Reference books

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Judy5cents
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Re: Reference books

Post by Judy5cents »

I admit to shelling out $35 for a copy of the out-of-print reference "On The Tip of Your Tongue" by Irene Franck. I was so worried about being one of those negative score finishers that I figured having this rare book would give me an edge. It was more a lucky talisman than a reference. I recouped the price when I re-sold it on Amazon. I expect that particular copy has gone through several Jeopardy! contestants by now. I found an error in it, can't remember what it was. If anyone's interested, right now there are copies on Amazon Marketplace selling for $1.48.

The best references I had:

Merriam-Webster's Student Atlas. besides the maps It listed things like the highest peaks in each country or state, flags, capitals, state flowers, etc.

A five page list of world capitals downloaded from the internet. (Djibouti City is the capital of Djibouti)

The http://absoluteshakespeare.com/ website, with lists of plays, summaries and quotes. That one gave me the FJ clue.

A book on modern quotations I got from the library, possibly A Treasury of Familiar Quotations?

An old history textbook that had a list of presidents and the text of the Constitution.

A book called "The NPR Curious Listener's Guide" a quick reference for Classical Music

A study guide for the AP tests in literature.

I'd also recommend a book on opera, listing composers, titles and summaries.

I didn't bother trying to learn things from scratch, so no sports books.

When people asked me if they gave me categories in advance, I said no, it was like studying for a test on Everything, every book ever written, every super bowl ever played, ever movie ever filmed. And you can't possibly know everything, much as you try. So instead of cramming my head with facts, I concentrated on enjoying the process, taking pleasure in learning that Ayn Rand's real name is Alys Rosenbaum, and rediscovering how much I loved the poems of T.S. Eliot.
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the_phil
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Re: Reference books

Post by the_phil »

Judy5cents wrote:If anyone's interested, right now there are copies on Amazon Marketplace selling for $1.48.
Thanks for the heads up - I just bought a copy! As an aspiring J! contestant, I've been pining for this book, I just couldn't justify the $50 pricetag for a used one. It seems some more copies have popped up since I checked last.
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jkbrat
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Re: Reference books

Post by jkbrat »

the_phil wrote:
Judy5cents wrote:If anyone's interested, right now there are copies on Amazon Marketplace selling for $1.48.
Thanks for the heads up - I just bought a copy! As an aspiring J! contestant, I've been pining for this book, I just couldn't justify the $50 pricetag for a used one. It seems some more copies have popped up since I checked last.
Ditto on the thanks!

I decided to go all out and treat myself to the $2.32 copy (I know, such an extravagance in these economically challenging times!) :lol:
There are times I almost think I am not sure of what I absolutely knooooooooo-OW

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RCraig
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Re: Reference books

Post by RCraig »

My favorite part of the "On the Tip of Your Tongue" Amazon page is how the first review is from Mike Dupee. He also implores Ms. Franck to have her book reprinted, something I've told Dupee to do with his own book.

Also, a lot of the exorbitant prices you see on Amazon for used books are pricing algorithms gone a bit haywire. If you message someone that's selling a used paperback for $900: "hey, I'll give you $7 for it.", they will take you up on it more often than not.
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jpahk
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Re: Reference books

Post by jpahk »

interesting blog post about the phenomenon of haywire pricing algorithms. if anybody can think of a way to exploit this, i'd be amused.
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the_phil
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Re: Reference books

Post by the_phil »

jpahk wrote:If anybody can think of a way to exploit this, i'd be amused.
You could run a deflating (multiplier < 1) pricing algorithm on books that aren't bought often. Wait for your algorithm to overpower the other guys' to spiral the price downward. Then, buy the resulting cheap books from them and remove your listed for-sale copy. The only risk you run is that someone buys your "copy", and you have to lose the difference between your price and the next cheapest listed (unless you already have the book).

EDIT - Also, the cheapest copy of On The Tip of Your Tongue is already back up to $40.
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MinnesotaMyron
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Re: Reference books

Post by MinnesotaMyron »

My first copy of On the Tip of your Tongue was a Xerox I made down at Kinkos from a copy I had acquired through interlibrary loan. That took a while. (I later picked up a very good condition copy of the actual book for about 12 dollars in 2000.) I later lent that photocopy to a contestant who taped the same season I did. I don't remember his name, but I do know that when he mailed it back to me he mentioned that there was some controversy over a clue on his episode and he was thinking of appealing. I wish I knew how that turned out.

A couple of years ago I picked up a second, "reading" copy that I could flip through and mark up if I wanted. So I have two.

Also, thank you, Judy, for posting your study list. I like how practical it is. My personal study library is a bit more... completist, shall we say.

-M
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Paucle
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Re: Reference books

Post by Paucle »

I had no idea that book was so hot. I paid $5.95 for mine. Of course, that was over 20 years ago. I agree, it is an amazing reference for "everything".
I also like Actors, Artists, Authors, and Attempted Assassins, sort of a combined Who's Who.
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Le Master
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Re: Reference books

Post by Le Master »

the_phil wrote:
jpahk wrote: EDIT - Also, the cheapest copy of On The Tip of Your Tongue is already back up to $40.
Yeah, that was me. :oops:

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Judy5cents
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Re: Reference books

Post by Judy5cents »

Amazon Marketplace doesn't charge a listing fee like EBay, so you can list books at any price for as long as you like. It doesn't cost you anything and you can always hope that sooner or late someone who wants it badly enough will pay your asking price. Most likely another seller will offer it at a lower price and everyone else will follow suit. When I first listed On the Tip of Your Tongue, the going rate was $70. And no one was buying.

A lot of these prices have no relation with reality. A few years back, somebody was offering one of my books for $148 on Amazon Marketplace (it sold new for $13.99). I thought about emailing the seller and saying "hey, if you get that much, how about splitting it with me?" I doubt if it ever sold. As Rcraig said, you can probably get that $900 book for $7 if you ask.

And yes, it's hard justifiying paying $35 for an old paperback that originally cost $5.95. I bought mine with an Amazon gift card ("not real money," she rationalized) and then I got most of it back when I resold it. So the net cost was about $5.00. All the other books I got from the library. When the check arrives, I plan on making a sizable donation to the New Hanover County Public Library. I figure I owe them big time.

I don't know if the On the Tip of Your Tongue actually helped me, but I did feel a lot more confident by merely possessing it.
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Re: Reference books

Post by khiddy »

And "On the Tip of Your Tongue" is back up to $78 on Amazon today. I'll bet this board is one of the single largest drivers of demand!
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Re: Reference books

Post by stevo4212 »

StevenH wrote:Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia.

If you want to brush up on some academic categories I would recommend reading quiz bowl questions. My favorite site with archived questions from tournaments is Gyaankosh

Also, for pop culture it might not be a bad idea to check out questions from TRASH quiz bowl tournaments at Wastebin.
You might be right about using quizbowl questions. I think the currently used sites now, however, are http://www.quizbowlpackets.com/ and http://quizbowl.stanford.edu/archive/.

Try some of the ACF Nationals questions or Chicago Open, and see how well you do there, lol. (Very, very hard questions) Or, am I giving away proprietary information?

I'm surprised you guys like the NYT Guide to essential information. I found it to be a waste of money, spreading itself too thinly and omitting a lot of important information. Except, there is a copy of the Constitution in there, lol.
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Re: Reference books

Post by jeopardyhopeful »

Found a copy of "On the Tip of My Tongue" on eBay for about $10. This book is amazing!
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Re: Reference books

Post by iowabelle »

This may seem silly, but I didn't know much about sports (still don't, for that matter). But I was reading this book and thought it might be helpful to the other "sports-impaired", even the fellows.

The Smart Girl's Guide to Sports: A Hip Handbook for Women Who Don't Know a Slam Dunk from a Grand Slam
http://www.amazon.com/The-Smart-Girls-G ... 1594630119

I thought it helped with terminology, tactics. It also lists some of the greats, although those lists are a little dated.

I pretty much figured any guy would have a better chance in a sports category than I would, although I MIGHT be able to do a little better than your average woman.
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georgespelvin
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Re: Reference books

Post by georgespelvin »

The problem with sports reference books is that they always are dated, more so as each year passes. It's a good start, but I would augment it with your friendly neighborhood World Almanac (for recent achievements by teams and players, as well as significant events).
I used to be AWSOP but wanted to be more theatrical.
jeopardyhopeful
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Re: Reference books

Post by jeopardyhopeful »

Found a copy of "On the Tip of My Tongue" on eBay for about $10. This book is amazing!
Oh, dang! I bought the wrong one. I meant to buy "On the Tip of YOUR Tongue".
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Re: Reference books

Post by jeopardyhopeful »

Anyone have a copy of "On the Tip of Your Tongue" they're done with and willing to part with it for a normal price (as opposed to the $40 current going price on Amazon)?
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MinnesotaMyron
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Re: Reference books

Post by MinnesotaMyron »

jeopardyhopeful wrote:
Found a copy of "On the Tip of My Tongue" on eBay for about $10. This book is amazing!
Oh, dang! I bought the wrong one. I meant to buy "On the Tip of YOUR Tongue".
If the one you bought is the quiz book by David Gentle, that's actually a better reference than the Irene Franck book, for "studying for the show in 2014" purposes. For all its idiosyncrasies (and yes, errors), The Cultural Literacy Trivia Guide is still the best printed book, since it has its origins in actual clues from the show. Get the fourth edition, and double-check everything both to make sure it's right, and as a means of practice/revision. (This is where the material at JeopardyTrivia.com comes from, btw.)

Another really good introductory book (if you can still find it) is Trivial Pursuit Word Search Puzzles, by Amy Goldstein. 42 puzzles in the 6 original categories make it the perfect general knowledge primer. Each puzzle is a quiz on a theme, from city nicknames, to explorers, to sports equipment, with every question a possible Jeopardy clue. Answer the questions, then find the answers in the grid. Back-solve to get the answers you didn't know.

On the Tip of Your Tongue is a historical curiosity, and might work if you're prepping for the ToC, but it's not a good place to start. Way too much detail, and too many categories they'll never ask about.

Truth be told, any good general reference almanac, plus the J-Archive and Wikipedia, is more than sufficient these days to get really good. "Watch the show every day" is still the first commandment of J! prep, but things are quite different from how they were 20 years ago when I started out with a 3-ring binder and my first pack of index cards.

Good luck.
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