All You Need is a Good Book Trivia Quiz

Answer: Christian Bible

There is no definitive etymology for the naming of the Christian Bible as the "Good Book". The phrase has been around since at least the 19th Century as it is found in literature for that period. One theory is that the "good book" is a follow on from the similar colloquialism for the Christian bible of "Good News". "Good News" has a more defined etymology coming from the Greek euangélion ("good" + "messenger"). The Greek term was Latinized as "evangelium" and then into Old English as gôdspel or gospel (gôd "good" + spel "news").

The Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient epic called the "Mahabharata". "Dianetics" is a modern book written by L. Ron Hubbard that forms the basis for Scientology, while the Bardo Thodol is a funerary text more commonly known as the "Tibetan Book of the Dead".

Answer: The Good Earth

"The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck was the best-selling novel in the United States in both 1931 and 1932. Buck was later awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938. "The Good Earth" was cited as an influential reason for her receiving the award. The book was the first part of a trilogy that includes "Sons" (1932) and "A House Divided" (1935). The novel told a compelling story of family life in a Chinese village during the late 1920s and has been a staple of school literature syllabuses and book clubs ever since.

"No Good Deed" is a contemporary thriller by M.P. McDonald and "The Good Luck Book" is an assemblage of snippets about good and bad fortune written by Stefan Bechtel. "Absolute Trust in the Goodness of Earth" is a highly acclaimed book of poetry by Alice Walker.

Answer: A Good Walk Spoiled

Popular myth is that Mark Twain coined the phrase that "golf is a good walk spoiled". Twain most likely never said the words but the saying has stuck in the vernacular. Sportswriter John Feinstein was the author of the award winning story of college basketball and tumultuous coach Bobby Knight called "Season on the Brink". Feinstein turned his attention to golf and spent a year following the PGA tour seeing firsthand the struggles of superstars and journeyman. For his efforts Feinstein was awarded the 1995 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.

Anyone who is or knows an avid golfer will recognize the other three titles as accurate, but as yet unpublished comments on the game.

Answer: Good Wives

Louisa May Alcott wrote and published her seminal novel "Little Women" in two parts. The first part released in 1868 was called "Little Women" and is a semi-autobiographical account of Alcott and her sister's childhood in Massachusetts. The second part of the story is also known as "Good Wives" and was published in 1869.

This story followed the characters from "Little Women" into adulthood and their respective marriages. "Little Men" (1871) and "Jo's Boys" (1886) completed the "March Family Saga". "Little Women" and "Good Wives" were combined for a publication in 1880 and that format remains the most widely distributed publication method for the stories. Alcott herself was a devoted abolitionist and early feminist who died at 55 years of age in 1888. Alcott is buried in the famous Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord Massachusetts near the graves of fellow literary greats Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Answer: Robert Graves

Robert Graves was born July 24 1895 and died at the age of 90 on December 7 1985. Graves was an English poet, writer and scholar of antiquity specializing in Classical Greece and Rome. Graves authored more than 140 works. When World War I began in August 1914, Graves enlisted taking a commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. While serving in the army Graves' first volume of poems "Over the Brazier" was published in 1916. He developed a reputation as a war poet, writing realistic poems about the experience of the front-lines. Graves returned from the war and penned an autobiography published in 1929 and entitled "Goodbye to All That". The book provides a detailed description of, amongst other observations, British incompetence at the Battle of Loos. Graves is best known for his historical fiction and most consider his seminal work to be "I, Claudius" a lurid history of the Julian Roman Empire as told in autobiographical form by the Emperor Claudius. Graves was also was a prominent translator of Classical Latin and Ancient Greek texts.

Peter Graves was an unrelated American actor best known for the television show "Mission Impossible". Jack Pulman adapted "I, Claudius" for a hugely popular BBC television mini-series that ran originally in 1976. Derek Jacobi earned a BAFTA Best Actor award staring as the Emperor Claudius in the 1976 series.

Answer: Goodnight Moon

First published in 1947, "Goodnight Moon" is a classic children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. The story is about a child (drawn as a young rabbit) saying goodnight to everything he/she can see. "Goodnight Moon" was named in 2007 as one of the National Education Association "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." and one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time by the School Library Journal. Margaret Wise Brown penned over 100 children's books in her short life. Sadly Ms. Brown died at the age of 42 of complications from the removal of an ovarian cyst while on a book tour in 1952. Ms. Brown did not have any children of her own but is fondly remembered by generations of children who nodded off to sleep under the spell of her words. Each of the other books is a published children's book. "Good Night Little Dragons" is a recently published book by Leigh Ann Tyson. "Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site" is a popular book by Sherri Duskey Rinker.

Answer: Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche is amongst the most well-known and controversial of the late 19th century philosophers. Nietzsche's cynical and highly acidic world view rejects the values of classic philosophy and sought to question the foundations of ethics and traditional "truth". "Beyond Good and Evil" was first published in 1886 and immediately follows Nietzsche's most famous and accessible book (if anything Nietzsche wrote could be called accessible) "Also Sprach Zarathustra" ("Thus Spoke Zarathustra"). "Beyond Good and Evil" represents Nietzsche's attempt to sum up his philosophy and to give the reader a comprehensive idea of his thought and style.

While most believe that Nietzsche made his pronouncement about the end of the deity out of a secularist hatred of religion; the "reality" of Nietzsche's views is more complicated and has been interpreted differently by countless commentators.

While certainly a harsh critic of modern religion, Nietzsche's focus seems to be on making men act more "good" and focus less on religious doctrine.

Much of Nietzsche's philosophy was a rebuke of the writings of another famous German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. Nietzsche influenced and preceded the great 20th Century existentialist writers such as Camus and Heidegger.

Answer: Goodbye Mr. Chips

"Goodbye Mr. Chips" by James Hilton was first published in 1934 and tells the story of a much loved schoolteacher and his long tenure at Brookfield, a fictional British boys' public boarding school. As a new teacher Mr. Chipping initially has difficulty dealing with his students as his lack of confidence and inherent shyness come across as uncaring and aloof. Chipping goes on vacation, meets and marries Katherine who quickly picks up on calling him by his nickname, "Chips". Katharine provides a steady and lightening influence on Chipping. "Chips", as he becomes known to all, goes on to have an illustrious career as an inspiring educator at Brookfield. The book was made into a movie in 1939 starring Robert Donat as Mr. Chipping. Donat won the Best Actor Oscar for the compelling performance. The movie was updated and remade as a musical in 1969 with Peter O'Toole earning an Oscar nomination (he didn't win) for his portrayal of Mr. "Chips".

James Hilton is also widely known for his 1933 novel "Lost Horizons". "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is the classic rock song by Sir Elton John and "To Sir with Love" was a 1967 movie about an inner city teacher starring Sidney Poitier based on the novel by E. R. Braithwaite.

Answer: A Good Man is Hard to Find

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" published in 1953 is both the name of a short story and the title of O'Connor's 1955 anthology. The title is a tribute to the Eddie Green song of the same name written in 1917 but made popular by singer Bessie Smith in 1927. The story revolves around a family going on vacation and encountering an escaped murderer. Like much of O'Connor's writing the story is dark, written in a Southern Gothic style filled with foreshadowing and flawed characters. O'Connor was a devout Catholic and often, as in "A Good Man", the characters are pushed by violence or the threat of pain to evaluate their lives and actions and perform acts of contrition. O'Connor died at the age of 39 from complications related to lupus.

"As Good as it Gets" is the title of the 1997 film that earned stars Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt Best Actors Oscars. "Good Woman Blues" is a popular country western song recorded by Mel Tillis. The oft-repeated phrase that "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" is attributed to 18th Century British philosopher Edmund Burke.

Answer: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is non-fiction story that reads like a Southern Gothic novel introducing a mélange of eccentric personalities found in the city of Savannah, Georgia. The book essentially chronicles the killing of Danny Hansford, a local male prostitute, by respected antiques dealer Jim Williams. The book follows Williams through four murder trials before finally being acquitted after the case was moved away from the Savannah area. The book was a phenomenon, selling millions of copies and staying on the New York Times Bestsellers list for over four years (216 weeks). The book spawned a movie starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack that was directed by Clint Eastwood.

"Good Housekeeping" is of course the name of a Hearst Publication magazine that has been published since 1885. "Goodfellas" is the great 1990 movie by Martin Scorsese that earned Joe Pesci a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" is the title of one of the best known poems by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.