Waterstones Week In Books Quiz, 12th September 2014

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Waterstones Week in Books Quiz, 12th September 2014

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Question 1

Norwich. Home to Delia Smith, Alan Partridge and the University of East Anglia, which has produced such notable alumni as Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, John Boyne and one Time Lord. This week it was announced that the university is going to be launching a new MA course in September 2015. What will they be teaching?
A
The pedestrianization of Norwich city centre
B
Crime fiction
C
Cookery
D
Doctor Who
Question 1 Explanation: Knowing me, Waterstones quizmaster. Knowing you, MA in Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. It will cover the genre from a critical, theoretical and historical standpoint as well as having a large creative writing component. One lucky student will be sponsored by publisher Little, Brown, who will also be looking at any manuscripts the students produce with the potential to publish them. Sometimes crime does pay...
Question 2

History is littered with great rap artists: Eminem. Snoop Dogg. Vanilla Ice. All amazing lyricists, we can all agree. This week it was announced that a new hip-hop album will include the lyrics of which legendary poet?
A
Maya Angelou
B
Seamus Heaney
C
William Blake
D
Lord Byron
Question 2 Explanation: The album, due out in the winter, is one of the late author's final projects and mixes her poetry and vocals with hip-hop. Thirteen songs use pre-recorded vocals from the writer, with the album called Caged Bird Songs after her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Next month, the long awaited death metal album from Allen Ginsberg: 'Howl, Screams, Drums and Other Poems.'
Question 3

The year is 2114. Humanity may or may not have evolved. Skynet may or may not have tried to enslave us but hopefully, The Future Project will have survived. The project, set up in 2014 by Scottish artist Katie Paterson, involves inviting one writer every year to add a new text to the collection. Their works will be locked away and not seen for one hundred years... Who was the first author to be added?
A
Katie Price
B
Sebastian Faulks
C
Ian McEwan
D
Margaret Atwood
Question 3 Explanation: The project began with planting 1,000 trees in Nordmarka, just outside Oslo. Every year until 2114, one writer will contribute a new text to the collection, with the trees then to be cut down to provide the paper for the texts to be printed. Atwood's novel, and those of the other authors, will remain unread and unpublished for one hundred years. It's certainly one way to avoid the critics.
Question 4

Books sell. Money talks (sort of). This week Forbes released their list of the wealthiest authors based on earnings for last year. James Patterson regained his place at the top of the list but three new names appeared following a blockbuster year of sales. John Green and Gillian Flynn were joined by whom?
A
James Dashner
B
Donna Tartt
C
Veronica Roth
D
Alfie Deyes
Question 4 Explanation: Gillian Flynn and John Green joined the list with $9m in earnings each from last year. Veronica Roth did even better, cashing in $17m thanks to her Divergent series. But James Patterson still has the biggest piggybank of them all with $90m in book sales.
Question 5

The Guinness Book of World Records celebrated their diamond anniversary this week. For sixty years they have been the answer to who performed obscure challenges and spurred on people to sit in baths of baked beans for days on end. But which author holds the record for the longest novel?
A
Samuel Richardson
B
Ayn Rand
C
Vikram Seth
D
Marcel Proust
Question 5 Explanation: A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust holds the record for the World's Longest Book. Translating to 'Remembrance of Things Past', it's a 13-part volume with 9,609,000 characters to read through. But who's read it the quickest?
Question 6

The nominees for this year's Man Booker Prize were announced with Joshua Ferris, Richard Flanagan, Karen Joy Fowler, Howard Jacobson, Neel Mukherjee and Ali Smith the lucky authors plucked from the longlist. But from 1969 to 2001 it was only known as the Booker Prize. So who won the first Man Booker Prize in 2002 when the Man Group sponsored the prize?
A
Sarah Waters
B
Yann Martel
C
Carol Shields
D
Tim Winton
Question 6 Explanation: Yann Martel has the honour of being the first winner of the Man Booker Prize with Life of Pi. PH Newby was the first ever winner of the prize in 1969 with Something to Answer For. One for your next pub quiz there....
Question 7

In a writing career spanning over thirty years, many of Stephen King's novels and short stories have been adapted to film and television screens. This week CBS, currently producing Under The Dome, announced a television adaptation of which King short story?
A
The Things They Left Behind
B
Riding The Bullet
C
Hearts in Atlantis
D
Everything's Eventual
Question 7 Explanation: Alongside the current series Under the Dome (or the television adaptation of The Simpsons Movie) CBS is producing an adaptation of King's short story The Things They Left Behind. In the creepy tale a 9/11 survivor finds the possessions of his dead co-workers appearing in his home.
Question 8

The Booker Prize may have dominated the news but a prize of a slightly more horrifying nature was unveiled this week. Which famous horror author will put their name to a new writing prize?
A
Dean Koontz
B
James Herbert
C
Stephen King
D
Edgar Allan Poe
Question 8 Explanation: It was announced that the late James Herbert’s daughter Kerry Herbert and fantasy writer Sarah Pinborough are among the judges for the inaugural James Herbert Horror Writing Prize. The winner will receive a £2,000 prize as the judges aim to find a new generation of horror writers.
Question 9

How much can you say in 140 characters? (A fair bit as that was only 39 btw). This week the wonderfully named @ihatejoemarshall is kicking off a five year project to tweet lines from a book every day. But which great American novel is getting the Twitter treatment?
A
The Road
B
The Great Gatsby
C
Gone with the Wind
D
The Grapes of Wrath
Question 9 Explanation: Everyday, 140 characters from Fitzgerald's masterpiece will be tweeted for the next five years. Perfect for those slow readers out there.
Question 10

With the publication of Ken Follett's Edge of Eternity, a website has been set up for readers to share their memories of the time period covered in his latest historical series. Follett has written 29 books over a career spanning 35 years but what was the reason behind him originally taking up the pen and writing books?
A
His teacher at school told him to write
B
The stories came to him in dreams
C
He had a long commute to work
D
He needed money to fix his car
Question 10 Explanation: According to an interview with The New York Times, Follett needed extra money to fix his car and the advance that a fellow writer received was the exact amount he needed. A trip to Kwik-Fit is probably a bit easier than historical epics, Ken.,.
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Bring Up The Bodies...
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