Trivia Books

This is exactly the book your looking for if you are trying to put a section called Irish America in your Pub quiz / Trivia night.

Admittedly, when I first obtained a copy of Jabberrock I wasn't too sure what to expect. A book being hailed as "the ultimate book of rock'n'roll quotations" didn't sound like the makings of great reading yet I soon found myself pleasantly suprised. It is basically a collection of quotes ranging from Elvis Presley to Marlilyn Manson, all categorised and listed in chapters ranging from "sex, love and marriage" and "rebels, politics, and punk" through to "the meaning of life" and "troubled genius". It is genuinely interesting to hear what many of these well known musical icons have to say on topics and subjects that affect them and for a non-fiction book with no story or plot, it certainly introduces us to an assortment of intriguing and strange characters. In all, I found the quotes to be quite interesting, many of them offering insight into the world of musical stardom. Obstfield and Fitzgerald are to be commended on the way that they have categorised the quotes, making for easy reading and a smooth transition through chapters. Whether you have an avid or passing interest in the music industry, this book makes for great reading and is interesting, amusing and suprisingly insightful. I highly recommend it.

This book is on Kansas trivia, as you no doubt would discern from the title. It is a book on Kansas trivia, and only only on Kansas trivia. It is only on trivia -- there is no narrative, no essay, no index -- just questions and answers.

The format of the book is all Questions and Answers -- 191 pages of Questions and Answers, all about Kansas! And you thought there was only amber waves of grain in Kansas? Guess again.

The Q&A is divided up into six broad categories: Geography, History, Entertainment, Arts & Literature, Sports & Leisure, and Science & Nature (these correspond largely to the popular Trivial Pursuit categories). If you thought Kansas was all flat farmland, you'll be surprised to find place names like Flint Hills; if you thought it was all Midwestern America, you'll find place names as diverse as The Garden of Eden to Nicodema to Hugoton (named for French writer Victor Hugo).

Kansas' history is also fascinating, moreso than one might think at first glance. From the early days of Native Americans (Kansas derives its name from the Kansa tribe) to the frontier and cowboy days to more modern time, many famous people have come from Kansas. In terms of Entertainment, Dorothy's residence in Kansas ('there's no place like home') is perhaps the most famous Kansas reference, but many stars from Annette Benning (born in Topeka) to Mandy Patinkin (graduate of the University of Kansas) come from the state.

H.L. Mencken maligned Kansas more than any other state in his magazine, but this is most likely undeserved, and succeeded only because of the relative ignorance of Kansas among those who do not live there (and, perhaps, among those who do, who are of course the nature audience for this book). The book is purposely adapted to be useful for trivia games, although 'Kansas' as a subject is unlikely to appear in great demand beyond the borders of Kansas.

This book was a labour of love by Barbara Brackman, who, like Dorothy, found Kansas to be home like no other. It is rather fun, even for those several states away.

Fans of "Schott's Original Miscellany" will relish this book, which contains a host of trivia about London in a similar format to that original. Do you want to know which pubs are haunted? The original names and dates of establishment of various tube stations? Where Marx and Gandhi lived while in town? What are the most unusual items ever left behind on a bus or subway? (The list includes a vasectomy kit and two human skulls.) Then this is the book for you. It may be crass and perhaps even un-British to say so, but its wit and brevity make it perfect for your loo bookshelf, if you see what I mean.

My 8 year old loves this book! He is constantly reading off facts and trying to trick us. It has also challenged him to check on the facts in the Bible. He has learned a lot.

Took away one star because this book did not give enough information as to where the trivia facts came from. It is a very enjoyable book of the trivia facts of not only on the history of Michigan but up through todays curent events. It is easy to read and the result of much research and many unknown facts are uncovered.

This Montana Almanac is a fine volume chock full of facts and notable faces and places. Nearly every detail of life and history in Montana lies, like the treasure richly strewn acrossed this state, within the pages of Montana Almanac.

One fine addition over other books is the county by county hilights. Every county seat and at least one notable historical fact are mentioned and mapped.

What's the weather like? Where did the notables live? Where to visit and vacation? Mining for saphires? Tallest mountains? Coldest temps and deepest snow? It's all here!

We used to depend on Ed Karvoski Kr to pull through for us whenever we wanted trivia about gay and lesbian entertainment. This is the most recent of his five fabulous books and as far as I can tell, he hasn't published anything since this one, THE MOVIE QUEEN QUIZ BOOK. I wonder what happened to him, I would try getting in touch with him via his web site. but it too seems to have evaporated. Don't you hate getting those messages that say, "The page you have requested is no longer available"? I just hope he's okay.

As far as trivia quiz books go, Ed Karvoski Kr. always has the best, and the MOVIE QUEEN quiz book is no exception. The questions are provocative and funny, and even those of you who know all about Liz Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Barbra and so on are bound to be stumped by some of the zingers he throws at you. And yet he plays fair, one hundred per cent. Hope you have your medical insurance paid up, for your thumb will be sore from having to turn to the answers so often but hey, that's life, and as we all know, deep knowledge of movie trivia is not a sport for sissies. And your stomach will be sore from the laughter and the fun he brings to the oldest game of all, the trivia quiz. Fabulous indeed.

This slim volume comprises surprising substance and lots of variety. For example, it has loads of surveys from film magazines and institutes (Hollywood's ten funniest films, ten most passionate films, ten scariest monsters, etc.). These are fun for sharing with friends as they are eternally debatable. Why isn't Godzilla on the scariest list of monsters? How does your list of screen villains match up with that of the American Film Institute?

It has excerpts from actors' memoirs, filmgoers' memoirs, and film moments in literary works. A favorite among these is the excerpt from Alec Guinness's memoir in which he tries to dissuade a young Star Wars aficionado from future viewings of the (then) space trilogy.

It has humorous lists, such as how to survive a horror movie: "12. Slap the screaming hysterical girl, she will be the one to distract everyone when there really is danger." Or the ten things learnt from the movies, such as "4. When foreigners are alone they speak English to each other," and "8. All bombs constructed by madmen have a large red display of the time left before they explode."

And there are bits of real information, such as a description of the Dogme 95 film movement and a glossary of terms like "best boy" and "gaffer."

The book would benefit from an index, but that's my only complaint. This is a great bathroom book (to read in bits) or car book (to inspire conversation).

Note for those who care about this sort of thing: of the 150 pages of entries, there are a couple that deal with the pornographic film industry.

This review refers to "The Movies: A Picture Quiz book" by Stanley Applebaum & Hayward Cirker

A fun book for film buffs or just plain film lovers to flip through and test their knowledge on the classics in every genre. 235 pages of pix from our favorites with corresponding questions ranging from easy to hard. The quiz pictures and questions cover a wide variety of genres and many years of great films. From Melies, Kurosawa and Griffith to Hitch, Truffaut and Ford , would you know from a picture, who directed which films? Pictures of actors and actress in roles they made their own, from Bergman, Monroe and Hepburn to Brando, Wells, and Astaire. and so many more.

The black and white pix depict familiar and maybe not so familiar scenes. Some questions you'll only have to name the star or the director, other times the scene itself is the topic of the question. Genres should cover something for everyone's favorites. The Very early Beginnings,Child stars, Horror,Western, War, Serials,Great Literature on Film,Foreign, and some stars so big even get their own sections, Marlene, Chaplin and W.C. Fields among them.

The book would make a great coffee table or ice breaker book. Nice gift for classic film fans(you won't find much newer films here). An oh yeah...even though you don't really need them, the answers are in the back(use to prove your answer to those doubters among you). The pictures alone are a treasure to have.

Charles Boyer is tied up in a chair. Ingrid Bergman is standing over him with a knife.
He is? a) a crack detective
b) an audacious burglar
c) her husband
or d)the lady's latest murder victim

She is? a) undergoing a fit of insanity
b)just pretending to be insane
c)only going to cut him up a little
or d)putting on an act for others with his complicity

Now name the film. You know it! For those who specialize in Sci-Fi/Horror, I would also recommend a great trivia book with 1000 questions;
Sci-fi Chan Trivia Tr. See my review for details of it.

Have fun with this one.....Laurie