This is the post I was trying to put up when the old blog croaked.
I got this from the library after Jane Espenson was raving about it on her blog. So when a conspicuous character in the book was named Jane I was a little suspicious, and when it turned out that it was that Jane, it made the book that much more fun. (For those who don’t recognize her name, Jane Espenson is a TV writer who’s done major work on little shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and Gilmore Girls and even has an upcoming episode of Battlestar Galactica to her credit.)
Bob Harris was a contestant on the tv game show, Jeopardy. The book is a memoir of his experience with the show and the impact the show had on his life. You’d think this would be the kind of boring story about some egghead who bones up on trivia for fun and profit, but you haven’t met Bob Harris.
Harris is a funny guy. And from his story it seems he’s not really the proverbial egghead either. Actually, to hear him tell it, the primary reason for his success is his ability to press his thumb on the signal button (or “Jeopardy Weapon”) at just the right time. That and the ability to cram reams of trivia into his head and retrieve it as needed.
The book has tips and tricks on remembering stuff, surprisingly suspenseful accounts of the Jeopardy games Harris played, and even more surprisingly, truly touching accounts of how playing this game changed Harris’s life.
It’s an immensely entertaining book about how his quest to win the game led to a genuine love of knowledge and even to love of another kind. And did I mention the funny?