Customer Reviews

Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Loved this book way past expectations. Ken Jennings is slyly hilarious, as he takes us on the bizarre roller coaster that was his experience on Jeopardy!. Okay, trivial question: should I have put that period after that Jeopardy!-specific exclamation point? Because it looks funny to me. Ken Jennings would probably know. In this terrific, breezy book, he pulls together tons of intense, detailed trivia about trivia itself - and makes it cool. He's obviously writing about stuff he loves, and makes us see his world and imagine living in it - even for those of us lacking clue one about college quiz bowls, game show history or the difficult art of board game question writing. This is a smart, smart guy who comes across as nearly egoless as possible for someone this interesting, funny and insightful. It was entertaining to get Ken's (usually irreverent) take on his fellow brainiacs, Jeopardy!, Trebek, pop culture and, heck, life as we know it. I laughed aloud too many times to count. Don't be a dork, my nerdy friend - buy the book, settle in and prepare to snort milk out your nose. Enjoy.

First off, this book isn't the fluffy memoir that might be expected of a pop culture 15-minuter. It's not an extensive autobiography or a ghostwritten rehash of the exact experience Ken went through in front of a national audience.

And while this is good - no matter how nice a guy Ken seems, 200+ pages about his life may not be a great page-turning experience - Brainiac seems a little light on Ken's "Jeopardy!" run, almost giving it passing mention and completely neglecting his (admittedly non-memorable) appearance in the show's Ultimate Tournament of Champions.

This is too bad, since putting a picture of Ken behind a podium on the front cover with the tagline "The greatest champion in 'Jeopardy!' history" implies more Trebek-related material.

That said, I really liked Brainiac. Ken clearly can write - at no point during the book would I have suspected it was a first attempt by a recent computer programmer. His prose is easy to read and not overly cerebral. He explores all the nooks and crannies of a subject, trivia, that is dedicated to the exploration of nooks and crannies. He spends time with a college quiz bowl team, visits a giant city-wide trivia contest, and meets with the authors of storied trivia books. Sometimes these experiences make the book move slowly, like an extended history of NTN bar trivia bookended by a visit to a pub quiz game in Massachusetts. But Brainiac is fun, unique, and well-put together.

Ken also ingeniously baked ten trivia questions into each chapter, using superscript numbers to identify the clues. A large number of these questions are substantially harder than the material on "Jeopardy!", but it's a clever concept that overall serves the book well.

There is, however, one caveat to my endorsement of this book. As the President of a major college quiz bowl team, I have a natural nerdy interest in trivia and matters trivial. My one thought throughout the book was, "I wonder who, outside the trivia circuit, could really read and enjoy this book." But, as Ken points out, almost all Americans are involved in trivia in some format, so maybe this niche book actually has a target market of everybody.

Ken Jennings isn't just a nerd who answered 74 games' worth of Jeopardy! questions. He's an erudite, witty, conversational, easy-to-read writer.
This is a wonderful book! Ken explores the history of trivia and all its modern-day manifestations. He also takes us to meet people who write trivia books, compete in high-stakes trivia competitions that make Jeopardy! seem simple, and in general, revel in the pursuit of the neat nugget of fact. Interspersed through the book are chapters telling the story of Ken's Jeopardy! journey. Ken also offers a lot of insight into why "trivia" isn't trivial at all.

I don't think this will be Ken's only book because he's such a good writer and has such curiosity about so many things. I'm looking forward to the next one.

In this wonderful, very cleverly put-together book, Ken Jennings talks about his Jeopardy! experience, his nationwide travels to meet some big names in the trivia world (including the long-elusive Fred Worth, author of the 1970s cult classic Trivia Encyclopedia). But, most importantly for his writer, he articulates why trivia is "not so trivial" (and deserves a much more "significant" name) better than anything I have ever read on the subject--and I've read plenty in the past 30 years. Ken does just as lucid a job in describing the different kinds of trivia, what makes good trivia, and other stuff like that, that will make you appreciate the well-written question all the more.

There's never been a book on trivia like this. If, like me, you've got bookshelves groaning with trivia books, this is a MUST HAVE.

As with millions of others, I watched each night as Ken Jennings extended his record setting run on Jeopardy! to 74 games. He came across as a funny, down-to-earth, slightly nerdy guy on the show. And that personality really comes out in his book Brainiac, which is half Jeopardy memoir and half trivia history - and 100% entertaining. Ken recounts his days on the college bowl circuit, his tryout and subsequent preparation, and his run on the show, all the while giving the reader a history or trivia and its place in modern society.

And just for fun, Ken had incorporated 10 trivia questions into each chapter, so the reader can gauge his/her trivia IQ.

Braniac is a must for Jeopardy fans, Ken fans, or anyone looking for a fun, informative, and entertaining read.

Okay, to be frank, I checked this out at the library, and I don't have it with me for reference. I enjoyed this book. I read it in a day or two. I learned a lot about the trivia subculture. I have to admit, I really like this guy. I emailed him out of the blue and asked him to congratulate my daughter's academic team on a tournament win. He sent them a warm and personal congratulations. He's A#1 in my book. Since he was so nice to the kids, I feel a little guilty for not buying it, so I might buy a copy anyway.

Like Ken Jennings, the author of BRAINIAC, I grew up watching JEOPARDY! I used to watch the show all the time at my grandparents after school let out. It has been a dream of mine to get on the show and win a little money. From the time I was thirteen until I turned eighteen I applied every year for the teen tournament and when I entered college I sent in close to 200 different postcards in an attempt to be selected to audition for the college tournament. The only time the show has had open auditions nearby I went and just a few days ago I completed the special on-line test. I still, have yet to make it to JEOPARDY! However, Ken Jennings did and he set an all time game-winning record of 74 wins. I saw Ken Jennings play on television and his streak revitalized my own life-long goal. I was very excited when I learned he was writing a book.

Some people might be mistaken in believing that BRAINIAC is Jennings' behind the scenes account of his amazing run on JEOPARDY! Though BRAINIAC does discuss Jennings' JEOPARDY! run, it isn't a play by play account (if you want a play by play account, check out Bob Harris' PRISONER OF TREBEKISTAN) of the games and Ken's journey. Instead, BRAINIAC is more of a play by play history of trivia in America. Trivia as we know it has been around for most of my life and there are probably thousands of books about trivia. However, as far as I know, BRAINIAC is the first book to explore the history of trivia. From the works of 19th Century editor John Timbs to Robert Ripley to the trivia craze of the 1920s to radio quiz shows to the famous television quiz show scandals of the 1950s to the arise of pop culture trivia on college campuses in the 1960s to Trivial Pursuit to WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE, Jennings explores it. There's also a brief look at the creation of JEOPARDY!, Stevens Point, Wisconsin's "World's Largest Trivia Contest", NTN bar trivia contests, and a weekly trivia competition at a pub in Weymouth, Massachusetts. All the talk about trivia is broken up by a memoir/chronicle of Jennings' experiences on JEOPARDY! He writes about how he got on the show, what he did to prepare, how things changed when he started winning, a smidgen of his experiences during the run, and what happened after it all ended. Also, interlaced through each chapter there are at least ten trivia questions with the answers listed at the end of the chapter.

I really enjoyed BRAINIAC. Of course, I was predisposed to like it because I'm a trivia buff myself and was one of the millions who watched Ken win game after game of JEOPARDY! each week. Fans of JEOPARDY! and trivia buffs will probably enjoy reading BRAINIAC. However, the book has appeal beyond just that audience. Anyone who has any interest at all in education and learning can gain a lot from reading BRAINIAC. It's written in a fairly straight-forward manner and is filled with humorous nuggets. I highly recommend it.

Brainiac is a book about Ken's experiences as a contestant on Jeopardy. I love reading about he prepared for the Jeopardy by studying flashcards and watching countless hours of show on tape. Jennings discusses the excitement and pressure of being a contestant. He also discusses the fame he earned, because of the success he had on the show. Brainiac is also a book about the popularity and history of trivia. Jennings traces the beginnings of trivia to small newspapers and books as far back as 1856. He discusses the popularity of quiz shows on the radio in the 1930's. He also discusses the beginning of the popularity and scandals of quiz shows on television in the 1950's and 1960's. I love the chapter in the book about the largest trivia contest held in Stevens Point Wisconsin every April. Over 12,000 people in 400 teams listen to trivia questions of any subject asked on the radio and call in their answers. Brainiac is also filled with interesting trivia questions. I learned that Papua New Guinea is the only country besides Australia that has kangaroos. I also learned that Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. I also learned that Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Brainiac is a well researched, entertaining and informative book about the world of trivia.

After watching Ken for 70+ episodes on Jeopardy I felt like I knew him. His writing style works with this "television friend" persona. Reading this book is like having a conversation with him. The snark and the wit come through loud and clear.

Ken Jennings tells the story of his remarkable Jeopardy streak with humor and insight into the trivia craze. One great thing about the chapters is the way he manages to work in a few pieces of trivia as he goes. His accounts of getting on Jeopardy are informative for anyone who thinks they might want to try out, and his visits with other trivia nuts are warm and funny. Who knew there was a whole town in Wisconsin that has an annual trivia festival? I'd recommend this book to any trivia nut in your house; getting to know Jennings a little better is a bonus.