One for the Books Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bible

Last year, Harriet had to pay an accountant to help her fill out her tax return. She noticed him writing down strange numbers on the extreme right-hand edge of the ledger book. When she asked him what they were, he replied, "They are references to biblical passages. I call it my prophet margin".

Okay, so Harriet is not the most religious person on the planet. But most of us would agree that the Bible is arguably the best selling publication of all time.

Answer: Oliver Twist

After discovering the answer to the bookmark clue, Harriet ponders that age-old question: "how many mystery writers does it take to change a light bulb?" She thinks she has that figured out as well ... "One, but he or she needs to give it a good twist".

Published in 1838, "Oliver Twist" was Charles Dickens' second novel. It was the story of a naive orphan who got tangled up with a gang of pickpockets. The sarcastic criticism of various policies and institutions in the book no doubt had something to do with the fact that Dickens was a child labourer himself.

Answer: Old Yeller

"If people didn't let their animals run wild, they wouldn't get themselves into trouble!" Harriet ex(pound)ed. "I built a run for my dog, complete with comfy green grass. That just proves the pen is mightier than the sward!"

The novel was written in 1956 by Fred Gibson and won a Newbery Honor award in 1957. Most of us probably don't recall reading the book, but might remember the Disney movie starring Fess Parker as the father and Tommy Kirk as the son who has to put the dog out of its misery after it defended the family from a rabid wolf.

Answer: King of Siam

Harriet is surprised she figured that one out. After all, there are only two Siamese terms she's ever heard of. The first she's 'familiar' with is a breed of cat. The second is that old hymn she's always humming: "Blessed Be The Thais That Bind".

The book was written in 1947 by Margaret Landon and was a (sensationalized) biography of Anna Leonowens, who spent five years in Thailand (then called Siam) in the 1860's as a governess to the numerous children of King Mongkut (Rama IV). Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

Answer: Wind in the Willows

"What an odd name for a book - it's not really about the wind at all", Harriet exclaimed dis(gust)edly. "It's not even the greatest story ever toad!"

Well, perhaps not, but it's certainly an enduring and endearing one. Written by Kenneth Grahame and published in 1908, it is now considered a classic in children's literature.

Answer: Ordinary People

"My family is dysfunctional too," Harriet mused. "Relatively speaking, of course!"

Judith Guest is the great-niece of the Poet Laureate Edgar Guest. While you might not have read her 1976 book about a family dealing with death/crisis, you probably saw the movie version starring Mary Tyler Moore (as the mother) which won the Oscar for best picture in 1980.

Answer: Robinson Crusoe

"This reminds me of the time our cruise ship ran aground. We got stranded on an island off the coast of Alaska", Harriet said desolately. "After awhile some of us thought we saw palm trees in the distance, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian".

"Robinson Crusoe", written by Daniel Defoe and first released for the public in 1719, is one of the most widely published books of all time (not including sacred texts). The actual FULL title of the book is: "The Life and strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, where-in all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates. Written by Himself".
(yikes, do we even have to read the whole book now?)

Answer: Middlemarch

Harriet went to see Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, but didn't stay until the end and only caught a few important lines on the way out. Consequently, she always thought Caesar succumbed to pneumonia on March 15th, as she was certain she heard the actor exclaim, "Achoo Brute".

While there is nothing in the plot of "Middlemarch" that is overly exciting or exotic, George Eliot managed to write a book about "everyday life", morals and philosophy in a small town in the 1800's that became a classic. Its appeal is, perhaps, because it shows that there can be good in everyone (no matter from what walk of life) and describes "normal" folks, with "normal" problems that all of us, even today, can relate to.

Answer: Silent Spring

"I watched some programs on pollution and I learned how oil companies handle major spills", Harriet commented acidly. "With slick lawyers".

DDT was developed in 1939 and was made available to the public in 1945. The inventor earned a Nobel Prize. After 17 years of begging newspaper, magazine and book companies to allow her to write about the dangers of this "miracle" pesticide, her book "Silent Spring" was finally published in 1962. It described how DDT could not be diluted by water, had harmed bird and beneficial insect populations, caused cancer/genetic problems and contaminated the entire world food supply. Considered a watershed for social change, the book was an impetus for the "environmental movement". The chemical industries spent more than a quarter of a million dollars in an attempt to discredit her. Rachel Carson died in 1964, of breast cancer.

Answer: bookworms

Harriet's uncle walks into the room and tells her that he has staged the whole thing as a practice exercise for her. "Your puns are horrific, but somehow you managed to come up with the culprits, so I suppose congratulations are in order. What have you learned from all this, my dear?"

Harriet responds, "that you can't judge a book by its cover?"

"No, Harriet", her uncle sighed. "The bugs were the problem from the onset. The very first book you found should have inspired you. The ultimate solution, of course, is:
Let Us Spray".