Trivia Books

Trivia books are a goldmine of information, especially if you're studying for a game show. And they've got it all, from history to geography, to sports to heaven-knows-what-else.

One of the best things about books is that you can take them almost anywhere, so they're great for studying on the go, between classes or on your lunch break.

Below are the books I used to study – both for my Millionaire audition and for my stint in the hot seat.

My Top-Three Picks for Trivia Books

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
by E. D. Hirsch, Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil

No wonder this was/is a national bestseller. Aside from being a great trivia book, this was such an interesting read. Open it up to any page, and you'll learn something. The book covers: The Bible, Mythology, Proverbs, Idioms, Literature, Arts, History, Politics, Geography, Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology, Business, Science, Math, Medicine and Technology – and more. It has 600-plus pages filled with entries. Each entry, such as "The Miranda decision" or "Peter the Great," offers a brief paragraph with key points you'd want to remember. I used this book at the beginning of my game-show quest. Later on down the road, I favored books that were less narrative and more "listy." Still, this is one I'd highly recommend, especially at the beginning phases of your game-show quest.

Advantages: It's big, chock-full of information, and an interesting read.
Disadvantages: It's big, heavy, and pricey. Its retail price is almost 30 bucks. (I bought mine on Amazon for less than that, though.)

The Cultural Literacy Trivia Guide:
The Ultimate Quiz Show Study Guide
by Steven J. Ferrill
The title says it all. If you want to study for a game show, this book is ideal. Basically, it's a book of lists. Examples include: Plays & Playwrights, The Human Body, Countries, etc. It covers just about everything. Unlike the first book I listed, this might not be the kind of book you'd read for enjoyment – but boy oh boy, it was a terrific resource for Millionaire studying.

Advantages: It's perfect for memorizing useful (and some useless) factoids you might be asked on national TV. It's big enough to have lots of information, but small enough that you won't throw out your back lugging it around.
Disadvantages: It's out of print. But you could still buy it used – and I'd highly recommend you do just that.

10,000 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia
by Stanley Newman and Hal Fittipaldi
This is another big book, over 500 pages. Unlike the two previous books, which were organized by category, this one lists its entries in alphabetical order. This means you can study randomly, which might help keep you on your toes. It was fun to flip through too. I learned something new every time.

Advantages: It's huge, with tons of entries.
Disadvantages: It's huge and somewhat unwieldy.

My Second-Tier Trivia Books

Along with my three favorites, I had another stack of trivia books that proved useful. These weren't the books I carried with me wherever I went – but I'd still recommend them, if nothing else, for the sake of variety.

The Big Book of American Trivia by J. Stephen Lang. This was a nifty little book that focused on the United States. It had over 3,000 questions and answers. This was great, because it asked the questions, and then gave the answers in a separate section. In short, you can quiz yourself. This is a good thing.

In Search of Trivia: 2400 All-New Trivia Questions and Answers by Jeff Rovin. This is another one that has questions and answers separated on different pages so you can quiz yourself. One advantage of this one was its size – on the small side, which meant it was perfect for studying on the go.

5,087 Trivia Questions & Answers by Marsha Kranes, Fred Worth and Steve Tamerius. Oh dear, I see a pattern here. This is another book that includes questions and answers separately. I liked this one because it was a sturdy hard-cover. Plus, it had a ton of information.

My Third-Tier Trivia Books

I feel kind of bad listing these as third-tier, because I enjoyed both of these books a lot. They were interesting reads, but I'm not sure they were especially valuable in my game show quest.

They both list interesting factoids that might prove useful at a cocktail party – or on a game show. And even though they didn't have any information that I ended up personally using for my game show quest, it might be different for the next person. Regardless, like I said, they're both interesting reads. If nothing else, you could check them out of the library.

The Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions by Barbara Berliner and George Ochoa.

That Book of Perfectly Useless Information by Mitchell Symons.

Now that you've got the skinny on trivia books, please click here to return to my main "Game Show Study" page.

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