Useful Books of the Year - 1001 TV Shows You Must See Before You Die

For me, the "1001.... Before You Die" series is a little hit and miss. Some books I have poured over for months on end and got lots from, others I have given up on after a few entries. This year I worked my way through the latest issues of the TV edition of the series and found it to be very useful from the first page to the last. Covering the basics of each era, the book is presented in a chronological order which I particularly liked , and the facts are thick and fast giving you a good grounding in all of the shows covered. Again, I have gained points from using this book I wouldn't have previously  managed prior to reading it...

(Ignore the daft price on the link, its available for Pennies on the Amazon store)

Quiz Questions....

Another set of 15, slightly tougher, questions to get stuck into...answers tomorrow

1.       What Himalayan country is called “Land of Thunder Giants” by its inhabitants?

2.       Which Michal Frayn play is based around the historical meeting of physicist Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in 1941?

3.       What is the first song in the score for the Musical “Mama Mia”?

4.       Masgouf, a meal of grilled open cut fish spiced with salt, pepper and tamarind, is a national dish of which Middle Eastern nation?

5.       Who provided the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosauraus, and coined the term ‘coprolites’?

6.       What is the name of the oldest medal still awarded by the Royal Society? (given for outstanding achievement in any branch of Science)

7.       Formed by Simon Cowell, which boyband featuring members including Austin Porter, Nick Mara and recruits from Youtube, released their debut single “Would You Mind” in 2017?

8.       In the name of Ray BLK, the first unsigned act to win the BBC Sound of 2017, what does the BLK stand for?

9.       Which Scottish poet (1736 – 1796) discovered and translated an epic on the subject of Fingal originally written by Ossian?

10.   Who was the first actress to win an Academy Award for a performance in a foreign-language film, a feat achieved in 1962?

11.   Which US racecourse is nicknamed “The Graveyard of Champions” due to the tendency of many high profile racehorses to loose major races at the track?

12.   Played by Dan Stevens who is the subject of the 2017 film “The Man Who Invented Christmas”?

13.   Which nation celebrates Errol Barrow day on the 21st January each year to commemorate the man who is regarded as the father of the nation and served as their first Prime Minister?

14.   In which country is Henry Miller’s controversial book “Tropic of Cancer” set?

15.   Whose appointment as the first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra  led to him becoming a household name in the USA?  At various other times in his career he was music director of La Scala and the Met Opera in New York?

Top 5 Regular Quiz Nights of 2017 - #5

As always at the end of the year on the blog, as well as looking at my favourite quiz books and reference works of the year, I will be putting together a little list of my favourite five regular quiz nights of the year. I have been to various different quizzes this year, some great, some that I wish I hadn't bothered, and I will start my top 5 off with....

#5 - The Grange

Sunderland

Tuesday Nights - 9pm

 

 

 

I am starting off the list with a Redtooth quiz. Over the past 12 months, I have played in and enjoyed Redtooths "Its Your Round" at several locations across the region and wanted to include one here. Due to the, shall we say, inconsistencies in the Redtooth standards when it first started to branch out into quizzes and become by far the biggest pub quiz provider in the country, it picked up something of a bad reputation in terms of quiz quality. In the past number of years, this has changed dramatically an the quiz setting has for some time been in the hands of one of the finest setters in the country. I can't remember the last time I didn't enjoy a Redtooth quiz, and if you still have that negative impression it is perhaps worth reconsidering and giving it another go.

 

The quiz in the Grange, despite having my pet hate of a bar man just stepping off the bar at 9pm to present the quiz, is cheat free and well attended. It runs at a good pace and there is a nice price of a £30 meal voucher to win. The Its Your Round format is in place (current affairs, pictures, Top 5, Trivial trail, connection and wipeout) and the quiz runs without fail every Tuesday!



Recent Theatre Quiz Answers

As promised....the answers from yesterdays quiz about recent theatre...

1.       ‘The Ferryman’ by Jez Butterworth  is set during one day, largely in the kitchen of a farmhouse in which country?	Northern Ireland
2.       Which play tells the tale of a 16 year old boy from Sheffield who wants to wear a dress to his school prom?	Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
3.       ‘Girl from the North Country’, which premiered in 2017, is a play written by Conor McPherson using the music and lyrics of which legendary singer songwriter?	Bob Dylan
4.       They 2017 play ‘Quiz’ tells the tale of an infamous event of which TV show?	Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?
5.       The plot of ‘Ink’, which opened in 2017, tells the story of the birth of which publication?	The Sun
6.       Opening in September 2017, what is the profession of the main character in ‘Labour of Love’?	MP
7.       Which playwright wrote the plays mentioned in the last three questions….’ink’, ‘Labour of Love’ and ‘Quiz’?	James Graham
8.       25 years after last acting on stage, who Glenda Jackson returned to the stage in 2017 in which Shakespearian role?	King Lear
9.       Which 33 year old playwright and poet wrote the ‘Barber Shop Chronicles’?	Inua Ellams
10.   In the Mike Bartlett play of 2017 ‘Albion’…..what is ‘Albion’ the name of?	A Garden

Quiz Questions - Answers

Here are the questions from yesterday with the answers included

1.       Which former Lebanese Prime Minister was killed along with 21 others in a bomb blast in Beirut in February 2005?	Rafic Hariri
2.       Wijngoed Thorn was in the news in 2017. It is the first Wine growing region to be given PDO status in which nation?	Netherlands
3.       Who rode Calder Prince to second place in a 2017 Charity race at Ascot?	Michael Owen
4.       Which nations flag appears on the title screen of the BBC sitcom “Citizen Khan”?	Pakistan
5.       Which author is played by Dan Stevens in the 2017 film "The Man Who Invented Christmas"?	Charles Dickens
6.       Who plays Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King in the 2017 movie “Battle of the Sexes”?	Emma Stone and Steve Carell
7.       Mustaz Essa Barshim won the IAAF Athlete of the Year for 2017. Which track and field event does he compete in?	High Jump
8.       What is the name of the highest volcano in Antarctica?	Mount Sidley
9.       Which Danish Architect designed St Catherine’s College, Oxford and the Danish Embassy in London as well as being famous for furniture designs including the ant chair?	Arne Jacobson
10.   What is the name member of the Rhizome Family that is often known as “Thai Ginger” or “Siamese Ginger”?	Galangal

Best Quiz Books of 2017 #1

Similar to the series of posts I am uploading relating to my favourite, and most useful reference books of 2017, I am also going to link to a few of the quiz books I have found most useful and entertaining this year. Again, although most are from this year, they are not necessarily new releases but rather the books I have dipped into this year and go the most from.

I do start however, with a quiz book that was released this year and that is another of the very fine books from the BBC. The Brain of Britain book was released back in October and before I even got into the quizzing side of it, I enjoyed the introduction with a little history of the show. This book certainly doesn't mess about....After some tame quizzes to get you settled, they start hitting you with the toughies straight away. If you have ever listened to an episode of the show you will know what to expect here. A fun, enjoyable and easy to use book that will test even the most seasoned quizzer!

Recent Theatre Quiz

1.       ‘The Ferryman’ by Jez Butterworth  is set during one day, largely in the kitchen of a farmhouse in which country?

2.       Which play tells the tale of a 16 year old boy from Sheffield who wants to wear a dress to his school prom?

3.       ‘Girl from the North Country’, which premiered in 2017, is a play written by Conor McPherson using the music and lyrics of which legendary singer songwriter?

4.       They 2017 play ‘Quiz’ tells the tale of an infamous event of which TV show?

5.       The plot of ‘Ink’, which opened in 2017, tells the story of the birth of which publication?

6.       Opening in September 2017, what is the profession of the main character in ‘Labour of Love’?

7.       Which playwright wrote the plays mentioned in the last three questions….’ink’, ‘Labour of Love’ and ‘Quiz’?

8.       25 years after last acting on stage, who Glenda Jackson returned to the stage in 2017 in which Shakespearian role?

9.       Which 33 year old playwright and poet wrote the ‘Barber Shop Chronicles’?

10.   In the Mike Bartlett play of 2017 ‘Albion’…..what is ‘Albion’ the name of?

Answers tomorrow...

Useful Books of the Year - Science 1001

The next in my series of the books I have found most useful this year, is one I have mentioned before, but certainly worth mentioning again. Science 1001.

Science is, and probably always will be, the one area of quizzing in which I have struggled and my weakest area by far. Whenever there is a quiz with rounds you can drop, or any choice involved, Ill avoid Science. I had struggled to find good reference works that explained things in a way Id remember and would stick...until this year when I found Science 1001.

This is without doubt one of the books which this year as directly resulted in a gluttony of points for me I wouldn't otherwise have got. Broken down into easily manageable chunks and presented in a way that is engaging and informative, I can't imagine there being a better Science reference work for quiz learning purposes out there....

Quiz Questions

Hopefully, I will get a fair few series of questions up over the next month or so. I will post the questions one day, the answers the next. Feel free to post answers in the comment box...

1.       Which former Lebanese Prime Minister was killed along with 21 others in a bomb blast in Beirut in February 2005?

2.       Wijngoed Thorn was in the news in 2017. It is the first Wine growing region to be given PDO status in which nation?

3.       Who rode Calder Prince to second place in a 2017 Charity race at Ascot?

4.       Which nations flag appears on the title screen of the BBC sitcom “Citizen Khan”?

5.       Which author is played by Dan Stevens in the 2017 film "The Man Who Invented Christmas"?

6.       Who plays Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King in the 2017 movie “Battle of the Sexes”?

7.       Mustaz Essa Barshim won the IAAF Athlete of the Year for 2017. Which track and field event does he compete in?

8.       What is the name of the highest volcano in Antarctica?

9.       Which Danish Architect designed St Catherine’s College, Oxford and the Danish Embassy in London as well as being famous for furniture designs including the ant chair?

10.   What is the name member of the Rhizome Family that is often known as “Thai Ginger” or “Siamese Ginger”?

Sunderland Echo Quiz League

As we break four weeks into the new season for Xmas, the Sunderland Echo Quiz League is shaping up to be a close one. All is to play for when we restart in January.  Questions from this week and the indeed last season, as well as all other information about the League can be found HERE. If you live in the local area and have an interest in joining the league either as a team or an individual get in touch via email (daniel@thequizaddict.com) and Ill put you in touch with the relevant people.

Useful Books of the Year: The World Almanac 2018

Over the next couple of weeks, in the run up to Xmas, I will be posting up several links to some of the books I have found most enjoyable and useful in my quizzing this year. This are not necessarily books that have only been released this year but ones I have used, and have found most useful, in terms of quizzing.

I will start of with a book that I buy each year - The World Almanac. I tend not to buy yearly editions of reference books, but this is the one exception. Packed full of relevant information, an easy to use format, and plenty of information on the past 12 months means this is always close at hand! I only recently received the copy of this years but the standard is as high as you would expect!

Essential!

Sunderland Echo Quiz League Questions

The latest set of questions from the Sunderland Echo Quiz League have been posted up HERE. We managed to carve out a win on what was a fun and enjoyable set.

(If you are looking at the questions for the first time, it is worth mentioning that the League is team based, as opposed to the individual basis of most quiz leagues)

SpeedQuizzing in Sunderland

I have mentioned on the blog a number of times, that I am quite a fan of SpeedQuizzing. In the hands of the correct quizmaster it can be the most engaging of all the formats you are likely to come across in a pub. Living up in Sunderland though, options are limited and the pub that does in it, believe it or not, had complaints from regulars who didn't appreciate the changes...

Anyway, the next event in Sunderland takes place at The Chester's Pub, 8.30pm on Tuesday 5th December.

Well worth a look if you are yet to experience SpeedQuizzing!

Best Quiz Books of 2017 #6 - The Only Quiz Book You Will Ever Need

The final entry in this series is again, not a book that was released this year, but instead a book I have managed to work on during 2017.  I did buy the Kindle version of this when it was originally released but found that version hard to use, hence I picked up a copy from a local book store this year.

The book is written by some big names in the world of quiz, including Egghead Pat Gibson, under the banner of the National Quiz Team. As you would expect therefore, the book is very very testing and there will be questions that appear in this book you won't hear anywhere else, or probably ever hear again. On the whole, the book is fun and starts of with a bit of a "something for everyone" approach but if you stick with it until the end, you will face some of the toughest questions you are ever likely to encounter outside of a competitive quiz event.

Fun and enjoyable, but not for the faint hearted!

Merry Christmas

With the big day almost upon us, I would just like to wish everyone reading the blog a very Merry Xmas and best wishes for 2018!