It's considered one of the modern-day wonders of the world, hosts almost 800,000 cars a week, but was called "a thirty five million dollar steel harp" by the San Francisco Chronicle when it opened in 1937. Today, we know the Golden Gate Bridge as an enduring symbol of the west and it's hard to imagine that beautiful city's waterfront without the bridge's familiar silhouette.

A new book, The Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge by Kevin Starr, tells the story behind the bridge, starting with a history of the Bay Area, the political wranglings behind the bridge's inception, and the arduous process of conceptualizing and creating a man-made structure to span the dangerous waters between San Francisco and Marin County. We read about the tragedies that killed 11 workers and led to installation of a safety net during the building, how the distinctive International Orange color was chosen (over the objections of the US Navy, which preferred yellow and black stripes!), and why the guard rails on the pedestrian walk are so alarmingly low. We cheer with almost a quarter million pedestrians who joyously celebrated their city's newest landmark when it finally opened in 1937!

For more detail, The Gate by John Van der Zee (1986) offers an exhaustive history. The Golden Gate, though, brings the story up to date and covers many more aspects of the bridge's utilitarian and iconic qualities. If you've never seen -- or driven or walked across -- this glorious span, this new book will inspire you to head west and experience the Golden Gate Bridge for yourself.

Today is the one and only Friday the 13th in 2010, which brings to mind one of the most memorable opening lines in literature: "It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen." Remember those ominous words from George Orwell's 1984?

We've put together a list of other favorite opening lines below. The first few words of a book are meant to pique our curiosity and involve us immediately...they're often shocking or mysterious, as if we've walked into a compelling conversation that's already underway. "Call me Ishmael," for example. The narrator of Melville's Moby-Dick is establishing a relationship with the reader and in just three words, we want to know more...Who is he? What has he just experienced?

Other favorites include classic lines from Dickens, Tolstoy, Bronte, even Harry Potter. The oft-quoted and satirized first sentence from Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is here as well: "It was a dark and stormy night."

These opening lines evoke the beginnings of unforgettable journeys that we can take time and again. Happy Friday the 13th and watch out for black cats today!

Call me Ishmael. (Moby-Dick)

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (Anna Karenina)

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... (A Tale of Two Cities)

Marley was dead, to begin with. (A Christmas Carol)

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. (Jane Eyre)

All children, except one, grow up. (Peter Pan)

This is the saddest story I have ever heard. (The Good Soldier)

It was a dark and stormy night. (A Wrinkle in Time)

When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again... (Rebecca)

We all remember Linda Greenlaw from her previous books, her role in The Perfect Storm, and as the pioneering captain of a swordfishing boat. Did you know that she was born in Stamford? From there, her family moved to Maine, where she graduated from Colby College and worked as a cook and deckhand on commercial fishing boats during school breaks.

For nearly 25 years now, Greenlaw has led fishing expeditions around the globe. After being featured in The Perfect Storm, she was prompted to tell her own story, which led to a string of three bestsellers. Her latest is Seaworthy, and it's about renewing her love affair with the ocean after years away...she and a small crew of four go on a swordfishing journey that turns into an ill-fated series of misadventures, including a brief stay in a Canadian jail.

If you've read her earlier books, you'll find a more introspective and mature woman here, one who has stepped back from her life's passion and now eagerly embraces it again. If she's a new author to you, this book puts you squarely on deck -- you'll feel the salt spray, the wet rope between your fingers, the tilt and movement of the boat. It's a true armchair adventure with perspective, both inside and out, and a great way to completely escape into someone else's world. You'll be hooked from page one!

July 11 will mark 50 years since the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee's first and only published novel. A staple of middle and high school English classes, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, inspiration for a classic 1962 film version, and beloved by readers of all ages, To Kill a Mockingbird is considered by many to be The Great American Novel...which begs the question: What IS the Great American Novel?

For starters, it should represent a time or place that's uniquely American, such as the Civil War, Great Depression, Beat era, or contemporary Wall Street. The book also needs to stand the test of time, and be accessible and appealing to a wide range of readers. With those standards in mind, we've compiled a list of 10 outstanding candidates below. Since it's not really possible to choose one definitively above all others, The Great American Novel remains an ever-elusive concept that inspires authors and intrigues readers. As we celebrate the golden anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird and remember Scout, Atticus, and Maycomb, Alabama in 1936, we're also celebrating American writers and their novels. Happy 50th to Harper Lee's masterpiece!