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Books To Help You Win! |
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Once you get into this intriguing hobby you will soon discover that books can hold the key for inspiration when creating tiebreaker slogans, and a consistent winner will rarely be without at least one good rhyming dictionary and several reference books. I know that I couldn’t manage without mine – for even if certain volumes haven't been needed for a while, I know that sooner or later they will! Here is a small selection of those I value (and use) the most. I have tried to loosely categorise them, but most of them cross over into more than one section, such as Film Guides (useful for reference and wordplay).
General Facts/Reference Books
Pears Cyclopaedia. Published annually by Pelham Books Ltd. Good reference source that covers a wide variety of subjects including: Events; Prominent People; World Affairs; Gazetteer of the World (have used this many time for question/answer comps, place names/capitals of the world etc.)
The Guinness Book of Answers. Published by Guinness Publishing. Covers many different subjects including: Space and Time; Life Sciences; The Arts; The International World etc.
Halliwell’s Television Companion by Leslie Halliwell. Published by Paladin Books. Useful for finding information on television programmes/actors of the past and present.
Halliwell’s Filmgoer’s Companion by Leslie Halliwell. Published by Paladin Books. Handy for information on films and actors (as above), but can also be useful for ‘naming’ comps. See these examples of past competition winners: ‘Name a film starring Princes Spreads: ‘Rightspread Revisited’ and with Dolmio Pasta Sauce: ‘A Dish Called Wonder’ The Penguin TV Companion by Jeff Evans. Published by Penguin Books Ltd. Covers nearly 1,300 TV programmes past and present, plus highlights regular characters, with real names, dates of birth and previous roles provided where possible. Handy for Q&A comps re television/films. The Ultimate TV Guide by Jon E Lewis and Penny Stempel. Published by Orion Books Ltd. Thousands of nuggets of trivia, TV programmes from 1946 to the present. Useful for factual question comps.
Chronicle of the 20th Century. Published by Dorling Kindersley. An absolute must for finding dates, facts and all sorts of other useful information on the last century. It’s a whopper of a book and retails at £39.95 so keep your eyes open at boot sales and library/book shop sales. Or do what I did: take out membership with a book club that offers you the choice of several valuable books for just a few £’s as a new-member incentive. See details below.
Hutchinson Fact Finder. Published by Hutchinson Reference/Random Century Ltd. Another good reference source for facts, figures, dates and events.
The Hutchinson Encyclopaedia. Published by Helicon Publishing. I have the Millennium Edition but there must have been further editions produced since. A HUGE book with loads of information!
Philip’s New World Atlas. Published by George Philip & Son, Ltd. Just one of the many atlases I own. A good atlas is an absolute must! I have found mine useful on many occasions for comping purposes.
Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words & Phrases edited by Jennifer Speake. Published by Oxford University Press. Has that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’. An excellent reference tool for slotting the odd foreign word or two into your slogan, (and helps with correct spelling/usage – so no chance of any faux pas!).
Oxford Reverse Dictionary compiled by David Edmunds. Published by Oxford University Press. When you have the word ‘on the tip of your tongue’ but can’t immediately recall it, this book provides the perfect solution.
Wordplay and Idea Generators
Bloomsbury Reference Phrases & Sayings by Nigel Rees. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. Handy for generating wordplay ideas through the adaptation of well-known phrases.
Cassell’s Modern Guide To Synonyms & Related Words. Published by Cassell & Co. Ltd. Very useful for expressing words with precision and adding contrast and definition to your tiebreakers.
Roget’s Thesaurus. Published by Penguin Books. One of the best known books for a variety of words to fit any given context. Stuck for inspiration …? If you only ever use one book – make it this one!
Word File compiled by Roger Prebble and Mike Griffiths. Published by Keesing (UK) Ltd. This was given to me as a gift, many years ago. And what a boon it has been! An indispensable handbook for all word puzzling – it comes into its own as a great word-finding tool. Covers words for several categories ranging from ‘abnormality' to ‘zoology’.
A Dictionary of Babies’ Names by Amber Grayson. Published by Siena/Paragon Book Service Ltd. One of the two I use for all naming competitions. A must when you are looking for inspiration for little gems like: Justin Credible (the Fairy Liquid Baby comp winner) or Walter Wall (The Kosset Carpet Cat).
Name Your Baby by Lareina Rule. Published by Bantam Books. My other book for name comps inspiration. Have just replaced my worn-out copy of this via www.amazon.co.uk - a great website for book searches and purchases.
Dictionaries
Brewers Dictionary of Phrases & Fable. Published by Guild Publishing. Invaluable for adapting phrases into slogans and many interesting snippets of information and explanations of words.
The Cassell Dictionary of Slang by Jonathon Green. A valuable source of rhyming slang, which can make good tiebreak material e.g. ‘Use your loaf/Apples and Pears’
The Songwriter’s Rhyming Dictionary by Sammy Cahn. Published by Souvenir Press Ltd. ‘I have needed this book, time after time – chosen my words, and created a rhyme!’ Okay, so it calls itself a ‘songwriters’ dictionary, but it’s actually another rhyming dictionary – and a darn good one, at that!
The Poet’s Manual and Rhyming Dictionary by Frances Stillman. Published by Thames and Hudson. As above, this book is aimed at specialist group (this time poets), but very useful for comping purposes!
Top Pocket Dictionary of Rhymes. Published by Longman. Wonderful little pocket-sized rhyming dictionary that you can carry in your handbag for those last minute comps you need to dash off/post in-store in airport lounges; restaurants etc. or do during your lunch breaks at work. Highly recommended!
The Penguin Dictionary of Humorous Quotations compiled by Fred Metcalf. Published by Penguin Books. Wonderful for witty little gems such as: ‘It’s not the men in my life that count – but the life in my men’ and: ‘Diets are for those who are thick and tired of it!’. Such quotations could easily be adapted for comping purposes e.g. ‘It’s not the pen in my life that counts – but the life in my pen’ (pen comp, possibly?) And ‘Slimfast is for those who are thick, and tired of it!’
Longman Dictionary of English Idioms. Published by Longman Group Ltd. Idioms are words which not literal. For example, a person can be said to have ‘blue blood’, or be: ‘deaf as a post’. Lots of good ideas can be gleaned from idioms. Comping Handbooks
There are now so many of these on the market, I am unable to mention them all. Try using the Internet and doing a Google search – you will almost certainly find more.
How to Win Any Slogan Competition by Angelina Kaye. Published by Guinness Publishing. First published in 1994, I have heard that this title is no longer in print, so look out for it at second-hand book shops or try www search engines. An excellent book crammed full of winning UK tiebreakers. An absolute must for tiebreaker inspiration. My favourite slogan book!
Congratulations! You Have Won … by Frank Tate. Published by Allison & Busby. First published in 1984, I’m not sure whether this little book is still in print, but if you do happen to come across it, grab it! It was the very first comping book I read and most of the information in it is still applicable today.
I’m a Winner Because: a Guide to Winning Consumer Competitions by Brita Bevis. Self-published by the author through ‘By-Hook-or-By-Crook’ Publications. (Well, I couldn’t let the chance to mention of my own comping handbook pass me by, could I?) All the information I could muster from over 20 years of successful comping is contained within this book. A good beginner’s guide - if I say so myself!
How to Win Any Consumer Competition by Martin Dove. Published by Guinness Publishing Ltd. This is an entertaining and informative read written by a well-known and successful comper who has won many exciting prizes over the years including a five-berth ocean-going yacht! A must for those looking for inspiration and guidance from a pro’.
Prize-Winning Ways by Robert Kendal. Published by Ambo Publications. Another comping book written by someone in the know. This time by a popular former columnist for the late, great, Competitors’ Journal. Although now retired, Robert has been writing about consumer competitions for over 30 years and is a recognised authority on the art of comping. You can get a copy of this book via my email address.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan. Published by Ebury Press. This wonderful reminiscence of an American comping mum way back in the 1950’s/60’s as told by her daughter, makes a very enjoyable addition to any comper’s bookshelf. Not a comping guide as such, but whimsical and great fun (and be prepared for a few tears!) The film of the same name, starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson, is due to be released in the USA on 30 September 2005.
Books like those I have mentioned here, can often be found at Ebay, or second-hand book stalls, car boot sales and library stock sales. Make a habit of keeping an eye open for useful reference books, everywhere.
Book Club Details:
The benefit of having a book club membership is that you are able to purchase from a large range of discounted books and receive members-only competitions and special promotions - often, with a bonus offer on joining. I have given the details of two clubs I subscribe to: Worldbooks and the Softback Preview. Both are members of the BCA (Book Club Associates) Britain’s biggest mail order booksellers which has over 20 clubs cover different genres e.g. History, Crime, Travel, etc. You can join them either by post at: BCA, Guild House, Farnsby Street, Swindon, Wilts, SN1 5DD Phone: 0870 165 0222 or online, at their various websites. Current offers for the clubs I am in (at the time of going to press) are as follows:
Worldbooks: (www.worldbooks.co.uk). On joining you get offered a choice of 6 books from just 1p each. There is a good selection of reference books and a typical choice for a comper might include: The Oxford Compedium of English (3-book set) RRP £30 (new member price: £4.79), Philip’s Encyclopedic World Atlas RRP £35 (new member price: £3.29) etc. Conditions of membership requires you to purchase a further 4 books during your first year of membership and only one membership is allowed per household.
The Softback Preview (www.etsp.co.uk) has a joining offer of any 3 books for £3 and no further commitment. A good choice for a comper might be: Roget’s Thesaurus RRP £16.99; The Oxford Encyclopedia RRP £12.99; The A-Z of Almost Everything RRP £25. In other words, you would get £54.98 worth of reference books for just £3… Brilliant!
All prices correct at the time of writing.
© 2000 Brita Bevis - How to Win Competitions |
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