1.Easy one to start with. This book by a former White House insider is becoming a huge bestseller.
2.For Game of Thrones fans — the hugely popular TV series is based on the bestselling set of five novels. The author is yet to finish the much-awaited sixth novel in the series. Instead, he released another two-part novel that left his admirers with mixed feelings. Some liked it — but most are clamouring for the sixth novel. Name the writer and the sixth novel. Bonus if you know what the new two-part series is called.
3.Our traditional Booker prize question: who won it this year, and what is the name of the book?
4.Who won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature?
5. This film is based on the biography of a legendary American astronaut. Name the film & the astronaut. Bonus points if you can name the director, who became the youngest ever to win an Oscar for another 2017 film.
6.A thriller co-written by a former US President and another bestselling author. Reads like many Hollywood films based on similar themes that we are all familiar with. Name the authors and the book. Half a mark if you at least get the name of the President!
7. The shortlist for the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature has four Indian authors among the six announced. Name the Bengaluru-based author, and the book on the shortlist.
8. It is 25 years since this mammoth, 1,368-word paperback English novel written by this Indian was published. The sequel is almost ready. The author is a recipient of the 1988 Sahitya Academy Award for another English novel. Name the author, the book, & the sequel. Bonus for naming the Sahitya Academy prize-winning novel.
9.This 2001 Literature Nobel laureate of Indian origin died in August this year. His grandparents emigrated to Trinidad, West Indies, to work as indentured labour there. His novels portrayed the impact of colonialism across the globe. Name the author and at least 3 of his books.
10. This Indian film-star-turned-author’s latest book was released in September this year, her third. Her first book sold over 100,000 copies, making her the highest selling woman author of 2015 in India. Her second book of stories was also a bestseller. A story from the collection of four tales was adapted into a play, while another was made into a film. Name this author, and at least one of her books.
Answers
1. 'Becoming' by Michelle Obama
2. 'The Winds of Winter' is the sixth novel George R R Martin is ‘struggling to finish’. Fire and Blood was released just about a month ago.
3. Anna Burns, for 'Milkman'. She became the first Northern Irish author to win the prize.
4. Nobody. The Swedish Academy, which organises the Nobel Prize for Literature, decided to postpone the award following sexual abuse allegations against Jean-Claude Arnault, husband of Academy Member Katarina Frostenson. The 2018 Award will be presented next year, along with the 2019 award.
5. 'First Man', based on a biography of Neil Armstrong by James R Hansen. The film explores the life of Armstrong between 1961 and 1969. Damien Chazelle is the director who won an Oscar for La La Land (2017). Ryan Gosling, who was also the lead actor in La La Land, plays Armstong.
6. 'The President is Missing' by Bill Clinton & James Patterson. There are at least five Hollywood films based on Patterson’s books.
7. Jayant Kaikini, 'No Presents Please', translated by Tejaswini Niranjana.
8. 'Vikram Seth'; A Suitable Boy (1993); A Suitable Girl; The Golden Gate.
9. Sir V S Naipaul; 'A House for Mr Biswas', A Bend in the River, In A Free State.
10. Twinkle Khanna. Her latest book is 'Pyjamas are Forgiving'. The other two books are Mrs Funnybones, and The Legend of Laksmi Prasad (a collection of 4 stories, of which Salaam Noni Appa was adapted into a play, and The Sanitary Man of the Sacred Land led to the film PadMan.