Book Log 2006 #67: Braniac by Ken Jennings

As a fellow trivia geek, it's not surprising that there are many things about Braniac that I liked and found familar, from growing up a trivia geek (though I didn't play it down as Ken did) from his descriptions of various trivia subcultures, including quiz bowl and pub trivia. I also enjoyed the description of the Stevens Point weekend, and some of the history, especially the chapter he spent with Fred Worth, one of whose books was the only gift one set of grandparents gave me that I ever found useful (let's just say that they never quite knew my shirt size, as well as they meant in sending something).

What I would have liked was more about Ken's actual Jeopardy! run. While there are past and present behind the scenes books about the show (such as Prisoner of Trebekistan), winning 74 games is so different that I'd think there's something to be said there beyond what Ken wrote. I assume the brevity comes, in some measure, from Ken's unassuming nature. I'd have been OK with him showing a tad more vanity.

I also found that I did pretty well on the trivia questions that were in most chapters, pleasing the geek within. In any case, I think it's a good book for people who are interested in trivia, but may disappoint folks expecting more about the run.