FunTrivia Literature Mix: Vol 15 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which Kurt Vonnegut novel has the opening words 'All this happened, more or less'?

Answer: Slaughterhouse-Five

'Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons' is a collection of Vonnegut's short stories, released in 1974, five years after his best known work, 'Slaughterhouse-Five'. 'Breakfast of Champions' takes its name from an advertising slogan, used by Wheaties. The semi-autobiographical 'Timequake', his last novel, was released in 1997.

'Slaughterhouse-Five' is an anti-war book, set in WWII. A main topic is the Allied bombing of the German city of Dresden.

Question by player ozzz2002

2. Who wrote the series 'The Lord of the Rings'?

Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien

There are three books in the series. The first is, 'The Fellowship of the Ring' then 'The Two Towers' and finally 'The Return of the King'.

Question by player xphinia1

3. L. Frank Baum wrote an entire series of books about the Land of Oz, not just "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", that continued after his death. Which of these was NOT written by Baum?

Answer: Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz

In his fourteen full-length books about Oz, L. Frank Baum presented himself as the "Royal Historian of Oz", who received the adventures of Dorothy, Ozma, and others directly from the characters themselves, by means of wireless telegraph. After his death in 1919, publisher Reilly & Lee passed on the title of Royal Historian of Oz to Ruth Plumly Thompson and other authors, and they continued publishing many more Oz stores. Thompson titled her last book, "Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz" (1939) to include the phrase "Wizard of Oz" in order to capitalize on MGM's release of the film "The Wizard of Oz" starring Judy Garland.

Question by player gracious1

4. An atlas is a reference book. What kind of information will you find in an atlas?

Answer: maps and geographic information

According to Greek mythology, Atlas was the Titan who supported the heavens. Atlas became associated with cartography in the 16th century. Today most statues and pictures show him as a kneeling figure with a huge globe balanced on his shoulders.

Question by player HappyCamper48

5. Publishing giant Harlequin Enterprises partnered with a major sporting organization in 2005 to begin a new series of romantic fiction. With titles such as "Slingshot Moves", "Victory Lane" and "One Track Mind", that organization must be which of these?

Answer: NASCAR

After a licensing agreement was signed by Harlequin Enterprises and NASCAR in 2005, three titles ("Dangerous Curves", "In The Groove" and "On The Edge") were released in 2006, resulting in extremely positive sales and customer ratings. The partnership between the two organizations was in the 'groove' from the very start, as research indicated that, of the 75 million plus NASCAR fan base, at least 40% are female.

In 2007, the partnership expanded even further, and an additional 20 titles were released.

The 'marriage' ended in December, 2010, but not before almost 100 titles had been released.

Question by player doorsfan58

6. A character in a novel I read recently named his unfortunate children Gibraltar, Bering, and Dover to match their surname. What is this geographical surname?

Answer: Strait

You might have noticed that Mr. Strait's spelling is rather eccentric too. He is a minor character in "The Phantom Yacht" by Carol Norton, a old-fashioned mystery for girls. I stretched the truth a little - the baby boy has not yet been named Dover. Magellan is also a possibility! A strait is a natural waterway that connects two larger bodies of water, such as the English Channel and the North Sea in the case of Dover Strait.

Question by player MJoan

7. My favourite author, Jodi Taylor, describes her characters as 'observing historical events in contemporary time'. This literary device used by Mark Twain, H.G. Wells and Audrey Niffenegger, is known as what?

Answer: Time travel

Jodi's characters are historians who 'observe historical events' through the use of pods. The running gag is that they do not refer to this as 'time-travel'. Working for the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research, they have a series of adventures up and down the time-line.

Question by player Tan72

8. Which of the following was NOT a nineteenth-century English novelist?

Answer: Kingsley Amis

Sir Kingsley Amis lived from 1922 to 1995. He is best known for his novel, "Lucky Jim"(1954). He won the Booker Prize in 1986 for his comic novel, "The Old Devils". His son, Martin Amis, is also a noted English novelist. Emily Bronte lived 1818-1848, Charles Dickens, 1812-1870, and George Eliot (real name: Mary Anne Evans) 1819-1880.

Question by player Ampelos

9. Who was the author of the novel "Giant"?

Answer: Edna Ferber

Several theatrical and film productions have been based on her works, among them "Show Boat", Saratoga Trunk" and "Giant".

Question by player Pam1239

10. "The Deliberate Stranger" (1980), by Seattle Times reporter Richard W. Larsen, told the story of which American serial killer, active between 1974 and 1978?

Answer: Ted Bundy

Bundy is known to have been active between 1974 and 1978 but he had told various people that he committed his first murder before then, citing the years 1969, 1971 and 1973 as the start of his homicide spree. He was executed in 1989, having confessed to 30 murders, although the actual count is estimated to be much higher than that.

"The Deliberate Stranger" was made into a TV series of the same name in 1986, starring future "NCIS" (2003-2021) star Mark Harmon as Bundy.

Question by player 480154st

Source: Author FTBot

This quiz was reviewed by our editing team before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

A mix of 10 Literature questions, submitted by 10 different FunTrivia players! The first few questions are easy, but the last couple are tough!

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>