How do you play Opening Lines?

Read the opening sentence and choose the novel it belongs to. Look for the narrator, setting and tone as clues. A remembered first sentence can help, but a line can also be a starting point for finding a new book to read.

When do the daily book games change?

New puzzles arrive at midnight UTC. That may be morning, afternoon or evening in your time zone. The date on the game identifies the puzzle everyone is playing.

Can I play without an account?

You can play the daily games as a guest. Sign in if you want to keep your streaks across devices, and use the archive links when you want an earlier puzzle. Avoid posting an answer where people who have not played will see it.

Secondhand · Well-read · Much loved

Creasy Spines

“Every crease is a story.”

Vol. I · No. 292Monday, 19 October 2026Today’s edition

Opening Lines #42 · Friday, 11 September 2026

Opening Lines

Five first sentences from public-domain classics. Which book does each one open?

Replaying an archived puzzle. Play today’s

Line 1

“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do:”

The Sun Also RisesErnest HemingwayThe Adventures of Tom SawyerMark TwainWar and PeaceLeo TolstoyAlice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis Carroll

Line 2

“It was seven o’clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day’s rest,”

Northanger AbbeyJane AustenWar and PeaceLeo TolstoyThe Jungle BookRudyard KiplingHeart of DarknessJoseph Conrad

Line 3

“When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen.”

The War of the WorldsH. G. WellsThe Secret GardenFrances Hodgson BurnettA Room with a ViewE. M. ForsterMoby-DickHerman Melville

Line 4

“‘The Signora had no business to do it,’ said Miss Bartlett, ‘no business at all.’”

The AwakeningKate ChopinA Room with a ViewE. M. ForsterLes MisérablesVictor HugoWuthering HeightsEmily Brontë

Line 5

“‘Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes.’”

Anne of Green GablesL. M. MontgomeryWar and PeaceLeo TolstoyHeart of DarknessJoseph ConradDavid CopperfieldCharles Dickens

Archive · Your stats · First lines are from works published before 1930.

A few playing notes

How do you play Opening Lines?: Read the opening sentence and choose the novel it belongs to. Look for the narrator, setting and tone as clues. A remembered first sentence can help, but a line can also be a starting point for finding a new book to read.
When do the daily book games change?: New puzzles arrive at midnight UTC. That may be morning, afternoon or evening in your time zone. The date on the game identifies the puzzle everyone is playing.
Can I play without an account?: You can play the daily games as a guest. Sign in if you want to keep your streaks across devices, and use the archive links when you want an earlier puzzle. Avoid posting an answer where people who have not played will see it.