You Expect Me to Buy This? Quiz | Literature: Something in Common

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1. In 2001 writer Ann Brashares released the first book of a series about four friends who have to spend the summer away from each other, yet still share a strange bond. What title does the first book have and is also used to summarize the series?

Answer: The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants

Ann Brashares was born in the city of Alexandria in the American state of Virginia. She gained fame when she wrote "The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants" in 2001. The book is about a group of four girls who have to spend the summer away from each other. One of them finds an old pair of jeans and eventually they all try them on.

They are not the same size and build, but still the jeans magically fit each one of them. From that moment on they mail the jeans to each other from different locations. In 2005 the book was made into a movie starring Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn.

2. If you want to write a motivational book on how to deal with changes in your work and life, the title naturally has to be out there to be noticed. One wonders if writer Spencer Johnson was possibly in the kitchen when he found his title. What is the name of his 1998 book?

Answer: Who Moved My Cheese?

Spencer Johnson was born on January 1 1940 in South Dakota. He has written children's books, but many also know him from his motivational book from 1998 called: "Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way To Deal With Change In Your Work and Your Life". In this book he uses four creatures living in a maze, two of them mice and two of them very small people.

They have one thing in common, their desire for cheese. When one day they find their cheese gone, they respond very differently. Some of them are prepared and have already worked out strategies to find new cheese, others are very baffled wondering "who moved the cheese". Naturally the cheese is a metaphor for things we can have in life ranging from our job to health and relationships.

3. A good laugh can get you a long way in life. Which of the following is NOT a book title written by the humorous author Erma Bombeck?

Answer: Can Anyone Give Me a Reason to Shave my Armpits?

Erma Bombeck's hilarious outlook on life lead her to write many books with humorous titles. Of these options, the only one she did not use as the title of a book was "Can Anyone Give Me a Reason to Shave my Armpits?" The other three titles came out in the 1970's and 1980's and were instant successes.

Her books focused on the funny things that happen to everyone, but that we tend to overlook while we wallow in self pity. For anyone needing a good laugh any of these titles will bring a smile to your face.

4. Books about trips through America are sold by the dozen. Michael Paterniti's book from 2000 is one of them, but the book called "Driving Mr. Albert" actually has a longer title making a reference to a somewhat strange relic that was on the trip. Which object is this?

Answer: Einstein's Brain

Michael Paterniti graduated from the University of Michigan and has worked as an editor for several magazines. He had a bestseller on his hand with his 2000 book "Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain". The story is about a writer and a pathologist travelling through the USA with the brain of famous scientist Albert Einstein.

More books and documentaries deal with the subject of Einstein's brain, which was apparently removed shortly after his death in 1955 by doctor Thomas Stoltz Harvey.

The 1994 documentary "Einstein's Brain", for instance, details the search of a Japanese professor for the brain. It is unsure whether some of the stories going around about the brain are a hoax or real. It was recovered again in 1978.

5. Life does not always go the way you planned it and pain in some way plays a part in every life. That was certainly true for author Barbara Johnson. Her book teaches people to see the positive things through all the misery. What uplifting title does the book have?

Answer: Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy

Barbara Johnson sure had her share of suffering, with her husband being in a near-fatal accident, her son dying in Vietnam and also another son losing his life while crashing his car. Later on in life she was diagnosed with both diabetes and a brain tumour.

In her book she goes on to explain that pain is an inevitable part of everyone's life, but that it is a choice whether you choose to see the positive side of things or not. Barbara died in 2007. Other books she wrote include: "Humor Me, I'm Over The Hill" and "Laughter From Heaven".

6. Discovering the 12 secrets to leading a successful life is what we all desire. Paul Meier and Todd Clements wrote a book about it. What somewhat paradoxical title did they choose for their self help book?

Answer: What I've Learned Since I Knew It All

Paul Meier is an American Medical Doctor with several self help books to his name. He also founded the Meier Clinics, focusing on counseling people based upon Christian teachings. For the book "What I've Learned Since I Knew It All" he teamed up with fellow doctor Todd Clements.

In the book they explore the 12 ways to live a successful life as an adult. It will teach you how to embrace the real you and still avoid all the dangers that may await around the corner. Meier and Clements give several examples of those who managed to lead a more happy and fulfilled life.

Some of Paul Meier's other works include "Happiness Is A Choice" and "Blue Genes".

7. Oliver Sacks is well known for his book "Awakenings", later made into a movie with Robin Williams. Another one of the books by this British neurologist was written in 1985 and details some of the cases he worked on. Which funny, yet also tragic title, was the book given?

Answer: The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

Oliver Sacks is a prominent British neurologist, born on July 9 1933 in London. He has written several bestsellers talking about the various cases he has experienced in his long career. One of those books is the 1985 "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat And Other Clinical Tales".

It is a series of essays describing the different patients and their illnesses. The title comes from a patient suffering from visual agnosia, which causes the patient to lose the ability to recognize things they see, despite the perception being normal.

The patient can't connect what he perceives anymore with past recollections. The book was made into an opera by Michael Nyman in 1986.

8. Travelling through Europe is quite a common thing. Joseph R. Barry found an original way to do it, or did he? What way of making the journey is described in the title of his book, oddly enough aimed at American readers?

Answer: By Kangaroo

You would imagine the book written by Joseph R. Barry to detail the Australian way to go about Europe. Oddly enough the book gives tips for American families on how to travel on a budget and still see quite a bit of the European continent in three months. Joseph starts out with his wife and son in London and gives readers all the practical advice on saving money and exploring most of the continent, with an emphasis on the highlights of Western Europe. One might have to read the book to find out where exactly the kangaroo comes in.

9. Writing short autobiographical stories with a mythical element could use a nice and catchy title. What title, with a somewhat impossible element to it, did Annie Dillard give her 1982 book?

Answer: Teaching A Stone To Talk

Annie Dillard was born as Meta Ann Doak on April 30 1945 in Pittsburgh, USA. She studied literature and has produced several works of poetry and prose over the years. Her 1982 book "Teaching A Stone To Talk" features a series of essays, describing her personal beliefs and the things she encountered during her travels.

It has several spiritual themes and is largely autobiographical. She shares some of her deepest beliefs through the places she encounters like the Galapagos Islands or the Appalachian Mountains.

There are 14 essays in total. One of them, "Life On The Rocks: The Galapagos" won the New York Women's Press Club Award.

10. There is even a prize in the UK for oddest book title of the year, called the Diagram Prize. It has been handed out since 1978. In 2008 a book was released, with an introduction by Joel Rickett, detailing some of those odd titles. The book had one of the previous winners in the title. What is the book, a sailor's favourite, called?

Answer: How To Avoid Huge Ships

The Diagram Prize is a humourous prize, first handed out as a gimmick at the Frankfurt Book Fair. At first the prize was decided each year by a group of judges, but since 2000 the people can vote to determine which title is the oddest that year. "How to Avoid Huge Ships" was a book written by John W. Trimmer.

It won the Diagram Prize in 1992. It gives advice to sailors on how to avoid those perilous world seas, where danger is waiting around every corner. Other previous winners include: "The Theory of Lengthwise Rolling", "Highlights In The History of Concrete" and "The Big Book Of Lesbian Horse Stories".

In 2008 the book "How to Avoid Huge Ships and Other Implausibly Titled Books" gave a summary of the previous winners.

Source: Author James25

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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You Expect Me to Buy This? Trivia Quiz

If you want a book to be sold, you have to give it a catchy title. Let's look at some authors that came up with some strange names to put their books out there.

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