Saturday 29 November 2014

Top 10 Most Useful Reference Books 2014 #6


6.
Guinness Book of Knowledge



Another of those titles that year by year proves to be quite valuable. It has been some time since a new edition was published but don't let that detract you from what is a fantastic reference work. Coming in hardback A4 size with masses of colour, illustrations and photographs this is a very easy and interesting reference work to use. It is broken down nicely into categories ranging from World Religions to Space to History.....all the major topics for quiz. The information is detailed and its a very fact heavy book with a great deal of information. It also serves well as primer for certain subjects you may wish to expand upon and certainly aided me in my weaker areas.

Available for next to nothing on the Amazon marketplace. 

Friday 28 November 2014

Mastermind Standings 2014/2015



With 14 heats completed in this years Mastermind and 56 people having sat in the chair here are the current standings from the series so far...

Mark Eaves - 30 (Q)
Ian Clark - 30 (Q)
Hazel Humprheys - 28 (Q)
Will Howells - 28 (Q)
Peter Russell - 26 (Q)
Chris Grandison - 26 (Q)
Brian Davies - 26 (Q)
Stuart Jenkins  - 25 (Q)
David Greenwood - 25 (Q)
Andrew Teale - 24 (Q)
Hywel Morgan - 23 (Q)
Nigel Tomlinson - 22 (Q)
Mike Foden - 21 (Q)
Paula Keaveney - 21 (Q)
--------------------------------------------------------
Gareth Kingston - 28 (2nd)
Diane Hallaghan - 28 (2nd)
Alice Mennel - 26
Sarah Millard - 25 (2nd)
John Benyon - 25 (2nd)
Susan Sworn - 25 (2nd =)
Jeremy Renals - 25  (2nd =)
Julia Hobbs - 25 (2nd)
Stuary Skelly - 24
Les Morrell-  24
Ciaran Ward - 23 (2nd)
Howard Towner - 23
Darren Topping  - 23
Cliff Morgan - 21 (2nd)
Louise Boradbent - 21 (2nd)
John Carrington - 21 (2nd)
Neil Crockford - 21 (2nd)
John Clatworthy - 21 (2nd)
David Love - 21
Jamie Potton - 20
Neil Madle - 20
Martin Roebuck - 20
Derek Heyes - 20
Jack Young - 20
Sally Mabey - 20
Sarah Lake - 20
Lena Gazey - 19 (2nd)
Tim Allison - 19
David Gregson - 19
Patricia Gardener - 19
Kevin Quinn - 19
Stephen Peter - 17
Andy Crane -17
Diana Muri - 16
Graham Howarth - 16
Sidin Sunny - 15
Graham Gowland - 15
Mark Roman Gold - 15
Rod Allday - 15
John Boyle - 14
Pamela Woods - 14
Gordon Fyffe - 10

Friday 21 November 2014

Charlie Higson's Pub Quiz - The Guardian

Rather than me explain (I think the title of this post is a giveaway) head over to The Guardian website HERE for what appears to be a new monthly quiz feature.

Thursday 20 November 2014

Top 10 Most Useful Reference Books 2014 #7

7.
Historical Atlas of the World



First thing worth mentioning here....I am not entirely sure what is going on with the above link which suggests this book is close to £40 in price. I picked it up from The Works for £7.99 I think and it seems to be doing the rounds in similar book shops.

Secondly, it happens to be one of the best purchases I have made books-wise. This was recommended to me by a few quizzers on good old facebook and I have hardly put it down since. The book is more than an Atlas so don't let that word in the title put you off. The book does indeed contain a wide range of maps but they tell a story of the history of the world. An ideal book for your collection, excellent quizzing reference, generally a great read and also, with Santa Claus on his way, a great gift.

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Online Quizzing

In the past year, I have been taking part in two online "quiz leagues". Initially, the concept of taking part in head to head online quizzes has some obvious flaws but in both 2020quiz and LearnedLeague I have found a new avenue of quizzing which has become an enjoyable aspect of my day.

Before I go over some points, a quick introduction to the quizzes to which I refer...

2020quiz is the site which got things started for me in the realm of quizzing online. It is run by the British Quizzing Association, the same company who run the monthly GP's around the country and organise European and World Events. Hence, you know you are in good hands. Quizzers from across the world compete in a series of leagues that last 20 days each. There is a monthly subscription to play and it appears you do have to have attended a GP in the past few years (or indeed come on the back of a solid recommendation from a current player).

It works with 8 questions being issued every day in your "match". You play against another player in your league, 2 points for a win 1 for a draw etc etc. There is also a "defensive" system in place where you allocate points based on your opponents knowledge (you can see their stats from previous games). The questions cover a range of subjects and if you have ever been to a GP you will know the variation of difficulty to expect.  Thrown into the week are daily "specials", a lot of which are written by league players, (in which you compete against every player registered on 2020)giving you 20 questions every weekday to tackle.

LearnedLeague, which I have only just began, has been around a lot longer, has far more players as a result of that and is American based. The same principal applies however you only get 6 questions per day, specials are ran "Out of Season" and there are mini leagues to compete in. The site is much better with a wider range of stats, message boards and everything runs smoothly.

Both quizzes have made my commute to work more enjoyable but the idea of Online Quizzing may not appeal to all. Is their a future in this? Will this remain an area for dedicated quizzers or is there room for more on the market? If you don't like the sound of online quizzing, what puts you off? If you do play in these competitions what are your opinions? All of this I would be interested to know from readers.

Personally, I never thought I would enjoy the quizzes as much. The idea of quizzing online obviously brings its own problems. There have been people removed from the league and banned for cheating, both companies do their best to stamp out cheating and apart from some "odd results" here and there and some "exceptional performances" shall we say, I am convinced the leagues are cheat-free on the whole. The fact that most people playing are known in quiz circles, have attended many GP's and been involved in leagues etc, makes it much more honest. Suspicious results and standings soon become obvious and as said, the admins of both companies are not afraid to crack down on it.

Doing only a small number of questions per day for the league matches also means they tend to be testing, a good quality and above all else interesting. Straight after the quizzes the answers are shown and more often than not it leads to me taking to the internet to read more around the subjects. Perfect for improvement and of course, a great resource for expanding quizzing knowledge.

I am happy enough to pay the small fees for the questions I get in return. As I said, everything seems to be above board and that's the main thing. I hope to continue in online quizzing leagues for some time. I would love to know the views of others and discuss online quizzing in general so feel to leave a comment.

Top 10 Most Useful Quiz Books 2014 #7

7.

 



Bamber Gascoigne's Challenging Quiz Book


I imagine quite a few people reading this will have come across Bamber Gascoigne's Challenging Quiz Book before. In essence, the book aims to challenge even the finest quizzers with a range of well-written, original and fun questions. Plenty to be learned and a wide range of testing questions. In a book of this size you can normally discount 30-50% of the questions as mere filler, but the opposite is true here with very few "chestnuts". In all an excellent title!

Monday 17 November 2014

Mastermind 2014/2015 Standings




With 13 heats completed in this years Mastermind and 52 people having sat in the chair here are the current standings from the series so far...

Mark Eaves - 30 (Q)
Ian Clark - 30 (Q)
Hazel Humprheys - 28 (Q)
Will Howells - 28 (Q)
Peter Russell - 26 (Q)
Chris Grandison - 26 (Q)
Brian Davies - 26 (Q)
Stuart Jenkins  - 25 (Q)
Andrew Teale - 24 (Q)
Hywel Morgan - 23 (Q)
Nigel Tomlinson - 22 (Q)
Mike Foden - 21 (Q)
Paula Keaveney - 21 (Q)
--------------------------------------------------------
Gareth Kingston - 28 (2nd)
Diane Hallaghan - 28 (2nd)
Alice Mennel - 26
Sarah Millard - 25 (2nd)
John Benyon - 25 (2nd)
Susan Sworn - 25 (2nd =)
Jeremy Renals - 25  (2nd =)
Julia Hobbs - 25 (2nd)
Stuary Skelly - 24
Les Morrell-  24
Ciaran Ward - 23 (2nd)
Howard Towner - 23
Darren Topping  - 23
Cliff Morgan - 21 (2nd)
Louise Boradbent - 21 (2nd)
John Carrington - 21 (2nd)
Neil Crockford - 21 (2nd)
David Love - 21
Jamie Potton - 20
Neil Madle - 20
Martin Roebuck - 20
Derek Heyes - 20
Jack Young - 20
Sally Mabey - 20
Sarah Lake - 20
Lena Gazey - 19 (2nd)
Tim Allison - 19
David Gregson - 19
Patricia Gardener - 19
Kevin Quinn - 19
Stephen Peter - 17
Andy Crane -17
Diana Muri - 16
Graham Howarth - 16
Sidin Sunny - 15
Graham Gowland - 15
Mark Roman Gold - 15
Rod Allday - 15
John Boyle - 14

Sunday 16 November 2014

Suggested Twitter Feed

Just a quick update. Some of you may already follow my Twitter blog @quizaddictblog (...and a big thanks to those who do as I reached 1,000 followers recently).....but the main reason for this post is to recommend a feed from Mastermind winner and former World Quiz Champion Jesse Honey. The title of the feed @nonfictionlover will give you an idea on the them of the feed. Already I have picked up a few useful reads and when a quizzer who has achieved as much as Jesse Honey talks about reading material, its worth a look!

Friday 14 November 2014

Top 10 Most Useful Quiz Books 2014 #8

8.






Mastermind Quiz Book


Featured last year but due to being used a heck of lot in the early part of 2014 I cannot ignore this in my countdown. A great batch of GK and Specialist (but not too specialist) questions from the TV series. Plenty of questions, the only down side being the format is poor with the answers being at the back and being a huge book its often a faff on getting to the answer page. Other than that, if you take into account the mini-interviews with Mastermind winners, and you have a great quiz book that will keep you busy for some time.

Thursday 13 November 2014

Mastermind Standings 2015/2015

With 12 heats completed in this years Mastermind and 48 people having sat in the chair here are the current standings from the series so far...

Mark Eaves - 30 (Q)
Ian Clark - 30 (Q)
Hazel Humprheys - 28 (Q)
Peter Russell - 26 (Q)
Chris Grandison - 26 (Q)
Brian Davies - 26 (Q)
Stuart Jenkins  - 25 (Q)
Andrew Teale - 24 (Q)
Hywel Morgan - 23 (Q)
Nigel Tomlinson - 22 (Q)
Mike Foden - 21 (Q)
Paula Keaveney - 21 (Q)
--------------------------------------------------------
Gareth Kingston - 28 (2nd)
Diane Hallaghan - 28 (2nd)
Alice Mennel - 26
John Benyon - 25 (2nd)
Susan Sworn - 25 (2nd =)
Jeremy Renals - 25  (2nd =)
Julia Hobbs - 25 (2nd)
Stuary Skelly - 24
Les Morrell-  24
Ciaran Ward - 23 (2nd)
Howard Towner - 23
Darren Topping  - 23
Cliff Morgan - 21 (2nd)
Louise Boradbent - 21 (2nd)
John Carrington - 21 (2nd)
Neil Crockford - 21 (2nd)
David Love - 21
Jamie Potton - 20
Neil Madle - 20
Martin Roebuck - 20
Derek Heyes - 20
Jack Young - 20
Sally Mabey - 20
Sarah Lake - 20
Lena Gazey - 19 (2nd)
Tim Allison - 19
Patricia Gardener - 19
Kevin Quinn - 19
Stephen Peter - 17
Andy Crane -17
Diana Muri - 16
Sidin Sunny - 15
Graham Gowland - 15
Mark Roman Gold - 15
Rod Allday - 15
John Boyle - 14

Monday 10 November 2014

Top 10 Most Useful Reference Books 2014 #8

Continuing the series....
8
A-Z of Britain and Ireland 



Included in last years list and included here again for a very simple reason. UK Geography used to be a real weak area for me but this book helped me overcome that barrier. Written by Trevor Montague (who may appear again on this list) it is a very well laid out, hardback tome giving a county-by-county overview of the UK with key geographical, historical and cultural information. Easy to read through and dip into, difficult to put down and a gift for setters, this is a great work and well worthy of a place on any bookshelf!

Sunday 9 November 2014

Southport and Formby Quiz League Website

I have been meaning to mentioned this website for some time but for the past year or so I have been visiting the Southport and Formby Quiz League website on a weekly basis. Primarily due to the fact that they are one of the few leagues out there who upload there question sets to the site. There are always a wide range of chestnuts in each set (ideal if you havent heard them before) and I always enjoy wading through the weekly sets. The site also contains an archive of older league sets making it a good resource to work through.


The site can be found HERE

Friday 7 November 2014

Two Tribes


I really enjoyed the first series of Two Tribes that aired in the Autumn and I was hence pleased to hear it will be returning for a 60-episode second series soon! I believe they will be opening the applications shortly so I will post a link up as soon as I find one.

Needless to say, I will be sending an application in of my own...

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Top 10 - Most Useful Quiz Books 2014 #9

9.





The Ultimate English Literature Quiz Book - David Clark


My kindle has recieved a heck of a lot of use over the past 12 months and this title is one of a selection of Kindle Only titles that will appear on the lists.

Written by David Clark (author of Life After Mastermind Blog and Mastermind Champion) the title covers all eras of English Literature. I originally bought this to aid my Brain of Britain Revision but never got chance to start it until around March. For the past year I have dipped in and out of the book and managed to finally complete it last week. The questions inside contain a mixture of the sorts you will hear at pub quizzes all around the country as well as tougher more specialist questions. Consider also the fact that it is written by a quizzer who has competed at the highest level and attended thousands of quizzes throughout the years, and you have here a very useful set of questions to improve your knowledge. 

Well worth a look for sprucing up the knowledge of English Literature! 

Top 10 - Most Useful Reference Books 2010 #9

Continuing the series....
9
Passing Time in the Loo Volume 1



There are a ton of books out there with the same idea of "Books to read on the toilet"and many are more worthy of a place down the toilet rather than a place on your book shelf. However, I was recommended this title last year and it has proven to be of great use to me over the course of the past 12 months. I have worked my way mainly though the summaries of the classic novels that are included here and they have worked a treat! Some of the novels I have read, some I will probably never get time to read but the work is written in an informative and engaging way that takes away the boredom of reading synopsis's etc.

Well worth a look!

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Quiz Nights in South Shields

I am still working my way around my new hometown, South Shields, to find any good local quizzes I can turn my attentions to. Struggling at the moment, so if anyone has any good suggestions or knows of any local quizzes feel free to pop me a message. It would be very much appreciated!

Sunday 2 November 2014

New European Quizzing Champion




Congratulations to Olav Bjortomt who was crowned European Quizzing Champion 2014 in Bucharest over the weekend.

Olav reclaimed the the title he won in 2010, beating Egghead Kevin Ashman into second place and Finnish quizzer Tero Kalliolevo into third. 

Saturday 1 November 2014

Mastermind Standings 2014/2015



With 11 heats completed in this years Mastermind and 40 people having sat in the chair here are the current standings from the series so far...

Mark Eaves - 30 (Q)
Ian Clark - 30 (Q)
Hazel Humprheys - 28 (Q)
Peter Russell - 26 (Q)
Chris Grandison - 26 (Q)
Brian Davies - 26 (Q)
Stuart Jenkins  - 25 (Q)
Andrew Teale - 24 (Q)
Hywel Morgan - 23 (Q)
Mike Foden - 21 (Q)
Paula Keaveney - 21 (Q)
--------------------------------------------------------
Gareth Kingston - 28 (2nd)
Diane Hallaghan - 28 (2nd)
Alice Mennel - 26
John Benyon - 25 (2nd)
Susan Sworn - 25 (2nd =)
Jeremy Renals - 25  (2nd =)
Julia Hobbs - 25 (2nd)
Stuary Skelly - 24
Les Morrell-  24
Ciaran Ward - 23 (2nd)
Howard Towner - 23
Darren Topping  - 23
Cliff Morgan - 21 (2nd)
Louise Boradbent - 21 (2nd)
John Carrington - 21 (2nd)
Neil Crockford - 21 (2nd)
David Love - 21
Jamie Potton - 20
Neil Madle - 20
Martin Roebuck - 20
Derek Heyes - 20
Jack Young - 20
Sally Mabey - 20
Sarah Lake - 20
Lena Gazey - 19 (2nd)
Tim Allison - 19
Stephen Peter - 17
Andy Crane -17
Diana Muri - 16
Sidin Sunny - 15
Graham Gowland - 15
Mark Roman Gold - 15
Rod Allday - 15