‘Without naming the book, tell me a line that readers of it will instantly recognize’ – 22 nailed-on bestsellers
Social media can be a great place to find like-minded individuals who share your passion for the arts, literature, shouting at people who vote differently to you – stuff like that. A Twitter user named @roving_thinker threw out a challenge to the more literary-minded of the internet, with this request.
Without naming the book, tell me a line that readers of it will instantly recognize.
— Roving (@roving_thinker) February 11, 2026
Some people obliged.
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
— ⊹ ࣪ pam ˖✦ (@pamvonhadder) February 11, 2026
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
— Dan Pike (@bigpiclongterm) February 17, 2026
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife"
— piccnicc (@niki_niki_shots) February 12, 2026
Others did something altogether more Twitter-like – they posted fake lines, and they were even more entertaining.
Here are some favourites.
1.
"IT'S WUTHERIN' TIME!" https://t.co/nwbne02TU8
— Tomos Doran 🏴 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 (@portraitinflesh) February 15, 2026
2.
"Back in a bit; I’m just off to catch some rye.” https://t.co/NSSvHsVdu9
— Mark Gillies (@5goalthriller) February 15, 2026
3.
"Hello, my name is God. You killed my Son. Prepare to be saved." https://t.co/ZBIKcHXOJ2
— Philippe-Antoine Hoyeck (@PAHoyeck) February 16, 2026
4.
"He wasn't just a good Gatsby. The was the Great Gatsby." https://t.co/zFmVLqjWq9
— Lincoln Michel (@TheLincoln) February 16, 2026
5.
A truth universally acknowledged, if you really want to hear about it, is that a single man in possession of a lousy childhood must be transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
— Algernon Cakesniffe (@Cakesniffe1) February 16, 2026
6.
"And then they realized, they were no longer little girls: they were little women." https://t.co/PNxkOAsuSD
— Unworthy Hand (@kisstheblade_) February 15, 2026
7.
"I will name the monster…Frankenstein." https://t.co/5aclNZ6G2U
— Confirmed Miscer ⚔️🍁🔫 (@ManDaveJobGood) February 16, 2026
8.
“Surely you jest,” the man said.
“Infinitely,” I smirked. https://t.co/8KaYAuKWiQ— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) February 16, 2026
9.
Many years later, as I, Ishmael, faced the firing squad, I recalled when I first met Elmer Gantry, who was drunk, not long after my wife and I split up. "We shall not go to the lighthouse today," he had said, "for the sky's the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." https://t.co/1y1Zh0JCYo
— patrick "inverted vibe curve" blanchfield (@PatBlanchfield) February 16, 2026
10.
"We have a lot of war in Russia, don't we?"
"Yes, but we also have peace, both War and Peace" https://t.co/DlgkiFmbYC— Board of Peace Military Advisor (@WiseguySix) February 16, 2026
11.
Hi my name is Immanuel Kant and this is my critique of pure reason https://t.co/JfpDpbwxQm
— shreya (@shreyabasu003) February 16, 2026