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| Hank and Jeff Kiney |
Anyway, I have new respect for anyone who wins anything on Jeopardy! Friday night I played a special game of Jeopardy in a tournament of An Unlikely Story Bookstore in Plainville Massachusetts--one of my fave bookstores on the planet.
It's owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote the Wimpy Kids books, and he is the best person in the world.
He organized this truly authentically amazing Jeopardy tournament this Independent Bookstore Appreciation Day weekend to benefit the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit that helps booksellers in need.
SO--I was on the author team with New York Times bestselling authors Cassandra Clare (Darkhunters!), Holly Black (Spiderwick Chronicles)!, and Raul The Third (Low Riders in Space! Sponge Bob!). We were SO ready, and when we saw the categories, I knew we had it nailed. I knew every answer to the crime fiction category and first lines, and Cassie and Holly had horror and music down pat, and Raul had illustrators and children's lit..
SADLY we could not make the buzzers work.
See how crazed I am?
We really tried, and we were way too competitive, but, apparently, we just did not have good buzzer skills. So bottom, line were were, um, skunked. It was TRAGIC! But off-the-charts fun. Amazing. And Jeff Kinney was a terrific and charming and witty Alex Trebeck.
We won the consolation round, which is little consolation, but you know authors. We'll take every win we can get.
And here we are afterward, with our score posted. (That's Raul the fourth in the photo, too.
And we demand--I mean, we'd be delighted--to come back next year and regain the crown.
A million years ago, I did a series on "How to get on a game show" for Channel 7, and took the Jeopardy test and passed! (It was very difficult, but my head is full of unnecessary stuff.) I could have been on the show! (But conflict of interest kept me off, of course.) But Meg Gardiner won Jeopardy, did you know that? And Brendan DuBois? And Laura Di Silverio was a contestant.
Do you watch Jeopardy? Do you love it?
Hank, your Jeopardy game for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation sounds like it was terrific fun . . .
ReplyDeleteWe certainly do watch Jeopardy! and we continue to be astounded by James Holzhauer. He’s an amazing player . . . .
I’ve never actually watched an episode that he’s on… I have to catch up!
DeleteI feel like an outsider or someone people shake their heads at in dismay. I never quite got the Jeopardy bug, but it seems so many, many people I know, especially in the book community, watch it. Maybe I should get with the program. It's not that I never have watched it, but it's on at a time when I don't usually have the television on, and I just don't think to turn it on for that one show. I know, I know. I'm missing a great show. So, I vow to at least make an effort to start tuning in some.
ReplyDeleteI bet we could watch it on YouTube!
DeleteOf course! I don't know why I was thinking I had to watch it at the time it's on. I can go back and pick up the current champ, James Holzhauer, episodes. That would be fun. Thanks, Hank.
DeleteAs a child,I remember watching Jeopardy during the day. I think the person with the answers was Art Fleming. Yup, I old. Then it was gone and then back. Jeopardy was Mom's show and one of few shows my stepfather actually wanted to watch. When I would be at their house, we'd watched and it was always fun when I answered the question correctly before they could. Sort of surprised them. Haven't watched or really wanted to watch since Mom died. I do remember the previous big winner - Ken, right.
ReplyDeleteArt Fleming! Of course! I old, too :-)
DeleteSame here. I remember watching Art Fleming very well.
DeleteThat looks like so much fun! I don't watch Jeopardy regularly anymore, but I used to tune in more often. I would be terrible as a contestant though, even if my buzzer did work.
ReplyDeleteWell it’s very complicated… You can’t buzz in until the question is over, if you do, you are locked out, so I think we were too eager :-)
DeleteI don't watch it, and I'm quite sure I would freeze on set if I ever made it on. I had a colleague who was the kind of person who always knows the answers at home, but when she was on the show for reals, she said the buzzer logistics and competition did her in. I had a different friend who won it for an entire week! Too bad about the buzzers (I had to go look up Plainville on a map), Hank, but clearly you all had a ball.
ReplyDeleteYes, the buzzers are very touchy! But we had so much fun…
DeleteWhat fun, Hank, and we know the authors would have aced it if the buzzers weren't defective. Dang!
ReplyDeleteHubs and I watch when it from time to time so I haven't seen James Holzhauer,but I've been following his story and fascinated by his strategy. I've never been in the same town as the Clues Bus, but I would love to take the test, although if I did make it to the show, I'm pretty sure I would have buzzer failure, too.
Deana, I didn't remember that the host was Art Fleming, but I remember watching as a child and even had the Jeopardy game.
Yes, the buzzers are not active until the questioner finishes the question and an assistant clears the board so the brothers can reuse. So you actually have to wait till she clears the board… And you have no idea when that is. Actually, it was so much fun and if we hadn’t been so super competitive, ..
DeleteI like Jeopardy! and I love James. He prepped for the show by reading children's books on many topics. He said they're short and illustrated, so easy to get an overview of the topic. Brilliant strategy, and it's certainly working. Me on the show? Not a chance. I'd freeze, maybe even drool.
ReplyDeleteYour night looks like a blast. What fun!
What a fun
Yes, and his strategy is so newfangled… I love it!
DeleteI had read about this current champ, even though I haven't watched him, and I thought his strategy of reading children's books on subjects was brilliant, too. I myself have read a children's edition about a subject before to cut through all the explanations and descriptions, and I find them great overviews, too.
DeleteHank, I can hear you laughing when I look at that photo! The event sounds like a blast.
ReplyDeleteI've known two local people who were on Jeopardy, and the author Eileen Dreyer, who I've not met except on Facebook. But here's a little tidbit for you, especially since there's a Boston connection. Ryan "Fritz" Holznagel is married to a Cincinnati woman, and they were in my book club, his wife Julie having grown up with some of our members. They moved to Boston about five years ago. Fritz has been on the show more than once, I want to say three times, and he won the 1995 Jeopardy Challenge. He's also a sreenwriter and wrote a book on how to use the Jeopardy buzzer, Secrets of the Buzzer. He also happens to be a super nice guy.
The interesting part about this is that James Holzhauer has mentioned Fritz Holznagel and his book on the show, and said he uses Fritz's advice as part of his strategy. Weird coincidence on the names, right?
I'd also forgotten that Art Fleming was the original host. Alex Trebeck has made that show his own so thoroughly.
I could never take the stress of being on the show. My voice shakes badly enough when I'm relaxed!
DeleteWow! Fascinating! And I am going to find secrets of the buzzer right now… had I but known!
DeleteI haven't watched it in years, not since I went to a try out, missed one question out of a hundred -- they were easy and no buzzer, got to write down the answers -- and didn't even make the first cut. I'd already mentally spent the millions I was going to earn and the fifteen minutes of fame I'd acquire for being the longest surviving contestant on the show. So there. Take that, Alex. And why are you doing life insurance commercials these days anyway? Don't you have a day job?
ReplyDeleteI do have a friend who made it all the way to contestant-hood. But she is smart. That helps I suppose.
Pftt.
Oh, Finta, I know you would have won. Do you remember what question it was?
DeleteI don't remember the question, but the answer was "who is
DeleteDon DeLillo", whom I'd not read at the time.
I used to watch Jeopardy all the time but not so much anymore. My kids were so impressed whine I knew the answers right away(they were very young) and wanted me to try out for the show, which I never did. Now my brain is slower or something and too often I just can't come up with the right thing. Add to that buzzer trouble - no, just no.
ReplyDeleteWish I had been their to enjoy your fun, Hank!
Judi, yes, I know the feeling, we used to be faster :-) But I bet it was fun to watch your kids be impressed!
DeleteThe Buzzer? Really? Hank, you've got a year to perfect your technique before the next round.
ReplyDeleteDon’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind :-)
DeleteMy husband took the test and passed (geography and history and sports he nailed - any popular culture not so much) Sadly he was never called I remember reading an article about it that said it’s all about the buzzer
ReplyDeleteI always think they should have teams… Wouldn’t we each be great with our husbands? We would rock!
DeleteI *love* Jeopardy! I can answer so many questions when I watch at home but I'm sure I'd be unable to think if I were actually on the show. LOL
ReplyDeleteI have a cousin who tried out and did well but did not get on the show. He's braver than I.
Agreed! We are all so very smart… At home!
DeleteI love Jeopardy! And, yes, I remember Art Fleming as the host.
ReplyDeleteWe are a game show family. My (half) brother was the champion for five days in a row so he was invited to be on the Challenge. Sadly, the Championship was not his. I have been on two local game shows in the very distant past. "Beat the Devil" and "Tic Tac Dough". I didn't do too badly. I made it for three days on Tic Tac Dough. As for Beat the Devil, we ate Rice a Roni (a parting gift) until it fell out our ears.
I would NEVER make it on Jeopardy. The stress would do me in, even if I knew the answers. And that's a big IF.
Wow, that is so exciting! You know the real scoop. And that is hilarious about the Rice-A-Roni… I always wondered what people did with all that
ReplyDeleteI am obsessed with Jeopardy. I have a "season's pass" on Comcast so I automatically record all of the new episodes. And I am obsessed with James Holzhauer, the current champ with more than $1.3 million so far in just 17 days or so. He seems to know everything about everything, which is amazing. And he's great with the buzzer as well!
ReplyDeleteThe thing I enjoy the most about Jeopardy is playing along. I know I could never be a contestant at this point (today is my 70th birthday) because if the answer is a name, I can often come up with the first name but not the last (and you don't get any credit for first names)! But when there's a day that I know the Final Jeopardy answer and none of the contestants does, I feel like a champion.
Happy Birthday Margie!
DeleteThank you, Jay!
DeleteHappy Birthday!
DeleteThank you, Bibliophile!
DeleteHappy Continuation Day Margie! Welcome to the Septuagenarians.
DeleteHappy Birthday Margie!
DeleteHURRAY! Happy birthday, dear Margie!
DeleteI used to watch Jeopardy! all the time. It was something my mom and I did every night. But after her passing, it wasn't quite the same anymore so I really don't watch any more. The two things that I remember most about my "performance" with the show is how I somehow managed to almost always run the category whenever Bible questions came up. This is noteworthy because anyone who knows me knows that I have relative disdain for religion. Yet I somehow retain all this stuff in my head.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing and my greatest Jeopardy! achievement was the night I guessed the answer for the Final Jeopardy before they even revealed the clue (And no, it wasn't a repeat airing). The category was World Fashion and they went to commercial. I looked at my mother and said, "What is a burqa?" When the show came back and revealed the clue, I just got off the couch and walked down the hallway laughing my butt off the entire way. When they revealed that my answer was indeed correct, my mother just looked at me and said (much like she did with the bible questions), "Who are you?"
On the other hand, when I took the online test, the categories might as well have been: Things. Jay. Can't. Possibly. Answer. Yep, I blew the test BIG TIME.
Meanwhile, when my sister was in college, she was officially banned from playing Jeopardy! with her dormmates because she skunked the entire building.
As for my Independent Bookstore Day activity:
Since I didn't realize that April 27th was Independent Bookstore Day until the day of the event, I had no plans to take part in it. However, once I did learn of it, I found my nearest indie bookseller, Titcomb's Bookshop in East Sandwich, MA, and as luck would have it they were not only taking part in the day but they had an author signing scheduled to coincide with the day.
So I drove down to check out the shop for the first time, ran into author Nicole Asselin as we perused the book shelves and then I attended the author talk/signing for Kris Frieswick.
She's promoting her debut thriller novel 'The Ghost Manuscript' (NOTE: JRW should think about featuring her book). Her talk was informative not only about her book, but other aspects of the publishing industry as well as her journalism career. And it was done with a great dose of humor as well. Seriously, don't get her started on her love for copy editors!
I got to ask a couple of questions and after the talk ended, I picked up a copy of 'The Ghost Manuscript' and had it inscribed by the author.
All in all, it was an unexpected but fun booklovers dream little excursion. Oh and I got to add my choice for favorite book to the store's literary rock garden too. And there's a picture of my big balding head on their FB page during the signing too. Well, the subject of the photo is the author of course, but there's my less than full head of hair in the foreground.
That is a fabulous story! And we'd adore to have Kris--wonderful! Let's see if we can find her...
DeleteJeopardy and I were in a Long Term Relationship until commercials broke us up. I haven't watched it in years. Would have loved to watch your game, Hank. Who were on the team with the better buzzers?
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't; so much that that had better buzzers--its just that they were better at using them! It's an electronics thing, I think,. And it was a team from..ah, they were book reps!
DeleteYeah, it's a bummer when the buzzers won't work.
ReplyDeleteSo, about a million years ago at a Jeopardy search in Toronto, I made the first cut, but when they said, if you get chosen, you have to pay your own way and stay to LA, I said, forget that.
Anyway, Alex and I go way way back. Because a million and a half years ago, I was on the Canadian high school quiz show Reach for the Top. Quizmaster was....yes, Alex Trebek. He was Toronto's quiz guy long before he moved to Jeopardy.
Great story! You knew him when!
DeleteI did catch one episode last week, after so many discussed it . . . I love that he studies reading children's books!
ReplyDeleteI watched when a teacher in our district was competing. She told us it's much more difficult with the stress and noise of the set. Most memorable, watching in support of Team Rachel when Kathy Sweeney shared w/ TLC. I remember buzzer strategy discussion at that time, to be quick, buzzing even before being perfectly sure of one's answer. Non-functioning buzzers need to be fixed . . . or could a simple raising of hands be substituted? Hugs and keep having fun! <3
They worked--but just not when we wanted them to! It;s all about getting locked out, and you were locked out until Jeff finished the question, and THEN the assistant let go of the lock. SO..it was two things. It was so much fun though, so whatever!
DeleteHank, you are in great company! These authors have lots of fans! I have been reading about the novels by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black on IG. And I met Meg Gardiner at the conference in Vancouver in March! I used to watch Jeopardy. These days I do not have the patience to watch TV and sit through longer and longer commercials on TV - LOL.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Wimpy Kids novels. Thank you for the mention of Independent bookstore day and the bookstore. I could not remember the name of the bookstore and I bookmarked the page! I would love to visit that bookstore in Plainview some day.
Yesterday on Independent Bookstore Day, I made it to a indie bookstore before the crowds! I found a book that I had been looking forever! It was new several years ago and it was finally on the bookshelves here in that bookstore! It was a collection of stories by women mystery novelists before Agatha Christie.
Happy Sunday!
Diana
Fabulous. ANd you found a treasure..how perfect is that?
DeleteQuite a treasure and it was a pleasant surprise to find the book. How perfect was that? I saw a photo of the book on Instagram when I started bookstagram a while ago.
DeleteI watch Jeopardy off and on, usually when I have nothing else to read or watch, which is only when I've been unemployeed or home sick for several days. I enjoy it when I do watch it, although I only know the answers to a tenth of the questions. Usually the ones that the contestants struggle with.
ReplyDeleteHank, I'll be that was a blast, even if you didn't win! I'm very embarrassed to admit that I have never even watched Jeopardy. I grew up in a very PBS household. In later years, my parents watched Wheel of Fortune every night, so I'm a whiz at that. Of course when I'm in the UK I always watch the fun quiz shows like QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and I love Trivial Pursuit. But I'd never make it on a show with buzzers!
ReplyDeleteOne of my college history professors was on the Art Fleming Jeopardy. He won one show but after he lost, he was still in the studio to see that the next Final Jeopardy category was History.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch Jeopardy all the time when my mother was living but not just watch pieces before my soap opera or other shows come on. I could never do the buzzer, and I am so used to calling out that I would probably give the other contestants the answers.