Brainiac by Ken Jennings ****

My husband recently started DVR-ing Jeopardy! so I've watched more episodes of that in the last month than I think I have in my whole life. It used to be something my grandpa would watch when I was little. I never understood why he liked it. But, he liked a lot of boring things, like reading Reader's Digest, watching M*A*S*H, dancing at the Elk's Lodge and playing card games. But, guess what I discovered this time I watched it? I actually KNOW some of the answers. So, adulthood is definitely an affirmative at this point.

Last year for Christmas, my mom gave Joel this book and he thoroughly enjoyed it. After he found me lingering on the couch during entire episodes of Jeopardy! he recommended the book to me. And, as anyone who knows Joel knows, if Joel recommends something for you to read or watch, you should totally do it. It will almost always be a big win (only 2 strike-outs in the 15 years I've known him). So, I did. And liked it.

Ken Jennings is incredibly relatable, infusing his book about both his experiences on Jeopardy! as well as the history and meanderings of trivia itself. Fun bonuses: he's surprisingly funny for a moon-faced Mormon boy (I laughed out loud several times). He also embeds trivia clues throughout the normal text of the book with answers at the end of each chapter.

I never realized how trivia had eked its way into our every day existence until I started reading this book. I'm listening to classical music on one of our cable music channels right now, and guess what runs at the bottom of the screen every 30 seconds? Trivia! And, because of my recent shining to Jeopardy! I have a trivia question for you that I discovered all on my own in the last week: "What US city is home to two of the top three most successful Jeopardy! champions?" Answer provided in next week's post. Feel free to buzz in anytime below in the comments.