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 #65 · Sunday, 4 October 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

“Except for the Marabar Caves—and they are twenty miles off—the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary.”

The Count of Monte CristoAlexandre DumasA Passage to IndiaE. M. ForsterBleak HouseCharles DickensThe Call of the WildJack London

Line 2

“In a village of La Mancha, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind, there lived not long since one of those gentlemen that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean hack, and a greyhound for coursing.”

The Secret GardenFrances Hodgson BurnettThe Wind in the WillowsKenneth GrahameDon QuixoteMiguel de CervantesGulliver's TravelsJonathan Swift

Line 3

“A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over:”

FrankensteinMary ShelleyThe Adventures of Tom SawyerMark TwainThe AwakeningKate ChopinLes MisérablesVictor Hugo

Line 4

“You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter.”

The Jungle BookRudyard KiplingAnna KareninaLeo TolstoyAdventures of Huckleberry FinnMark TwainStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeRobert Louis Stevenson

Line 5

“The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.”

The Hound of the BaskervillesArthur Conan DoyleBleak HouseCharles DickensThe Thirty-Nine StepsJohn BuchanHeart of DarknessJoseph Conrad

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.