Reading For Fun Trivia Quiz

Answer: Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett wrote 41 novels in his Discworld series. Pratchett passed away in March, 2015 and his final Discworld novel, "The Shepherd's Crown", was released posthumously five months later. The first Discworld novel, "The Colour of Magic" was published in 1983 and introduced readers to a flat round world resting on the backs of four enormous elephants, each standing on the back of a huge turtle, Great A'Tuin, which was itself flying through space. In 1998 Pratchett was named Officer of the British Empire and in 2009 he was knighted for services to literature. In 2010 he was honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. Discworld books always mirror and satirize our own world and social issues while taking on themes including religion, trade unions, philosophy, war, banking, ancient cultures, tourism, government, movies, music and much more.

Piers Anthony has his own long-running and humorous fantasy series which has its setting in a place called Xanth, a shorter series called ""Incarnations of Immortality, as well as several others. Robert Asprin is best known for his amusing "MythAdventures" stories. Margaret Weis is another prolific writer of fantasy fiction. She is probably best known for her work with Tracy Hickman in the "Dragonlance" series.

Answer: Biff

"Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Best Pal" was written by Christopher Moore and published in 2002. In the book Biff has been called upon to write a new gospel to tell the story of the lost years of Jesus' time on Earth. The book refers to the central character as "Levi bar Alphaeus who is called Biff". Jesus may not lie, steal, cuss or otherwise sin, but Biff is there and ready to pick up the slack. Certainly some will consider the book blasphemy. But that will only happen if it is taken seriously, and this book is all about laughs. Haven't you ever wondered how rabbits became associated with Easter?

Moore has written numerous comical stories including "Island of the Sequined Love Nun", "Fool", "Sacre Bleu", and three different series centered around demons, vampires and the Grim Reaper.

Answer: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" tells a story centering on Arthur Dent, who escapes the destruction of the earth with the help of alien Ford Prefect, the Galactic President Zaphod Breeblebox, the robot Marvin, and the only other human survivor, Trillian.

There are several books in the series including "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", "Life, the Universe and Everything", "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish", and "Mostly Harmless". The story was adapted for film and the movie was released in 2005 staring Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel and the voice of Alan Rickman. "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" and "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" are also novels by Douglas Adams.

Answer: A Confederacy of Dunces

Toole wrote "A Confederacy of Dunces" in 1963. After his death by suicide in 1969 his mother found a carbon copy of the novel and worked for years to find a publisher. The book was finally published in 1980 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981. In the story we find the main character, Ignatius, to be a 30 year old slob living with his mother in New Orleans. To say that he is eccentric is not enough. His love of food, hatred of both pop culture and work, and a preference for medieval philosophy result in one outrageous event after another.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a play by Oscar Wilde which had its premiere in 1895. "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" is a 2006 novel by travel writer Bill Bryson. "The Magic Christian" is a 1959 novel by Terry Southern. Each book is very humorous.

Answer: Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen has been an investigative reporter for the Miami Herald for many years, beginning in 1976 and continuing in that role even after becoming a successful author. His novels typically have a Florida setting, environmental theme, and many laughs. "Skinny Dip" was published in 2004 and in large part centers around the misadventures of Charles "Chaz" Perrone, a marine biologist with a job testing water samples for pollutants. Accepting payoffs, and other poor choices, lead to an attempt to kill his wife. When she is rescued by Mick Stranahan, Chaz sees his life take a drastic turn for the worse.

Dave Barry also worked for the Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. Barry was a columnist, Pulitzer Prize winner and author.

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was one of the most popular humorists of his time. Wodehouse published more than 90 books, plus many more plays and other writings, featuring characters such as Bertie Wooster and his butler Jeeves, before his death in 1975.

David Sedaris is an author, and comedian who first became well known as a result of his essay "Santaland Diaries". The reading of that essay led to regular appearances on National Public Radio. He has since published numerous collections of stories and essays which are frequently at least somewhat autobiographical.

Answer: Robert Ludlum

Robert Ludlum is much better known for "The Bourne Identity" and other novels that focus on spies, terrorists, political corruption, and secret military forces. At least seven of his novels have been adapted for movies. Following a career in the military and the theater he published 27 novels between 1971 and his death in 2001. "The Road to Omaha" was a 1992 sequel to "The Road to Gandolfo".

David Baldacci left a law career to publish novels. He is probably best known for his Camel Club series and the Sean King and Michelle Maxwell books. As in the typical Ludlum stories, you will find plenty of political corruption and espionage in the stories written by Baldacci.

Michael Connelly is an author of crime fiction best known for novels featuring LAPD detective Harry Bosch and attorney Mickey Haller. In 2015 Amazon Prime released a television series based on the character Harry Bosch.

Dan Brown is most recognized for his Robert Langdon series of books which include "Angels and Demons", "The Da Vinci Code" and "The Lost Symbol". Multiple movies were filmed based on these books, starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon.

Answer: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Generally you don't expect a book about the Apocalypse to be funny. I suppose "Good Omens" is the exception that proves that rule. It seems that the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley have become rather fond of their existence on earth, and in the human realm, so they set out to prevent the End Days. The Horsepersons are actually bikers in this tale. War has become a female war correspondent, Famine has become a dietician and Pollution has replaced the retired Pestilence. Apparently Death never changes and strongly resembles the character of the same name in the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels.

"Then We Came to the End" is a 2007 satire written by Joshua Ferris that takes place at a Chicago advertising firm during a business downturn. "On a Pale Horse" is the first book in the "Incarnations of Immortality" series by Piers Anthony, in which an unsuspecting man suddenly becomes the incarnation of Death. "Dead Souls" is a satire of Russian life in the 1800s which was written by Nikolai Gogol and first published in 1842.

Answer: Catch-22

"Catch-22" was first published in 1961 and tells a story about John Yossarian and others at a World War II Army Air Force facility in the Mediterranean. The phrase catch-22 has since become accepted as part of the English language. The soldiers would like to be declared mentally incapable of military service. However, if they make a request to be relieved of duty they are considered sane. The book is both hilariously funny and tragic.

"The Stench of Honolulu" is a comic 2013 novel by Jack Handey, the man who brought you the Deep Thoughts skits on "Saturday Night Live" in the 1990s. "The Dud Avocado" is a 1958 novel by Elaine Dundy which tells a comedic story about a young female American who journeys to Paris. "Finnegans Wake" was the final novel written by James Joyce and published in 1939.

Answer: Syrup

"Syrup" was the first novel published for the author, who wrote the story using the name Maxx Barry. The central character, Scat, believes that his marketing idea will leave him very wealthy. But the idea is stolen by Sneaky Pete. Scat needs assistance from the Coca-Cola marketing manager named 6, and several others, in order to have any chance of reclaiming his dream. The story is a satire of corporate ethics and full of laughs. The 2013 movie stared Shiloh Fernandez as Scat and Amber Heard as 6.

"I Was Told There'd Be Cake" is a 2008 collection of humorous essays by Sloane Crosley. "The Ginger Man" by J.P. Donleavy is a 1955 novel about an American in Dublin which was originally banned in the US. "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole" is a 1982 novel written by Sue Townsend and part of her "Adrian Mole" series.

Answer: Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday

"Breakfast of Champions" is a 1973 novel written by Kurt Vonnegut. One of the fictitious characters in the book is Kilgore Trout, which is the pen name used by Phillip Jose Farmer to write the book "Venus on the Half-Shell". Trout is a minor pulp science fiction author who meets Pontiac dealer Dwayne Hoover in a fictional Midland City. Dwayne comes to believe that he is the only human with free will and Vonnegut's typical dark humor follows. The story was adapted for film and in 1999 a movie of the same title was released starring Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, and Nick Nolte. The film had generally poor reviews.

"The Sirens of Titan" and "Cat's Cradle" are also books from author Kurt Vonnegut.