Name that book: a fiction subject headings quiz
Wed 26 Apr 2006, 10:13 am
I have often thought that Library of Congress Subject Headings for fiction were kind of funny in they way they can reduce a complex work of art into a few words. And the “– Fiction” part just seems funny to me, as in “Middle-aged men — Fiction.”
So here is a a little quiz: nine classic (or at least well-known) works of world literature, as described in library catalogs’ subject headings and genre terms. First one to get all nine correct in the comments wins a free lifetime subscription to See Also.
(I suppose I should add a spoiler warning, as one of these gives away the ending of the novel in the subject headings! Also, I expect I’m not the first person to find this funny; if you know of similar pages/quizzes, please let me know.)
Edited to add: if you have other funny examples, please put them in the comments.
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- Whaling ships — Fiction
- Ship captains — Fiction
- Mentally ill — Fiction
- Whaling — Fiction
- Whales — Fiction
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- Runaway teenagers — Fiction
- New York (N.Y.) — Fiction
- Bildungsromans
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- Middle aged men — Fiction
- Girls — Fiction
- Erotic fiction
- Love stories
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- Physicians’ spouses — Fiction
- Adultery — Fiction
- Suicide victims — Fiction
- Middle class — Fiction
- France — Fiction
- Domestic fiction
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- Paris (France) — History — 1789-1799 — Fiction
- London (England) — History — 18th century — Fiction
- Paris (France) — History — 1789-1799 — Fiction
- London (England) — History — 18th century — Fiction
- Historical fiction
- War stories
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- Computer hackers — Fiction
- Business intelligence — Fiction
- Information superhighway — Fiction
- Nervous system — Wounds and injuries — Fiction
- Conspiracies — Fiction
- Japan — Fiction
- Science fiction
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- Cowboys — California — Salinas River Valley — Fiction.
- Men — California — Salinas River Valley — Fiction.
- Friendship — Fiction.
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- Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc. — Fiction
- Regression (Psychology) — Fiction
- Islands — Fiction
- Boys — Fiction
- Psychological fiction
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- Rabbits — England — Fiction.
- Community power — Fiction.
- Allegories.

I’m doing this without looking at any catalog records, since that seems to be the spirit of the quiz (even though we are librarians and the itch to look things up is almost irresistable).
1. Moby Dick
2. Catcher in the Rye
3. Lolita
4. [?]
5. [?]
6. Neuromancer?
7. Brokeback Mountain?
8. The Lord of the Flies
9. Watership Down
Comment by Jessy — April 26, 2006 @ 10:50 am
4. Madame Bovary?
5. A Tale of Two Cities
There is no “The” in Lord of the Flies. :)
Comment by Dorothea Salo — April 26, 2006 @ 11:40 am
Between Jessy and Dorothea we have them all correct except for number 7.
Here is a bonus one. I haven’t read the book, but I belive you don’t really get the feel for the book’s style from this one.
World War, 1939-1945 — Fiction.
Americans — Europe — Fiction.
Rockets (Ordnance) — Fiction.
Rocketry — Fiction.
Soldiers — Fiction.
Genre/Form: War stories.
Science fiction.
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 26, 2006 @ 11:59 am
7. Of Mice and Men (?)
Comment by manogirl — April 26, 2006 @ 12:04 pm
7: Of mice and men?
Comment by Andre Keyzer — April 26, 2006 @ 12:08 pm
Is no. 7 Of Mice and Men? I fear that the bonus is Gravity’s Rainbow.
Comment by John Russell — April 26, 2006 @ 12:12 pm
Yes, yes, yes, and yes! (My spam filter is marking everything as spam so manogirl, Andre, and John couldn’t see each others’ responses.)
Last one for now:
Married women — Sexual behavior — England — Fiction
Adultery — England — Fiction
Erotic stories
Hint: according to Wikipedia, during the obscenity trial for this book the chief prosecuter asked if it was the kind of book “you would wish your wife or servants to read.”
Your turn: lay some good ones on us. For older books, try more recent editions to find records with subject headings. I promise to check the spam filter frequently.
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 26, 2006 @ 12:27 pm
Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
Comment by Dorothea Salo — April 26, 2006 @ 12:37 pm
That one almost has to be Lady Chatterly’s Lover….
How about this one?
Fathers and daughters–Fiction.
Race relations–Fiction.
Trials (Rape)–Fiction.
Girls–Fiction.
Southern States–Fiction.
Comment by Jenn — April 26, 2006 @ 12:56 pm
To Kill a Mockingbird?
Comment by Meredith — April 26, 2006 @ 3:02 pm
Yep, Lady Chatterley it is. And I ready Jenn’s mystery book in junior high. Gregory Peck is great in the film.
You know, we haven’t even tapped kid’s lit yet. I love this:
Swine — Folklore.
Piglets — Folklore.
Wolves — Folklore.
Housing — Folklore.
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 26, 2006 @ 3:05 pm
This is fun! Here are a few more before I run to dinner:
1.
Fugitive slaves–Fiction.
Male friendship–Fiction.
Boys–Fiction.
Mississippi River–Fiction.
Missouri–Fiction.
2.
Migrant agricultural laborers–California–Fiction.
Labor camps–California–Fiction.
Historical fiction.
3.
Triangles (Interpersonal relations) — Fiction.
Separated people — Fiction.
Upper class — Fiction.
Married people — Fiction.
New York (N.Y.) — Fiction.
4.
Architects — Fiction.
Man-woman relationships — Fiction.
Individualism — Fiction.
5.
Burial — Fiction.
Death — Fiction.
Mississippi — Fiction.
(this one may be a toughie)
Comment by Meredith — April 26, 2006 @ 3:16 pm
Meredith, you stumped me with number 3. I’m not looking it up yet, but I wonder if I haven’t read it. Got the rest, though.
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 26, 2006 @ 3:21 pm
Oops, I can’t believe I put The Lord of the Flies. Clearly I’m too big a fan of The Lord of the Rings. Or is it The Lord of the Dance?
Comment by Jessy — April 27, 2006 @ 4:06 pm
And here’s another one for the quiz:
Fishers — Fiction.
Aged men — Fiction.
Male friendship — Fiction.
Cuba — Fiction.
Comment by Jessy — April 27, 2006 @ 4:07 pm
Here’s another one that I like:
Infants switched at birth — Fiction
Islam — Relations — Hinduism — Fiction Hinduism — Relations — Islam — Fiction
Children of the rich — Fiction
Poor children — Fiction
Supernatural — Fiction
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 27, 2006 @ 4:15 pm
To answer Meredith’s items:
1. Tom Sawyer
2. Grapes of Wrath
3. [I have no clue!]
4. The Fountainhead
5. As I Lay Dying
Comment by Jill — April 28, 2006 @ 12:47 pm
I haven’t checked, but could Meredith’s number three be The Great Gatsby? Doesn’t seem exactly right, but it could be.
And, Jill, I think the “Fugitive slaves–Fiction” heading means that number one has to be Huckleberry Finn rather than Tom Sawyer.
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 28, 2006 @ 1:47 pm
Sorry to have arrived so late to the party, but I’m glad there are so many other people out there as fascinated by fiction subject headings as I am. I started reading CIP data long before I ever thought of being a librarian; I suppose I should have taken it as a sign.
Gatsby seems like a good bet for #3, but I’m not sure. Here’s my contribution:
Women college students–Suicidal behavior–Fiction
Depression, Mental–Fiction
Autobiographical fiction
Psychological fiction
Comment by Laura — April 28, 2006 @ 3:08 pm
sorry for answering so late, but #3 was The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (would have been helpful if they’d had a time period in there). Nice guess with Great Gatsby (certainly fits in there as well)! And 1 was Huck Finn. Jill had the rest of them right!
Comment by Meredith — April 28, 2006 @ 4:44 pm
Here is Gatsby:
Long Island (N.Y.) — Fiction
Traffic accidents — Fiction
First loves — Fiction
Rich people — Fiction
Mistresses — Fiction
Revenge — Fiction
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 28, 2006 @ 6:25 pm
The answer to Laura’s contribution must surely be Plath’s The Bell Jar.
Although, it could also be Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted
Comment by JanieH — April 28, 2006 @ 9:15 pm
Is Steve’s last one The God of Small Things?
Laura’s could be The Bell Jar?
Comment by Simon Chamberlain — April 28, 2006 @ 9:27 pm
My last one isn’t The God of Small Things. I guess the spoiler alert should apply to that one, too, as I think the first subject heading is a pretty major revelation some many pages into the book.
And no one has tried Jessy’s yet. Would it help if I added “Heavy-handed Christ symbolism–Fiction” and “Really big fish–Fiction”?
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 28, 2006 @ 10:07 pm
Midnight’s Children.
Comment by v smoothe — April 29, 2006 @ 12:56 am
v smoothe got mine!
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 29, 2006 @ 6:54 am
Ooh, fun! How about this one?
Young women — England — Fiction.
Courtship — England — Fiction.
Sisters — England — Fiction.
England — Social life and customs — 19th century — Fiction.
or:
Wizards — Fiction.
Magic — Fiction.
Schools — Fiction.
Magic — Juvenile fiction.
Wizards — Juvenile fiction.
England — Fiction.
or:
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519 — Manuscripts — Fiction.
Cryptographers — Fiction.
Comment by Ellen — April 29, 2006 @ 7:34 am
Jessy’s was the Old Man and the Sea.
Ellen’s are Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter and the Da Vinci Code (I guess…).
World Series (Baseball)–Fiction.
Public relations–Fiction.
Fathers and sons–Fiction.
Women artists–Fiction.
Ex-convicts–Fiction.
Executives–Fiction.
Baseballs–Fiction.
Cold War–Fiction.
New York (N.Y.)–Fiction.
Passivity (Psychology)–Fiction.
Genetic engineering–Fiction.
Totalitarianism–Fiction.
Collectivism–Fiction.
Triangles (Interpersonal relations)–Fiction.
Rejection (Psychology)–Fiction.
Rural families–Fiction.
Foundlings–Fiction.
Yorkshire (England)–Fiction.
Comment by Simon Chamberlain — April 29, 2006 @ 9:24 pm
Good ones, Simon! The first I recognized right off as DeLillo’s Underworld; for the others, I had to cheat.
Speaking of DeLillo, I love the subjects for White Noise:
Industrial accidents — Fiction.
College teachers — Fiction.
Stepfamilies — Fiction.
Middle West — Fiction.
Death — Fiction.
Humorous stories.
“Death — Fiction.; Humorous stories.” Love that.
Comment by Steve Lawson — April 29, 2006 @ 10:22 pm
Here’s another, quite obvious but I enjoyed the last LCSH:
Chocolate factories — Juvenile fiction.
Chocolate — Juvenile fiction.
Candy — Juvenile fiction.
Good and evil — Juvenile fiction.
Some of the records for this book have only one subject heading: Human behavior — Juvenile fiction. I believe, from looking at other books with that subject heading, it’s supposed to mean something to do with manners and politeness (Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, The Berenstein Bears Forget Their Manners). Not too intuitive, though.
Comment by Jessy — April 30, 2006 @ 1:07 pm
Yup, The Bell Jar is right. Simon, is your third one Tom Jones? The White Noise subjects are fantastic.
Comment by Laura — May 1, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
My favorite subject-heading-wise has always been:
Despair — Fiction
Rural poor — New England — Fiction
Marriage — Fiction
Farm life — New England — Fiction
Interpersonal relations — Fiction
Berkshire Hills (Mass.) — Fiction
New England — Social life and customs — Fiction
I particularly enjoy it b/c every teenager I’ve helped find the book has been feeling “despair” in a less fictional way at the thought of having to read it. Can’t say as I blame them….
Comment by adrienne — May 4, 2006 @ 1:55 pm
Oooh, forgot about this. Steve is right with Underworld. The third one is Wuthering Heights – not 100% obvious and I can see why you would think Tom Jones. My second one was Brave New World.
Comment by Simon — May 7, 2006 @ 8:03 pm
Moving out of fiction just briefly, here’s one I thought was amusing.
Fathers and daughters — Drama.
Political refugees — Drama.
Shipwreck victims — Drama.
Magicians — Drama.
Islands — Drama.
Spirits — Drama.
Comment by JBD — May 16, 2006 @ 8:15 pm
Thanks, JDB; nice one. I had had trouble finding Shakespeare with subject headings.
No one has tried adrienne’s title yet. I think I may not have read it.
Comment by Steve Lawson — May 17, 2006 @ 12:48 pm