Booking through Thursday: Wintry Settings...

From December 25, 2008: What I want to know today is … what are the most "wintery" books you can think of? The ones that almost embody Winter?

1. The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett. Set in Russia in the time of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, most of the action seems to take place in winter: sledges, a Winter Palace with an aviary in it, and lots of snow.
   
   
2. Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean. I read it as a teen and the images of cold and snow stayed with me.
   
   
3. Dr. Jerri Nielsen: Cheating Death in Antarctica by Scott P. Werther. About living through a winter in Antarctica - with cancer.
   
   
4. A Game of Thrones, fantasy by George R.R. Martin. The first volume of A Song of Ice and Fire. Much of it is about the Stark family, who live in the far north (but south of the Wall), whose motto is, "Winter is coming."
   
   
5. Cagebird by Karin Lowachee, which I mention mostly just because I loved it so much. It begins in a prison in Greenland in winter.

Things that make me cry... In a good way

I read fiction to evoke emotional reactions. Some of my favourite books or movies are ones which make me cry - though not all my favourites do. ( Here are some scenes... )

The 2008 King William's College Quiz...

As we did last year, my friends and I are trying to get the answers to The 2008 King William's College Quiz. It's an annual quiz given to the students at this college on the Isle of Man. First they to it off the top of their heads, then they get it as an open-book test for a while. There's a prize for the person who gets the most questions right.

It's a great challenge. Part of the fun is figuring out the questions, let alone the answers. Each section has a theme, but it can be tricky to figure out what that theme is.

If you want to read the questions without my attempted answers (and those of my friends), don't read my entry here - go to the questions as listed in The Guardian.

Most people can get at least two or three answers off the top of their heads. Clever people with good memories might get a bunch more. I was discussing it yesterday with friends aged 11 and 13; they each got almost as many questions as I did. We're not talking high numbers. Eleanor (aged 11) knew the Ugly Duckling question, and the Lewis Carroll.

The rest - hard slogging and a serious challenge of research expertise, perseverance, and a twisted mind. Sometimes random association of ideas and buried memories are the way to go. Sometimes... not.

I don't want to take credit for answers I didn't get, so I'll credit my friends by first name or (when I know them) by LJ name. I'll put questions in bold, answers in plain, uncertain answers in italics.

Help is welcome!

General knowledge paper 2008-2009, sat by the pupils of King William's College, Isle of Man
"Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est". [Translating the motto isn't part of the quiz, but I love it: "To know where to find information is the most important part of education."]

1) During the year 1908:

( 1-1. who announced T? )

Obviously, this is a work in progress - I'm getting too tired to list more answers now, whether they're known or not. More later!