let the games begin!

Greetings, flannel friends!

So — now that we’ve watched a slew of Gilmore Girls episodes, drooled over a fair number of hot dishes, gorged ourselves silly on pizza, popcorn, and hot chocolate — you may well ask, "What next, O great Pajama Party hostess?"

*please get up, there’s really no need to prostrate yourselves in my presence*

My adorable, wiggly guests: I’m glad you’ve enjoyed all the hoo-hah thus far, but I admit to feeling a little concerned about your well being.

In short, has your brain gone into hibernation?

We’d better check. A little party game is in order, compliments of Theodore Bear. He’s come up with a little quiz, to allow you some much needed mental exercise. Can you identify the book and author of these famous first lines?

1. 1801 — I have just returned from a visit to my landlord — the solitary neighbor that I shall be troubled with.

2. "Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

3. I am living at the Villa Borghese. There is not a crumb of dirt anywhere nor a chair misplaced. We are alone here and we are dead.

4. The boy with the fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon.

5. It was love at first sight.

6. There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.

7. One thing was certain, that the white kitten had nothing to do with it — it was the black kitten’s fault entirely.

8. Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.

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

10. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

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How do you think you did? For every correct answer, you get one Valrhona chocolate ganache rectangle (the smoothest, creamiest, most divine stuff anywhere):

photo by davleb.

Answers:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
3. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
4. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
5. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
7. Through the Looking Glass — and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
8. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
9. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
10. 1984 by George Orwell

Furthermore:

All 10 correct: You are a genius, let me kiss your feet and twirl your moustache!

7 to 9 correct: I applaud your brilliance. I will tell Oprah about you.

4 to 6 correct: You may need to read a tad more, but your good looks are still intact.

1 to 3 correct: Cut down on the mindless TV and hire George Clooney to tutor you.

None correct: Get thee to the library at once! A strange person wearing a yellow slicker will repeatedly lick your ears. What’s more, no ganache for you, ever!

Over and out.