The Modern Library Trivia Challenge Page

Which ML collector has read the most Modern Library titles?

Which is the only regular binding (of the 14) to not boast a first edition title?

The back of the late 60's and early 70's dust jackets (types n, o, Gi, and Gj) provided lists of titles in five different genre groups and by one author.  The category was introduced by "For the Modern Reader...  The Best of the World's Best Books In:", and was specific to the type of book the jacket was encasing.  What were the five genres and who was the author?

Which author wrote the following in the unique forward to their Selected Stories edition in the Modern Library?  "The only thing that worries me a little is this Modern Library business.  Does publication in the Modern Library impose a moral obligation on an author, a sort of gentlemen's agreement that he will not write any more about the characters appearing in the volume?"

There are four pairs of family related ML authors.  Who are they, and what are their relationships?

Which paperback title is the only one to not have the Modern Library Paperback torchbearer on the spine?

What is the only 'new' ML title to be published after 1970?

Which title has the book number listed twice on the dust jacket spine?

Who is believed to be the first ML collector and when did they start?  (Note that this is not asking who was the first purchaser of an ML title, which happened by someone unknown sometime in 1917).

The later editions of very few titles are more valuable than the first editions.  How many ML titles fall into this category and which are they?

What ML dust jacket contains a stylized Random House Logo as part of the cover design?
 Click Here for a hint!

All ML dust jackets contain the book number on the spine.  One title also has the number on the front.  Which one is it?

Almost all ML dust jackets have the number at the midpoint of the spine or lower.  One title has the number in the top half.  Which one is it?

Which ML title is the only one printed vertically on the dust jacket spine facing the front of the book (toward the right)?

Which Regular ML title has the fewest pages?

Which Regular ML title has the most pages?

There are 8 ML titles in both the Regular and Giant series.  Name 'em all!

The letters 'P', 'G', and 'T' were respectively applied to the ML Paperback, Giant, and College Edition series.  What letter was originally used for the Illustrated series?

The first 10 Modern Library Paperbacks were reprints from the regular series.  Many more reprints were planned, but after the first 10 the titles were mostly new.  Of the next 57 titles, how many ML paperbacks were also regular (or giant) series titles, and which were they?  Which 2 were in print at the same time as the regular title?

Which titles are in all ML series (Regular, Giant, Illustrated, Paperback, and Buckram)?

What renowned ML collector and enthusiast started their ML collection in Henry Toledano's bookshop on San Francisco's Castro Street in 1993?  What was the title acquired on that day (and thus the first title in that illustrious collection)?

Which ML Paperback did not indicate "Modern Library" anywhere on the front cover?  Two others said "A Modern Library Book" instead of "A Modern Library Paperback".  Which two are those?

How much cash did Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer pay to acquire the Modern Library in 1925?  (Note: This does not include Cerf's interest in B&L.) 

Who runs the Modern Library ListServ mailing list, and what University sponsors it?

Name the  regular post Boni-Liveright titles that have no torchbearer on either the front or spine of the dust jacket.

Now, name a giant title that has no torchbearer on either the front or spine of the dust jacket.

The torchbearer inscribed in an oval with the flame pointing straight up is seen on two Modern Library configurations.  Which two are they?

Click on this image:   Who is this person representing the Lucien torchbearer?

Which ML title has the longest introduction?

What is the only ML title printed in a #8 binding that was larger than the standard size?

What is unique about the firsts of Dinesen's Seven Gothic Tales and Stone's Lust for Life?

What single title was printed continuously in the ML from 1917 - 1970 without changes?

What four binding 8 titles had blank endpapers?

Who was the first American author in the ML?

Which ML title is the inspiration and title for a late 1970s hit song?