The Monkman and Seagull Quiz Book by Eric Monkman & Bobby Seagull @helenmccusker @EyewearBooks @e_monkman @Bobby_Seagull #NonFictionNovember #MonkmanandSeagullQuizBook

Eyewear Publishing October 2017

Book Description

You probably know them best from the electrifying matches of University Challenge 2016-17, which saw the most memorable rival captains ever, dapper Bobby Seagull and fan-favourite Eric Monkman, go head-to-head.  Seagull & Monkman are good friends who met while quizzing at Cambridge.  They respectably hail from East Ham, London and Oakville, Ontario

The Monkman And Seagull Quiz Book is bound to be a classic: a book that challenges everyone to join in and play it.  In this, their first quiz book, astounding polymaths Monkman & Seagull are finally on the same team – and their opponent is you and your friends and family.

Containing over 540 questions ranging across space and time, this book sees the devilish wit of out brainy boffins put to the page.  With tricks and tests to taunt even the smuggest sofa-shouter, it’s packed with puzzles & pop quizzes, on everything from particle physics to philharmonics – football to film.  Featuring questions from BBC Radio 4’s infamous ‘6.48am Puzzle for Today’ as well as tons of entirely new rounds, it’s sure to perplex even the most dedicated pub-quizzers.

See if you’re smarter than an eleven-year-old in the primary school round, test your reaction time with the Starter For 10s, or stick to traditional British stalwarts in the Newspaper Quiz and Pub Quiz sections.  Monkman & Seagull, that dazzling duo, deliver the best Quiz Book of this, or any, year. 

My Thoughts

So confession time, I love a quiz night!  There I said it!  Geek factor I know, but it started a while back, when my husband and I, plus a group of friends formed a team to compete in the annual quiz night at my son’s primary school.  It involved a lot of carbs and a fair amount of Prosecco and boy, did we have fun.  I don’t think we won that first year, but subsequent years we did, and we went on to win the Scouts Quiz night, which was substantially harder!

Over a number of years we considered ourselves champions, my son dually left primary school and low and behold there was a quiz night at the secondary school.  Along we went, smugly confident… and we came 5th! 5th!? I know right, unbelievable, in our defence the school is massive, at least 4 times the size of the lowly primary and it seemed we had met our match.

Not to be defeated a Prosecco fuelled plan was formed!  And this my friends is where the Monkman and Seagull quiz book comes in.  As a group we formed a ‘Quiz Supper Club’ aka friends round to dinner, more Prosecco and the hosts, as well as providing food, created a quiz, we considered it revision.  But it is mighty hard to find questions – ‘is this too hard’, ‘too easy’ etc you get the idea.  Afterall I know what I know, but not what you know ( I don’t know much, so what’s hard for me could be so easy for you – you might mock me, ‘what sort of question is that? Everyone knows that’, ‘Errr, I didn’t’).

Covering a vast array of subjects the Monkman and Seagull Quiz Book was just what I needed, with varying degrees of difficulty it contains within it’s pages suitable questions for the varying capabilities of our group.  With sections including Sport – my husband’s chosen specialist subject, History, Miscellaneous to name a few, plus types of quizzes – pub quiz (Yes!!) Newspaper Quiz and Primary School – Level Questions this book is informative and fun.  Great for me when I am hosting the quiz night but with the inclusion of the primary school questions and actually the breadth of questions this works well for a family quiz as an alternative to entertainment of the electronic form!

Wish me luck in my next quiz and thanks as always for reading.

Thank you to the publisher and to Helen McCusker for providing me for a copy of this terrific book.