The Book Quiz
Encyclopedia
The Book Quiz is a BBC Four
quiz programme. The first series, first broadcast in 2007, was hosted by David Baddiel
with a second 2008 series hosted by Kirsty Wark
.
, writing for The Daily Telegraph
, offered The Book Quiz as an example of the BBC's "dumbed-down arts coverage", calling it "breezy drivel" that does "little more than twitter." Alex Larman's review on guardian.co.uk
said it was "hard to think of a more misconceived programme", "a very poor thing indeed" that seems to be "designed for, and by, people who don't read books."
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
quiz programme. The first series, first broadcast in 2007, was hosted by David Baddiel
David Baddiel
David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter.-Early life:Baddiel was born in New York, and moved to England when he was four months old. His father, Colin Brian Baddiel, was a Welsh research chemist with Unilever before being made redundant in the 1980s, after...
with a second 2008 series hosted by Kirsty Wark
Kirsty Wark
Kirsteen Anne Wark is a British journalist and television presenter best known for fronting the BBC Two's news and current affairs programme Newsnight since 1993, and its weekly arts annexe Newsnight Review which is now relaunched as "The Review Show".-Biography:Wark was born in Dumfries to Jimmy...
.
Critical reception
Rupert ChristiansenRupert Christiansen
Rupert Christiansen is an English writer, journalist and critic, grandson of Arthur Christiansen and son of Kay and Michael Christiansen . Born in London, he was educated at Millfield and King's College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in English...
, writing for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, offered The Book Quiz as an example of the BBC's "dumbed-down arts coverage", calling it "breezy drivel" that does "little more than twitter." Alex Larman's review on guardian.co.uk
Guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
said it was "hard to think of a more misconceived programme", "a very poor thing indeed" that seems to be "designed for, and by, people who don't read books."
Guest appearances
- Series 1 (2007)
- 17 July: Joan Bakewell, Richard HerringRichard HerringRichard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
, India KnightIndia KnightIndia Knight is a British journalist and author. She is known for her contribution to the British media, as well as her books: My Life on a Plate, Don't You Want Me?, The Shops, Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet and The Thrift Book , all of which are published by Penguin books...
, John Simpson - 24 July: Stella DuffyStella DuffyStella Duffy is a writer and performer born in London who spent her childhood in New Zealand before returning to the UK.-Biography:Born to a New Zealander father and an English mother, Duffy is the youngest in a family of seven children. The family moved to New Zealand when Duffy was five, and...
, Daisy GoodwinDaisy GoodwinDaisy Georgia Goodwin is an award-winning British television producer, poetry curator and best-selling novelist.Having attended Westminster School in London and Queen's College, London, Goodwin studied history at Trinity College, Cambridge and attended Columbia Film School before joining the BBC...
, Michael GoveMichael GoveMichael Andrew Gove, MP is a British politician, who currently serves as the Secretary of State for Education and as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the Surrey Heath constituency. He is also a published author and former journalist.Born in Edinburgh, Gove was raised in Aberdeen...
, Simon HoggartSimon HoggartSimon David Hoggart is an English journalist and broadcaster. He writes on politics for The Guardian, and on wine for The Spectator. Until 2006 he presented The News Quiz on Radio 4... - 31 July: Natalie HaynesNatalie HaynesNatalie Haynes is a British comedian and writer. She has been performing stand-up comedy since 1994 and was a member of Footlights at Cambridge University where she read Classics at Christ's College...
, Jon RonsonJon RonsonJon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, documentary filmmaker, radio presenter and nonfiction author, whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. His journalism and columns have appeared in British publications including The Guardian newspaper, City Life and Time Out magazine...
, Lionel ShriverLionel Shriver-Early life and education:Lionel Shriver was born Margaret Ann Shriver on May 18, 1957 in Gastonia, North Carolina, to a deeply religious family . At age 15, she changed her name from Margaret Ann to Lionel because she did not like the name she had been given, and as a tomboy felt that a...
, Mark ThomasMark ThomasMark Clifford Thomas is a left-wing English comedian, presenter, political activist and reporter from south London. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s. He is best known for political stunts on his show, The Mark... - 7 August: Kate AdieKate AdieKathryn "Kate" Adie , OBE , is a British journalist. Her most high-profile role was that of chief news correspondent for BBC News, during which time she became well known for reporting from war zones around the world...
, Gyles BrandrethGyles BrandrethGyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
, Germaine GreerGermaine GreerGermaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
, Anthony HorowitzAnthony HorowitzAnthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's... - 14 August: Val McDermidVal McDermidVal McDermid is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of suspense novels starring her most famous creation, Dr. Tony Hill.-Biography:...
, Julie MyersonJulie MyersonJulie Myerson is an English author and critic. As well as writing both fiction and non-fiction books, she is also known for having written a long-running column in The Guardian entitled "Living with Teenagers" based on her own family experiences...
, Brian SewellBrian SewellBrian Sewell is an English art critic and media personality. He writes for the London Evening Standard and is noted for artistic conservatism and his acerbic view of the Turner Prize and conceptual art...
, Toby YoungToby YoungToby Young, MA, FRSA is a British journalist and the author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, the tale of his stint in New York as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine...
- 17 July: Joan Bakewell, Richard Herring
- Series 2 (2008)
- 24 March: Giles CorenGiles CorenGiles Coren is a British food critic, television presenter and novelist. He is known for expressing controversial opinions, and for his television appearances with the comedian Sue Perkins.-Personal:...
, Wendy HoldenWendy HoldenWendy Holden, also known as Taylor Holden, is an author and journalist who has written more than twenty-five books, nine of them international bestsellers. She was born in Pinner, North London, in 1961 and now lives in Suffolk, England.-Publications:...
, Anthony HorowitzAnthony HorowitzAnthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...
, Miranda SawyerMiranda SawyerMiranda Sawyer is an English journalist and broadcaster.She grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire with her brother Toby, who is an actor. She has a degree in Jurisprudence from Pembroke College, Oxford... - 31 March: David AaronovitchDavid AaronovitchDavid Aaronovitch is a British author, broadcaster, and journalist. He is a regular columnist for The Times, and author of Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country and Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History...
, Daisy GoodwinDaisy GoodwinDaisy Georgia Goodwin is an award-winning British television producer, poetry curator and best-selling novelist.Having attended Westminster School in London and Queen's College, London, Goodwin studied history at Trinity College, Cambridge and attended Columbia Film School before joining the BBC...
, Simon HoggartSimon HoggartSimon David Hoggart is an English journalist and broadcaster. He writes on politics for The Guardian, and on wine for The Spectator. Until 2006 he presented The News Quiz on Radio 4...
, A.L. Kennedy - 7 April: Margaret Jay, Anne McElvoyAnne McElvoyAnne McElvoy is a British journalist for The Economist and Evening Standard, and a Radio 3 presenter.-Early life:McElvoy attended St Bede's RC Comprehensive School in Lanchester, County Durham and read German and Philosophy at Wadham College, Oxford...
, David NichollsDavid Nicholls (writer)-Background:Nicholls is the middle of three siblings. He attended Barton Peveril sixth-form college at Eastleigh, Hampshire, from 1983 to 1985 , and playing a wide range of roles in college drama productions...
, Tim YeoTim YeoTimothy Stephen Kenneth Yeo is an English Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for South Suffolk and the current Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee.-Early life:... - 14 April: James DelingpoleJames DelingpoleJames Delingpole is an English columnist and novelist. A self-described libertarian conservative, he writes for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Spectator. He has published several novels and four political books, most recently Watermelons: The Green Movement's True Colors [2011]...
, India KnightIndia KnightIndia Knight is a British journalist and author. She is known for her contribution to the British media, as well as her books: My Life on a Plate, Don't You Want Me?, The Shops, Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet and The Thrift Book , all of which are published by Penguin books...
, Rod LiddleRod LiddleRoderick E. L. Liddle is an English print, radio, and television journalist.He is an associate editor of The Spectator, and former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he is the author of Too Beautiful for You , Love Will Destroy Everything , and co-author of The Best of Liddle Britain...
, Kate MosseKate MosseKate Mosse is an English author and broadcaster. She is best known for her 2005 novel Labyrinth, which has been translated into more than 37 languages.- Private life :... - 21 April: Giles CorenGiles CorenGiles Coren is a British food critic, television presenter and novelist. He is known for expressing controversial opinions, and for his television appearances with the comedian Sue Perkins.-Personal:...
, Wendy HoldenWendy HoldenWendy Holden, also known as Taylor Holden, is an author and journalist who has written more than twenty-five books, nine of them international bestsellers. She was born in Pinner, North London, in 1961 and now lives in Suffolk, England.-Publications:...
, Margaret Jay, David NichollsDavid Nicholls (writer)-Background:Nicholls is the middle of three siblings. He attended Barton Peveril sixth-form college at Eastleigh, Hampshire, from 1983 to 1985 , and playing a wide range of roles in college drama productions... - 28 April: David AaronovitchDavid AaronovitchDavid Aaronovitch is a British author, broadcaster, and journalist. He is a regular columnist for The Times, and author of Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country and Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History...
, James DelingpoleJames DelingpoleJames Delingpole is an English columnist and novelist. A self-described libertarian conservative, he writes for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Spectator. He has published several novels and four political books, most recently Watermelons: The Green Movement's True Colors [2011]...
, Daisy GoodwinDaisy GoodwinDaisy Georgia Goodwin is an award-winning British television producer, poetry curator and best-selling novelist.Having attended Westminster School in London and Queen's College, London, Goodwin studied history at Trinity College, Cambridge and attended Columbia Film School before joining the BBC...
, India KnightIndia KnightIndia Knight is a British journalist and author. She is known for her contribution to the British media, as well as her books: My Life on a Plate, Don't You Want Me?, The Shops, Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet and The Thrift Book , all of which are published by Penguin books... - 5 May: David AaronovitchDavid AaronovitchDavid Aaronovitch is a British author, broadcaster, and journalist. He is a regular columnist for The Times, and author of Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country and Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History...
, Giles CorenGiles CorenGiles Coren is a British food critic, television presenter and novelist. He is known for expressing controversial opinions, and for his television appearances with the comedian Sue Perkins.-Personal:...
, Daisy GoodwinDaisy GoodwinDaisy Georgia Goodwin is an award-winning British television producer, poetry curator and best-selling novelist.Having attended Westminster School in London and Queen's College, London, Goodwin studied history at Trinity College, Cambridge and attended Columbia Film School before joining the BBC...
, Wendy HoldenWendy HoldenWendy Holden, also known as Taylor Holden, is an author and journalist who has written more than twenty-five books, nine of them international bestsellers. She was born in Pinner, North London, in 1961 and now lives in Suffolk, England.-Publications:...
- 24 March: Giles Coren