It's telling of the state of literature in 2006 that the best two books I've read this month are memoirs by notable Jeopardy! contestants. Brainiac, by Ken Jennings, who won 75 straight games, could have been a longish magazine article, but it's diverting enough. Jennings intersperses his story with the history of trivia—a pretty modern invention, as it turns out, barely a hundred years old. It's not a riveting read, but the man's a devout, tithing Mormon, and without trivia his life would be, well, trivial.

Prisoner of Trebekistan, by Bob Harris, is much cannier. Harris, a former standup comedian, tells his just-a-schlub-from-Cleveland life story and gives out all his winning-at-Jeopardy! tips in a smartassy Harlan Ellisonesque voice, cleverly sweetened with humility. This book is blurbed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, and if you enjoy that kind of self-aware, geeky good humor, this could actually be your favorite book of the year, God help us all.

If you're just looking for quiz-show fame, I'll spare you the 50 bucks—both men agree that winning has less to do with intelligence and more to do with an intuitive mastery of the buzzer.