Writing Wrongs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lord of the Flies

Written by William Golding, "Lord of the Flies" recounts the story of a group of English schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island after a plane wreck. Gradually the veneer of civilization is stripped away from them and animal instinct takes over. Many regard this book as a classic, however, enough people didn't for it to make number 13 on the worst books list.

Answer: Left Behind

Written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins, this book opens with passengers disappearing from an aircraft, drivers going missing from their cars, workers from offices, and husbands and wives from home, all due to the believers having been swept up to heaven, leaving the unbelievers and sinners to battle the Antichrist. Rayford Steele, hero of the book, teams up with others to form an army of 'left behind' penitents.

Answer: Ann Coulter

Ann Coulter, American columnist and social and political commentator, also has a further entry at at number 25 with "If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans". Born in 1961, Ms Coulter admits that she likes to be controversial and that she makes no attempts at balance in her work.

She makes frequent appearances on radio and television and is well known for her political views, which she strenuously defends.

Answer: Catcher In the Rye

Widely regarded as a classic "Catcher In The Rye" by J. D. Salinger is number 11 on the worst books list. Published in 1951 and telling the tale of 16-year-old runaway Holden Caulfield, it is usually perceived as the definitive "coming of age" book. Salinger himself is something of a mystery as he is very reclusive, rarely gives interviews and takes great pains to protect his private life.

Answer: The Da Vinci Code

Despite massive world wide sales, Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" is number 2 on the worst books list with 2460 votes. "Angels and Demons" also features on the list at number 31. The film of "The Da Vinci Code" with Tom Hanks received somewhat less than critical acclaim, but was nevertheless successful enough at the box office.

Answer: The Devil Wears Prada

Lauren Weisberger's book about a small town girl who lands her dream job in the fashion magazine industry, only to find that she has the boss from hell in more ways than one, comes in at number 26 on the worst books list. The film, starring Meryl Streep, had good reviews and gained Ms Streep an Oscar nomination.

Answer: Stephenie Meyer

Stephanie Meyer holds the number 1 slot with "Twilight", number 4 with "Breaking Dawn", number 8 with "New Moon" and number 10 with "Eclipse", outstripping any other author in the unpopularity stakes.
She does however have an army of teenage fans, mainly girls, and the books are being made into films, which will doubtless do well at the box office.

Answer: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

In Gregory Maguire's book 'Oz' is a very different place to that depicted in "The Wizard of Oz". It tells the tale of the childhood years of the Wicked Witch of the West and helps to put her side of the story. However, despite being made into a very popular musical, the book rates number 6 on the worst books list.

Answer: Life of Pi

When it came out in 2001, Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" had good reviews but only moderate sales, and certainly the story line of a boy marooned on a lifeboat with a giant tiger is not promising. A year later it was the surprise winner of the Booker Prize and became an international best-seller. Despite this enough people disliked it for it to come 33rd on the worst books list.

Answer: Scarlett

The eagerly awaited sequel to "Gone With The Wind" is at number 38 on the worst books list. All the main characters are there and Rhett and Scarlett resume their love affair with appropriate problems, misunderstandings and passion. Moving from America to Ireland, this may not be the book Margaret Mitchell would have written, but it has the ending everyone wanted.