killer?)

As for why I can't read on the bus too -- my bus trip only takes 11 minutes or so. It's not long enough to merit lugging a book along with me, even a book with a tantalizing sentence like "Basil was ushered into the antechamber."