Pop Culture · Books & Authors
Books & Authors Trivia Quiz
Judge By The Cover School classics, BookTok obsessions and the stories behind the stories. How well-read are you, really?
324 questions · 2 to 12 players, or solo · Typed answers, close enough counts
About this quiz
This Books & Authors Trivia Quiz has 324 questions: 114 easy, 129 medium and 81 hard. It is free. Play it with friends in a room for 2 to 12 players, on phones or in a browser, or play it solo. Type your answers: close enough counts, so a small typo still scores.
Sample questions
20 of the 324 Books & Authors questions in this pack. Think of your answer, then open it.
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Most people think Frankenstein is the monster, but he's the scientist. What's his first name?
Show answer
Victor
The creature is never given a name at all, which is how the mix-up began.
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Steinbeck borrowed his title from a poem about a farmer wrecking a tiny nest. Which Scottish poet wrote it?
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Robert Burns
The 1785 poem says the best-laid schemes of mice and men often go wrong, which is the novel's whole plot.
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In Golding's novel, what exactly is the 'Lord of the Flies'?
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Pig's head
The hunters leave it on a stick as a gift to the beast. It's the novel's scariest image.
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In Lord of the Flies, which object gives a boy the right to speak at meetings?
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Conch
When it finally shatters, the last bit of order on the island goes with it.
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Daniel Handler first used a fake name to keep himself off some groups' mailing lists. It later became the "author" of A Series of Unfortunate Events. What name?
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Lemony Snicket
He and his friends ordered pizzas under it, printed business cards, and later published 13 books as him.
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Carolyn Keene never existed. The name was a cover for ghostwriters paid flat fees to write the adventures of which teen sleuth?
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Nancy Drew
Mildred Wirt wrote the early books for as little as $125 each, with no royalties.
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Before he scared kids with Goosebumps, who wrote joke books under the name Jovial Bob?
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R.L. Stine
He only tried horror after an editor suggested it, and went on to sell hundreds of millions of books.
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Mario Puzo had two respected novels, no money and big gambling debts when he wrote which crime saga, purely to get rich?
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The Godfather
Puzo later admitted it wasn't as good as his earlier novels, saying "I wrote it to make money."
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An author came to regret his 1974 thriller so much that he spent his later years campaigning to protect the animal it made people fear. Which novel?
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Jaws
Peter Benchley later regretted how the book made villains of sharks, and became an ocean campaigner.
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Before he became a bestselling thriller writer, James Patterson worked in advertising and wrote which chain's "I don't wanna grow up" jingle?
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Toys R Us
Patterson wrote some of the words while Linda Kaplan Thaler wrote the music, back in 1982.
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One early rejection called Lord of the Flies 'rubbish and dull', yet its author went on to win which prize in 1983?
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Nobel Prize
William Golding was a schoolteacher when he wrote it. Many publishers turned it down before Faber took it.
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Which Italian novelist of My Brilliant Friend has hidden behind a pen name since 1992, refusing to appear in public?
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Elena Ferrante
She says books need no authors once they are written, and readers and journalists still argue over who she is.
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Susan Hinton used her initials so reviewers wouldn't dismiss a book by a girl. She was a teenager when she wrote which novel?
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The Outsiders
She wrote it in high school, and her publisher suggested the initials to get past male reviewers.
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The green witch in Wicked is called Elphaba. Her name was built from the initials of which author?
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L. Frank Baum
Gregory Maguire sounded out L-F-B as a tribute to the man who first created her world in 1900.
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Mickey Haller has no office. He runs his legal practice from the back seat of his chauffeured car. Which Michael Connelly novel introduced him?
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The Lincoln Lawyer
The book is named after his black Town Car. Matthew McConaughey played him in 2011, before the hit TV version.
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To keep a twist secret, Alfred Hitchcock reportedly had an assistant buy up all the copies of a novel. Which novel?
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Psycho
He also bought the film rights anonymously for about $9,000, to keep the project under wraps.
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Tom Hanks collects a certain vintage machine, and one turns up in every story of his 2017 book. What is it?
Show answer
Typewriter
He owns over a hundred of them, and the book's title, Uncommon Type, is a pun on his hobby.
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Saroo Brierley got lost on an Indian train at five. In his memoir, he finds his family years later using which online tool?
Show answer
Google Earth
He traced railway lines on satellite images for years. Dev Patel played him in the film Lion.
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The Martian caused a fuss by winning its 2016 Golden Globe for best film in which category, alongside Musical?
Show answer
Comedy
The Globes changed the rules soon after, banning dramas with funny moments from that category.
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Kevin Kwan's novel about Singapore's super-rich got a huge offer from one streaming giant, with a guaranteed trilogy. He said no and chose cinemas. Which company?
Show answer
Netflix
Kwan and the producers took less money so an Asian cast could be seen on the big screen.
How to play with friends
- Start a room. Open this quiz in Braggit, already picked for you. It plays in any browser or the app.
- Invite your friends. Share the room code or link. Friends join from their own phones, in the same room or over a video call.
- Type, wager, brag. Everyone types an answer before the timer runs out. Wager points when you are sure, then share your brag card.
Questions about this quiz
How many questions are in the Books & Authors Trivia Quiz?
324. Each game plays a round of them, so you can come back for more.
Can I play the Books & Authors Trivia Quiz with friends online?
Yes. Start a room with this quiz, share the room code or link, and 2 to 12 players join from the Braggit app or any browser. You can also play it solo.
Is the Books & Authors Trivia Quiz free?
Yes. Play it free in your browser or in the Braggit app for iPhone.
Do I have to spell the answers exactly?
No. You type your answers, and Braggit accepts close spellings, so a small typo still scores.
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