Trivia Books

If you're a movie fan, I mean a REAL movie fan who knows films by genre including the classics, this book's a winner. Over his years reviewing films,Ebert has collected his personal favorites of "movie cliches, stereotypes, obligatory scenes, hackneyed formulas, shopworn conventions and outdated archetypes." Ebert has also encouraged viewers to send him their favorite cliches in movies, so his latest movie glossary is his "BIGGER Little Movie Glossary." It's the kind of book you can leave next to your bed or favorite chair, and dip into for a few minutes to get some quick laughs. As you read, you find your head moving up and down in agreement and thinking, "Yeah, I know that! I remember that scene in such-and-such movie." Typical listing (and they each have a funny title)--"Fruit Cart!" defined as "any chase scene involving a foreign or ethnic locale...and the "certainty a fruit cart will be overturned during the change, and an angry peddler will run into the middle of the street to shake his first at the hero's departing vehicle." This book would make a great gift for friends who think they know it all when it comes to movies. It's hard to find, though, so I ordered it through Amazon.

Well, not really a plot here, but this book is a collection of creative movie definitions concerning common clich?s and plot lines. Organized alphabetically based on contributions both from Roger Ebert and from others who sent him their own definitions, and containing seemingly random weird not that helpful illustrations interspersed throughout, at a little over one hundred pages there is room for quite a few definitions.

Quote: "You go to enough different movies, you start to notice things. Like how every time there's a chase scene in an exotic locale, a fruit cart gets overturned . . . or how there are lots that would be over in five minutes, if all the characters weren't idiots."


I like movies, movie reviews, and things of this nature, but maybe not quite enough to be completely entertained by this book. If you really REALLY like movies, probably good times will be had. My only recommendation otherwise would have been to have more specific movie examples so that one could see it in action if they chose, but I enjoyed how Ebert combined the definitions he wrote with ones that others had sent him.

Folks have been flocking to the Fleas and Itches to view the Flickers for a century, and everyone, if they have been to enough of them, begins to notice certain things:

How this or that action, or personality trait, occurs over and over again, and how certain rules of behavior always are attributed to a certain type person, event, or whatever.

There are also many rules regarding the act of watching a film, and the places that show them.

Well, way back in the early 80's film critic Roger Ebert started writing about them, and giving them names in his newspaper column.

This was so popular that it was included in his Movie Home Companions every year. Finally the idea was put into book form.

The readership of ordinary filmgoers eagerly contributed their own examples, and the rest is history.

I own a 2nd edition of the book ( 1st ed. 1994).

Just to whet your appetite for this wonderful little book here are several brief examples of the formulas:

Have you ever noticed that.....

All movie bartenders, when first seen, are wiping the inside of a glass with a rag.

99% of sex scenes show couples coupling for the first time.

People in movies ALWAYS undress from the top down.

AND

Any theatre that accepts passes will invariably exclude their use for any movie worth seeing.

This book makes for a fun addition to anyones book collection.

Ebert's "bigger little book" of movie cliches, stereotypes, obligatory scenes, etc. exposes the vast majority of movie directors/producers/studios as what they truly are: Dumb. But hey, learning just HOW dumb they can be has never been so much fun. You'll find yourself reading the book from cover to cover, nodding your head, saying, "I just saw that in a movie last week! Man, that was stupid." Ebert also gives credit to fans who have written in with their own entries. Loads of fun!

228 pages

It's not a glossary so much as a joke book ... a compilation of both Mr. Ebert's own list of cinematic cliches and those submitted by his readership. It's a great browser's book, something you can just open up to any page and start reading. I've taken to leaving my copy by the couch, so I can flip through it during commercials and see how many points the film's racked up since the last commercial.

The only real problem with the book is the inherent flaw in having a book that features submissions ... quality is uneven, and a few cliches appear multiple times submitted by different people. This is balanced out by some very clever observations, patterns that I hadn't noticed before and which informed by later movie watching.

It's not quite as good as "I Hated, Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie," but it's still a seriously funny book for anyone who's fed up with seeing the same movie made over and over again with different titles.

As an x-fan, I did read this book from cover to cover and I found itselft, an amazing book for everyone that call himself and x-philo.
This book is very good in everything, execpt for some pictures that were in b/w.... But that doesnt matter when you find, such an x-pectacular piece of art.

If you're an x files fan, you will appreciate this book. What I enjoyed was that every episode sypnosis followed the sequence of the television show. What was also great was that it gave background information on every episode.

This is a very vivid guide to The X-Files in their earlier seasons. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and discovering all the interesting facts that this book had to give. I am a fan of The X-Files and I have watched the show for five years. I think this is a very good literary work. If you like The X-Files, I highly recommend this!

It's almost as good as having a detailed script of every episode of this season! The detail that goes into the writing is beyond excellent! I didn't get involved with the X-files from day one, but I caught up by reading these excellent guides, and lots and lots of re-runs!

I love the X-Files, and I wanted to read more of the "backstory" of each episode.

Instead, most of the book is wasted on the synopses for each episode. Usually, 6 pages is wasted on the story summary, and only one page on the backstory.

We don't need 6 pages of story summary for each episode: we can watch that! Instead, give us more on the background! .

I can recommend this book because the facts I found were not only interesting, but also important to know as an American. I think every history teacher should probably own a copy. Thanks!

Great read, read it in a day. What odd things happened in those times and were put on record for us to find these many years later. Fun and filled with fun facts.

The information is well known. I did not realize the book that the book was so basic. For Civil War buffs, the book is a waste of time. School kids might like it.

This book is a must for Civil War buffs, presenting lots of odd facts about the War Between the States which one would probably not come across except in bits and pieces in other works. I never get tired of looking through this one.

I can't give a complete review, as this was purchased as a Christmas present for a nephew who is a history buff. I leafed thru the book after receiving it, and I found it very interesting, the stories were well written and presented. We do know that our nephew was pleased when he looked at it. I'd give it a 4 out 5 just on our experiences.

Haven't had time to actually use this book so far but my sisters. one of whom has used an older version of this book in the past, used theirs recently while traveling north. They found it very helpful in locating places to eat and stay overnight. We did notice however that one or two of the eating places in our own area of Santee are no longer in business.

I hope to get my chance to use it shortly.

Now in a fully updated fourth edition, "Drive I-95" continues to be the premier guidebook for the more than 42,500,000 people who drive to Florida every year down Interstate 95. It accurately charts all 552 exits on I-95 from Boston to Miami. It is also a wealth of information about food options, motels, radar traps, radio stations, 24-hour mechanics (a unique feature not found in other travel guides) ATM machines, shopping recommendations, and even some of the best golf courses to be found along the route. With anecdotal stories such as the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina having been started with a kiss, to a listing of motel chain 800 numbers, to so much more, "Drive I-95" continues to be the premier and confidently recommended travel guide for anyone driving up or down I-95!

As someone who travels I-95 often, I was delighted to discover "Drive I-95." What a valuable tool for the vacationer or the everyday traveler!

This slick, spiral book is an ideal guide to everything you need to help make your trip more pleasant. Exits for every segment of I-95 from Massachusetts to the tip of Florida, where I-95 ends, are documented with important landmarks, motels, restaurants/fast food places, service stations, and drug and grocery stores. A book flap gives the dial location and program types for the strongest radio stations along the way. Following the map section, the traveler will find more than 100 pages of interesting tidbits concerning history and places found near I-95. These include segments, with exit numbers, about the Torpedo Factory Art Center, located in Alexandria, VA; Gadsby's Tavern (an historic restaurant at the same exit); St. John's Church in Richmond, VA where Patrick Henry gave his famous speech about liberty or death; the Best Western Space Shuttle Inn; Outlets at Vero Beach, FL; Worth Ave. in Palm Beach, FL and much more. The back inside cover has a list of motel chain 800 numbers.

Drive I-95 is a treasure you will want to keep in your car as you travel from Boston to Miami and lots of places in between. What a great idea!

--Mary Montague Sikes, author of Hotels to Remember

Drive I-95 by Stan Posner and Sandra Phillips-Posner has been released in updated 4th Edition. It is a very comprehensive guidebook for any drive along the North-South route of the United States most Eastward coastal highway. This edition now includes Florida. With maps, radar traps, radio stations, 24 hour gas info, good eats and sleeps, where pets are welcomed, unususal shopping opportunities, fun places to visit, and fascinating historical facts along the route, you cannot leave home for that highway without this book! You'll miss so much! The excellent book, with exit by exit itemized information, has won the Book of the Year Seal, Best Books Award, and Benjamin Franklin Award. It is compact and sturdy enough to tuck into your car door pocket. EXCELLENT!!!

This book is great! Not only does it give the standard I95 exit information (restaurants, hotels, etc.) but it also gives many points of interest for families...rest areas where you can play ball or places not far from exits where you can have fun.
I can't believe how extensive this book is and how accurate since it's a few years old now and things they are a changin' along I95 North to South.
We really enjoyed this book along our trip - reading ahead of time is recommended so that you can be aware of places to stop before you get there.

It's an old book, but I still find it interesting, with good picks of questions (on 20 categories) followed by concise answers. In particular I like the following the most:-

Do dolphins ever sleep?
Is it true that elephants are afraid of mice?
Do fish drink water?
What came first, the chicken or the egg?
..............

Despite my preference, an individual's liking of it will depend much on whether he/she is interested in the topics chosen by the author. So please check the table of content available here on Amazon before you make your purchase.

Entertaining book and a quick read that answers all of life's puzzling questions.

The content of Do Fish Drink Water? is largely quite entertaining, though its accuracy can oft be debated. Such references as the "osmosis of saltwater" (osmosis is singularly the diffusion of water, not salt) and other possibly incorrect conclusions detract from an otherwise amusing compilation of unusual questions and their answers.

THIS BOOK ASKS YOU QUESTIONS AND TELLS YOU ANSWERS TO EVERY ONE OF THEM. QUESTIONS THAT NO ONE HAS NEVER EVER THOUGHT ABOUT ASKING BEFORE. IT IS A WONDERFUL THING TO READ ABOUT BECAUSE MOST OF IT IS QUESTIONS THAT ARE VERY INTERESTING THAT YOU MIGHT'VE NEVER HEARD ABOUT BEFORE, BUT ARE TRUE. IT IS LIKE RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BUT DIFFERENT IN IT'S OWN WAY.

I'm not an expert on everything as the late Bill McLain claimed, but I am an expert numismatist (coin collector). I am one of only about 200 Fellows of the American Numismatic Society and a member of the Numismatic Literary Guild. And that is why I was upset with the numerous errors in the chapter "What does the information on a U.S. penny represent?" First of all, the United States has never issued a "penny" -- our smallest coin currently is a "cent" and if you look at the back of one of the coins in your pocket you will see it says "ONE CENT." The "penny" is a denomination in England. The first sentence reads: "The front of today's penny, unchanged since 1959 ..." Wrong. The front (called "obverse") is a portrait of Lincoln, which basically has been unchanged since the Lincoln Cent first was issued in 1909. Another sentence reads: "A single letter beneath the date indicates the U.S. mint that produced it ... A "D" indicates Denver, Colorado; "S" indicates San Francisco, California; and "CC" indicates Carson City, Nevada. However, today pennies (ugh!) are minted only in Denver and Philadelphia." Wrong. U.S. Lincoln Cents (alias pennies) were never minted by the Carson City Mint, which ceased operating after 1893 -- 16 years BEFORE the first Lincoln Cents were made! And lastly, McLain writes: "The first coins with the words "United States of America" was a penny coined in 1727. It also had the simple motto "Mind Your Own Business." Wrong again. These coins were made in 1787 and are called "Fugio Cents" -- they contain the exact inscriptions UNITED STATES and MIND YOUR BUSINESS. FUGIO, which also appears on these coins means "time flies."

I really enjoyed this book. My mother and I are huge fans of The Cat Who books and just cannot wait to read each one! I have quite a collection of the books and am constantly working on adding to it. This book is really interesting and I poured over many of the chapters. I found the chapter on the author very interesting and enjoyed getting to know her a bit. Qwill, Koko and Yum Yum feel like old friends to me. I just laugh and laugh over the antics of the cats and always share those parts with my husband who is a fellow cat lover. The concise information found in this book was fascinating and I learned things that I had not picked up from reading the books. If you are a big fan of The Cat Who series... I know you will enjoy this book! It is fun!

I bought this as a gift for my wife, who is a big fan of the "Cat Who" books. (I like them too, so she lets me borrow her book now and then). Like all such reference books, the purpose of this one is to help you keep track of all the various characters and places from previous stories that might be mentioned in passing during sequels, etc. It doesn't give you a whole lot of new info, but it does help organize what you already know about the world of Qwilleran and his two amazing Siamese. Of course, if you haven't read all the episodes yet, then the synopses could be real spoilers for these whodunits. In that case, the solution is very simple: refrain from reading the summaries until you've read the original book(s) first! (Duh. I can't believe some reviewers actually complained about this feature. What use would such a reference work be if it didn't explain the plots?) The one complaint I have is that the map of Moose County is a bit primitive and not drawn to scale. Maybe there will be an upgrade in the next edition???

I really enjoyed this book. I have read all of the CatWho Books several times but I still failed the quiz in the back until I read the book. She covers all the people and places that Qwill and his cats knew. It reminded me of a lot of people and places in her books that I had forgotten until I read through this book. Now I am going back to reread all the books again. This book is better for people that have read most of the books as some of the items do give away the plot which may disappoint some people that have yet to read that particular mystery.

I enjoyed the list of names and places and all the neat things that the cats did but I was disapointed about on thing. I hadnot read all of the books when I got this one so I unfortunatly found out things in this that I didn't want to know. Like so and so killed his brother. Well I had not yet read that book so the mystery was ruined. Other that that I though the book was fine.

Our bathroom has a bookrack, and this book is my everyday helper when I get stumped with a place or person, I can find it there.
Sometime when reading a "Cat Who..." mystery, I quickly turn to the front of the book, for the map, but have to remember it is in The Companion BOOK. I can't fault this book in any way. I always am on the lookout for any new books, about or by Lilian Jackson Braun, this one is a treasure, NOW to get the earlier edition!!

this book is very well written and self explanatory. it contains well illustrated maps referring to certain chapters. the author uses well researched examples to help explain various events and tactics of Roman military.

I'd never been a big fan of ancient history but the TV show "Rome" helped convince the wife and I that we should visit the city. And then while researching the visit and after the trip, I decided I wanted to learn more about the Roman history and the military history in particular. Goldsworthy does a great job of quickly going over the subject matter. I emphasize quickly because I really enjoyed how he covers a wide subject with a minimum of text. It is a very enjoyable read and not like digesting a dissertation. The text does a fine job of summarizing the evolution of the Roman military from the battles vs Carthage to the age of Caesar and Pompey all the way to the 4th century when Rome was fighting "barbarians" on many fronts. Also included, probably since it is a Smithsonian book, are many excellent figures, maps, and charts describing battles.

This is a great book and I've ordered 2 more of Goldsworthy's books to hopefully give me more depth in my Ancients history..

Adrian Goldsworthy gives us a brief overview of Roman warfare from the age of the Republic up to the fall of the empire. Since it does cover hundreds of years of history in only 200 plus pages, it does not go into depth on the strategy of Roman warfare. However, for those who are looking for a brief overview of the wars of Rome, this is a nice introductory text. Once you find out which era of Roman history you favor, then you can move on to meatier books. The thing that I particularly liked about this book is that there are several diagrams of famous battles from a birds-eye-view for about half a dozen battles. These were fascinating to look at. This book might make a good present to someone who enjoys Roman history or even just likes the TV series "Rome" if they haven't done much reading on the subject.

The book by Adrian Goldsworthy presents a neat summary on Roman Warfare from the early Republic to the late Imperial age. The work is not intended to focus on any specific aspect of Roman military strategy, rather it provides a very succinct overview of this vast subject. The author nonetheless remarks some key factors in the development of Roman Military politics and contrast them with standard scholarly ideas. The importance of Romans approach to warfare and the evolution of Army's structure and deployment in response to political and military necessities are the main points that can be inferred from the book. Despite the conciseness the author supports these arguments with references to historical and archaeological sources. A nicely written essay to start a great adventure into Roman military history.

Goldsworthy produces yet another good description of the Roman way of war to complement his other offerings on the Roman Army, leaders and individual Roman wars. Recommended reading.

i have been collecting the guiness book of records since 2001. i got mine out the other day and noticed i was missing the 2006 edition. i just about went crazy...so if ur looking for things to collect these books are great for any age...even me at age 16 =D

I love this book because it has lots of pictures and a mind-boggling list of feats in ever imaginable category! It's a great book to just have lying around! No other records book comes close! This is a must have book!

Whilst some readers will always buy the latest edition of this book because they are interested in the largest, tallest, fastest or whatever, personally I have always found this book to be a first class reference source.

It was from the Guinness Book of records that I learned that the largest Turtle known to man was a giant Leatherback Turtle which (to my great surprise) was washed up on the shores of Ireland - and "not" some Caribbean country as one might expect.

Of course, not all the records are repeated from one edition into the next or each book would be identical except for any new records achieved during the past 12 months. For this reason, the reader might need to collect a few editions of the book in order to have as good a collection of records as possible.

Just a few loose thoughts really.

NM

I especially like the machinery and sports because it has a lot of information about breaking records. The only thing I don't like is there is only a little bit about each subject.

My 10 year old daughter loved the book! She was amazed at all the facts and photos. Great gift for anyone!

Since I'm part of the original video game generation, I may be a little biased, but this is definitely the definitive source for video game and Pinball records. And I'm proud that I'll be listed in the next edition.

The Twin Galaxies record book is one of a kind and a must-have for true videogame enthusiasts. For years, Walter's done a fantastic job of compiling videogame and pinball records, and finally collecting them in a book was a great idea. There is so much to read over and so many scores to try and beat, I could really never tire of this book. I only hope to achieve some winning scores so that I can be included in the next edition!

just thought I would say that. I'm in this book for world records under Playstation.

Tekken 2 and Tekken 3 world champ. Cheers

As the title says, the book is the authoritative collection of records on video games & pinball. As well as arcade machines this includes home computer systems, consoles, and arcade emulation (MAME, specifically). Unfortunately the main problem with this book now is its incompleteness: it's now several years old and somewhat out of date. (See the Twin Galaxies website for a searchable database of all today's records.) An updated and expanded edition is meant to be on its way.

The book makes up for it with a special section on "The Golden Age of Video Games" which recounts the early history of Twin Galaxies and the growth of video gaming in the 80's as a 'sport'. I thought the book took itself a little too seriously here. This section also tells the story of the That's Incredible video game competition, organized by Twin Galaxies, which many people reading this may remember watching on TV.

[As an aside: A clip of this is actually downloadable from the Twin Galaxies website. It's great 80's nostalgia, and listening to the hosts' earnest commentary of the players is sheer camp hilarity! Best Line: "He piles on the pepper and sends down a bun covered with hotdogs and an egg for his four thousand points!"]

The book also includes a detailed section on the TG rules and how to get yourself in the book. I'm looking forward to the next edition being an even thicker book, with records for many more games - not least for MAME!

Walter Day is a consumate video game player and enthusiast. It was his dream to produce the definitive video game world record scorebook, and he has done so with flying colors !!

Between the records themselves, the nostalgic look at the "Golden Age" of gaming, and the historical account of how TwinGalaxies came to be, this is a MUST READ for any video gamer, new and old.

Plus, you can find out how YOUR scores compare to the best players in the world, and how YOU can possibly have YOUR score submitted for inclusion in next year's edition.

HIGHLY recommended !!

Their first shipment was damaged and returned to vendor, whereopon they refunded charge. 2 weeks later I was suprised to receive a nearly new copy.

Perhaps the best book in the entire world to keep in your bathroom or by your bed!! I can't say enough about how spectacular this book is. Whoever put it together is a genius, a man above men, a hero to the little people of the world who might never learn about some of the topics of this book if it weren't entitled "BATHROOM BOOK". Thanks!

This is THE BEST book for your bathroom. It was a permanent fixture at my grandparents' house, so I bought one for myself when I became an adult. There are several different sections of the book, all of which are informative and educational. This is a great book to have if you want to know a little bit about everything: the rules of football, the plot summary & commentary of To Kill A Mockinbird, the lifetime achievements of Ghandi, etc.

This book is a great for refreshing your memory about general knowledge. It surely helps pass that time on the throne.

I'm retired from the US military. When I was deployed on Operation Joint Endeavor in support of the Bosnia mission - I tucked this book into my ruck sack. The book was well read not only by myself but by others in the unit. The once-over-the-world summaries gave a much better understanding of books and plays we would otherwise not have read. My thanks to the author.