An Exclamation of Larks

Welcome to my procrastination. I feel like I’ve seen this meme somewhere before, as I’m definitely not original enough to make it up. Below are the first lines of 10 of my favorite books. See if you can figure out who wrote them and where they came from. Leave your answers in the comments.

1. 1801 – I have just returned from a visit to my landlord – the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.
2. Sybil Davidson has a genius I.Q. and has been laid by at least six different guys.
3. Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it “and what use is a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”
4. She hurries from the house, wearing a coat too heavy for the weather.
5. Noon. London: my flat. Ugh.
6. This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.
7. You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.
8. The sun sets in the west (just about everyone knows that), but Sunset Towers faced east.
9. When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.
10. Parsifal is dead. That is the end of the story.
11. (Bonus) When he says, “Skins or blankets?” it will take you a moment to realize that he’s asking which you want to sleep under.

I’ll post the answers later this week. Enjoy!