Barry made it clear he had never read the book in questions, but "once read a synopsis" and got the answer. He got the answer correct, won the round and of course as long as you know the answer it doesn't matter where it came from. But I am using this comment to ask other quizzers if that’s a common approach and how they find it as an effective way to learn?
Of course what we are talking about here is literature, a very broad subject and once which takes time to learn. I have always been the sort of quizzer to actually take the time to read the works, read the novels and plays etc. Of course I use reference books but mainly as a back up for knowledge and a refresher but my initial knowledge of literature comes usually from having read the book. Indeed, I use TV adaptations and films too usually after reading the book. I find this is an enjoyable way of learning and it appease the other half who at least gets to see me when I’m watching the TV versions as opposed to locking myself in the spare room.
I am going slightly of tangent and I realise reading it back this post is a little messy, but basically what I am wondering is how other quizzers go about learning the vast amounts of knowledge needed to be successful in Literature categories? Obviously full knowledge of Shakespeare, Dickens etc is a must but what about the subject in general? Are synopsis the best, time-saving way, considering reading book after book of fiction would cut into other learning time?
It depends on what level you quiz at. For the most part, the kinds of questions that would be asked at pub quizzes would mostly be about stuff that you could find in a detailed enough synopsis like Masterplots, or whatever the British equivalent of Masterplots is if you can't stand American English. Sparknotes and even Wikipedia summaries are often even good enough and free unlike Masterplots. If you somehow get into playing American-style pyramidal quizbowl, the first couple of sentences in each tossup (starter in your country) are usually about minor details in the book that people occasionally buzz on. Usually, though, the tossup lasts long enough that the first or second clue you would get from the synopsis is what will be buzzed on. Basically a good rule of thumb is to read short stories, poems, and stuff that you like that comes up often in quizzing, and read synopses of the stuff you don't like.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't know if it's the same in the UK, but at least here in the US, pretty much every library has a free Masterplots membership so many quizzers are known to go to the library, copy/paste Masterplots summaries into an email, and send it to themselves.
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest with you, I've answered a lot of questions about films in my time where I've never actually seen the film in question, but read a review of it in the paper.
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