First Lines of Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's "Roadside Picnic"

"The other day, we're standing in the repository; it's evening already, nothing left to do but dump the lab suits, then I can head down to the Borscht for my daily dose of booze. I'm relaxing, leaning on the wall, my work all done and a cigarette at the ready, dying for a smoke - I haven't smoked for two hours - while he keeps fiddling with his treasures."

- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, from the first "real" chapter of an excellent translation of Roadside Picnic. This book, a majority of which is written in a mesmerizing first-person narrative, is much better than I expected. I can see why it inspired both a movie and a video game.