Can You Identify These London Locations in the Books of Charles Dickens?
A strong sense of place can deeply influence a story, and in some cases, the setting can even feel like a character itself — and in the works of Charles Dickens, that character was 19th-century London. This week’s literary geography quiz highlights locations or landmarks around the city that are mentioned in five of Dickens’s…
Test Your Knowledge of Winter Holiday Books
In 2000’s “The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales From Around the World for the Winter Solstice,” Carolyn McVickar Edwards collects traditional stories from China, India, Africa, Europe, Polynesia and the Indigenous Americas. In the Northern Hemisphere, which day does the winter solstice usually fall on or near?
Test Yourself on These Young Adult Novels Adapted Into Films
Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about books that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions, video games and more. This week’s challenge is focused on tween and teen novels that made the leap from the page to the screen — and some of them…
Text Yourself on These Young Adult Novels Adapted Into Films
Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about books that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions, video games and more. This week’s challenge is focused on tween and teen novels that made the leap from the page to the screen — and some of them…
Can You Place These Children’s Books on the World Map?
A strong sense of place can deeply influence a story, and in some cases, the setting can even feel like a character itself. This week’s literary geography quiz celebrates popular children’s books and stories from cultures around the world. To play, just make your selection in the multiple-choice list and the correct answer will be…
Try This Quiz on Books That Were Made Into Great Space Movies
Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about books that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions, video games and more. This week’s challenge is focused on fiction and nonfiction works about space exploration that were adapted into popular films.Just tap or click your answers to…
Can You Identify These Books By Their Bad Reviews in The Times?
“The author undoubtedly meant her to be queer, but she is altogether too queer. She was only 11 years old when she reached the house in Prince Edward’s Island that was to be her home, but, in spite of her tender years, and in spite of the fact that, excepting for four months spent in…
Do You Recognize the Locations Described in These Poems?
In 1914, Carl Sandburg published a poem that began:Hog Butcher for the World,Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;Stormy, husky, brawling,City of the Big Shoulders:What is the name of the city in the poem? (Hint: Despite having sports-team mascots that include Bulls and Bears, this city is not the high-finance…
Can You Identify These Short Stories Based on Their Plots?
Welcome to Lit Trivia, the Book Review’s multiple-choice quiz designed to test your knowledge of literature. This week’s installment asks you to identify the titles and authors of memorable short stories and novellas — based on a simple plot description. The answer section reveals a bit more about the work from articles in the Times…
Can You Match This Text to the Right Book?
There would be a black, six-foot deep gap hacked in the hard ground. That shadow would marry this shadow, and the peculiar, yellowish soil of our locality seal the wound in the whiteness, and yet another snowfall erase the traces of newness in Joan’s grave.I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag…
