Chapter 3: Books
Chapter 3: Books
Test Questions
1. Most of the books carried to the New World by the American colonists were
a. inexpensive and survival oriented.
b. religious in nature.
c. agriculturally oriented.
d. expensive literary volumes.
2. The first printing press came to the colonies in 1638 and was operated by
a. Benjamin Franklin.
b. the Cambridge Press.
c. Poor Richard’s Press.
d. Thomas Paine.
3. The first true novel printed in the colonies was Pamela, written by British author Samuel
Richardson and published by
a. Benjamin Franklin.
b. the Cambridge Press.
c. Poor Richard’s Press.
d. Thomas Paine.
4. Designed to help England recoup the money it lost waging the French and Indian War, the
passage of the _____________ in 1765 angered colonial printers, who correctly saw it as a
limit on their right of free expression.
a. Alien and Sedition Act
b. Paine Act
c. Stamp Act
d. Royal Printing Act
5. The _____________, employing a typewriter-like keyboard, was introduced in the 1800s,
a. pulp machine
b. offset machine
c. linotype machine
d. hot print machine
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whole or part.
12. Many publishers, even authors, are happy to distribute their books in any and all formats, print
and electronic. This is called
a. multistage publishing.
b. cross-publishing.
c. the three-screen strategy.
d. platform agnostic publishing.
13. Publishing houses, now increasingly part of larger conglomerates, were once typically small
operations, closely identified with their authors and staffs. In other words, publishing had
been largely a _____________ industry.
a. low-profit
b. cottage
c. mom-and–pop
d. loosely regulated
14. The sale of a book, its contents, and its characters to filmmakers, paperback publishers, book
clubs, and merchandise manufacturers is called the sale of its _____________ rights.
a. editorial
b. managerial
c. outsource
d. subsidiary
15. Possessing the ability to read but being unwilling to do so characterizes
a. literacy.
b. aliteracy.
c. illiteracy.
d. media literacy.
16. The products of a timed publication of a book soon after a well-publicized event is known as
a. trade books.
b. instant books.
c. e-books.
d. pulp novels.
18. Books that are written based on popular shows and films are
Chapter 3: Books
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whole or part.
a. mass market paperbacks.
b. dime novels.
c. tie-in novels.
d. graphic novels.
19. John Adams’ Novanglus Papers and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
a. openly challenged British rule of the colonies.
b. articulately supported Britain’s right to rule the colonies.
c. were instrumental in the fight to free the slaves.
d. were originally printed in Latin.
20. Fahrenheit 451 was written by
a. Robert Grisham.
b. Ann Rice.
c. Ray Bradbury.
d. Harriet Beecher Stowe.
21. The number of American adults who do not read book at all is
a. 50 percent.
b. 5 percent.
c. 75 percent.
d. 25 percent.
22. The book industry was slow to develop after the Revolutionary War because books were still
expensive and literacy remained a luxury. But in a movement that began before the Civil War,
_____________ came to most states by 1900, swelling the number of readers.
a. the railroads
b. compulsory education
c. reduced taxes on the purchase of books
d. the automobile
23. The American novel flowered in the 1800s because of all but which of the following?
a. technically improved printing
b. low-cost printing (and therefore lower-cost books)
c. widespread literacy
d. increased leisure time
24. U.S. publisher Robert de Graff copied the success of _____________, who introduced the
first paperbacks in London in the midst of the Great Depression.
a. Erastus Jones
b. John Wiley
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whole or part.
c. Allen Lane
d. Nathaniel Hawthorne
25. “Dollar books for a dime” was the slogan of publisher Beadle & Company, sellers of all but
which of the following?
a. dime novels
b. pulp novels
c. inexpensive frontier and adventure stories
d. comic books
26. Robert de Graff’s company, Pocket Books, sold paperback books that were inexpensive
reissues of successful hardbacks. They cost
a. 10 cents.
b. 25 cents.
c. one dollar.
d. a dollar and a half.
27. We turn to books for certainty and truth about the world in which we live and the ones about
which we want to know specifically because books are
a. agents of social and cultural change.
b. important cultural repositories.
c. sources of personal development.
d. sources of entertainment and escape.
28. About _____________ new and reprinted book titles are issued each year in the United
States.
a. 100,000
b. 150,000
c. 300,000
d. 1,000,000
29. Which type of book includes not only fiction and most nonfiction but also cookbooks,
biographies, art books, coff ee-table books, and how-to books.
a. el–hi
b. trade books
c. professional books
d. higher education
30. The publication and distribution of a book initially or exclusively online is called
a. e-publishing.
b. digital books.
c. e-books.
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whole or part.
d. POD.
31. A book that is downloaded in electronic form from the Internet to a computer or handheld
device is
a. e-publishing.
b. an e-book.
c. an e-read.
d. POD.
32. When books are digitally stored and instantly printed, bound, and shipped when ordered, this
is called
a. e-publishing.
b. d-read.
c. e-books.
d. print on demand (POD).
33. A recent trend in the book business is ______________, the idea that potential synergies
between books and other media have spurred big media companies to invest in publishing
companies.
a. “Hollywoodization”
b. synergy
c. hypercommercialism
d. tie-in novels
34. All of the following books have been targeted by censors except
a. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
b. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
c. Find Me I’m Yours by Hillary Carlip
d. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
35. Online book-seller Amazon controls _____ percent of all e-book sales.
a. 20
b. 60
c. 90
d. 30
36. Digital books with the appearance of traditional books but content that is digitally stored and
accessed are
a. e-readers.
b. trades.
c. magazines.
Chapter 3: Books
d. book club editions.
37. Critics fear the use of ______________ in books will sacrifice the quality of the work to please
sponsors.
a. censorship
b. synergy
c. product placement
d. tie-ins
38. After its development by Gutenberg, the printing press spread rather slowly throughout
Europe.
39. The book is the least “mass” of our mass media in terms of audience reach.
40. One of the reasons books are seen as powerful cultural agents is because they are agents of
social change.
41. Books are an advertiser supported medium.
42. The early colonists were committed readers and brought many books with them to the New
World.
44. The sale of paperback books accounts for a relatively small portion of book sales.
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64. How have commercialization and the demand for greater profits affected the book publishing
industry?
65. Convergence and technological advances are reshaping the book industry. Weigh in on the
current focus on digitizing most of the world’s books: Do you believe this is a positive for
literacy in our country? In your opinion, has this change helped or harmed authors, the
publishing industry, book stores, and the quality of books thus far? Where do you see this
trend going in the next several years?