Meme: Chapter 11

A unique idea came from Central Crime Zone's Jon Jordan (I learned about it from a post by The Rap Sheet's J. Kingston Pierce) for a meme. The idea? Post the first line of chapter 11 from the book you are currently reading. If you haven't guessed already, it is an homage--is that the right word?--to the financiers that are "too big to fail."

How do you get too big to fail? I need that in my next employment contract.

Without further ado...

The current novel sitting on my nightstand is the quiet and literate thriller The Secret Keeper by first-time novelist Paul Harris. The line fits nicely into the style and mood of the story: regretful, moody, and just a little nostalgic.

"Danny awoke as dawn slipped in through the open curtains."

The only problem? That line is too short--not for the novel, but for this post--so I decided I would punish you a little more. Just a little, and rest assured the only real punishment is my writing and not that of the authors.

I just finished an early Robert J. Randisi novel, which was terrific and with a little luck and work ethic may actually get reviewed here one day, titled No Exit From Brooklyn. It features P.I. Nick Delvecchio in a very Brooklyn story. The first line of the eleventh chapter stars a name many of you will be familiar with.

"Ed Gorman had had his nose broken so many times that it seemed to have ceased to exist."

One more. This one really is for the big boys--the AIGs, Citigroups, and Merrill Lynchs of the world. It is the final chapter--chapter 11--in a textbook I'm reading for my graduate program. The title? Managing Business Ethics. Ethics? Well, here it is...

"With the increasing globalization of business, more managers are finding themselves in an international environment full of ethical challenges."

Hmmm.