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Home » The only GRE Books you will Ever need!

Home » GRE Book Reviews » The only GRE Books you will Ever need!

The only GRE Books you will Ever need!

Posted by Talha Omer on April 29, 2017 in GRE Book Reviews | 26 comments

Best GRE Books

I understand that there is a plethora of resources, several GRE books and vocabulary lists available for GRE prep and as a result there is a risk of:

subpar prep (if one choses the wrong books)

too much prep (if ones choses too many books, which is inefficient)

I don’t know the exhaustive list of books available globally but I have came across at least 27 different publishers of GRE prep. You can also check all of them out at
amazon.
Not only is this intimidating but it is also extremely confusing. Regardless of your initial level, if you go through these resources thoroughly, you are bound to
increase your score many folds.

But that is going to take several year!

So to save you pain and time, I have gone through these books and compiled a list 9 resources which will fully prepare for the GRE exam.

You only need to do these books and exams and NOTHING ELSE to score well on the GRE exam.

Don’t waste time on other resources.

8 Quantitative Manhattan Strategy Guides 4th Edition

This is an 8 book set, which provides comprehensive and in-depth review of all GRE sections.

6 books pertain to the quantitative section which cover the following math topics:

1. Algebra
2. Geometry
3. Fractions & Decimals
4. Number properties
5. Word problems
6. Quantitative comparisons and Data Analysis

For the verbal section there are two books:

1. Reading comprehension and Essays

2. Text completion and Sentence equivalence

These books are ideal for those who want to review all the concepts tested on the GRE, especially the quantitative ones. The verbal ones are not as good and focus a
bit too much on vocabulary.

*You can choose to totally skip the verbal guides of Manhattan if you want.

While the 6 books provide good tips for attempting different types of questions, they contain only a limited number of practice questions.

Moreover, the ‘check your skills’ questions are slightly easier as compared to the questions in the actual exam.

*Note: If you are at a beginner level in Math or hate Math or struggle with it or or have not studied Math for a long time, then the basic Math book by Manhattan
will be a good starting point. First finish the basic guide and then move to these 6 Manhattan guides.
To have a look: Go here

Manhattan 5 lb. Book 2nd Edition

The 5 lb. book provides 2000+ practice questions to work through along with thorough explanations. The questions are mainly broken down by topic and a greater
proportion are from the quantitative section than the verbal section.

The book is intended to be used as a supplement to the 8 guides and therefore does not contain a review of the topics. Hence it cannot be used alone to prepare if you
want to revise the test content as well. I will definitely advise all students to practice all quantitative questions from all sections of this book and skip the verbal
section altogether.

I wrote a detailed review on Manhattan 5 LB over here.

To have a look: Go here

The Princeton Review, Cracking the GRE, 2017 Edition

Over years I have realized that for the verbal section, there are no such clear strategies or techniques like those in the quant section. Improvement in the verbal
section can only be made by doing lots of practice and of course by knowing some overall, high-level strategies.

This book by Princeton review is definitely good at doing that. General strategies on approaching reading passages (both large and small), text completions and
sentence equivalence questions are useful.

The questions on the other hand are easy. Princeton Review also explains and eliminate wrong answer choices. This helps you to understand why certain
choices are not right.

So you should definitely learn the strategies from this book but do not use it to practice verbal questions.
A long time back, I wrote a detailed review on Princeton Cracking the GRE over here.

To have a look: Go here

The GRE Big Book by ETS

Although I do not advise covering the GRE Big book by ETS in your GRE prep, but it has tons of reading passages. The Big Book is very helpful for only doing the
reading comprehensions but you should skip everything else.

The passages are hard and tricky and the associated answer choices of questions are very close so as to create confusion – which will definitely help prepare
you for the GRE.

I keep saying this again and again, but I can’t stress about the importance of practice in case of GRE reading comprehensions.

At bare minimum, one must do 100 passages and the big book provides that much practice. This can be frustrating but it’s worth the effort. Time and accuracy are
very important in attempting GRE passages – with this much practice you will hit your desired target.

For a detailed review on the BIG book by GRE please go over here.

Barron’s 1100 Words You Need To Know ‘or’ Magoosh App

Having a good vocabulary can be immensely advantageous in the GRE exam and the best source to prepare for them is the Barron’s 1100 words list. If you get bored
studying for Vocabulary from a book you can also get hold of the Magoosh flashcards app.

So either study vocabulary from Barrons 1100 words or the Magoosh app – but not both. These provide you with the words you are most likely to encounter in the
exam. By having a command on these would help you in the text completion and sentence equivalence questions.
Magoosh presents words along with sentences. Barron’s additionally provides short exercises where you can test the new words learned.

While Magoosh can be used easily by the last minute learners, Barrons demands more time and will be best suited if you start preparing early.

To have a look: Go here

Optional – Norman Lewis – Word Power Made Easy

Learning vocabulary can be demanding as well as frustrating. If you are unable to retain the words you are learning from Barron’s or Magoosh, then you can use this
book.

Norman lewis is based on learning words roots (which is easier to retain). This actually makes learning interesting thing to do.

It is not a GRE book specifically, but it contains nearly all of the words in Magoosh/Barrons.

To have a look: Go here

Official ETS guide + Official verbal reasoning practice questions + Official quantitative reasoning practice questions

These books by ETS contain real past GRE questions. The questions in the books are a great tool to practice. However, it contains only a limited number of
questions.

After you are done with all the aforementioned GRE sources, only then practice from these guides.

The verbal reasoning practice book has a chapter dedicated to the analytical writing section of the GRE. It also contains sample-graded essays as well.

Each official guides has 2-3 full-length paper based practice tests at their end.
However, these books alone are not sufficient to prepare for the GRE. If you want to review the concepts, you will require supplementary material I just discussed.

Save these practice questions for the end.

For a review on the ETS Material please go here.

To have a look: Go here

Have a look at verbal review: Go here

Have a look at quant review: Go here

2 Power prep ETS GRE Exams

These are 2-Computer Adaptive full-length GRE tests from the ETS (official makers of the GRE).

Although ETS has not updated them in over 5 years now, still they are the most authentic source of gauging your true performance. These include very old and
retired GRE questions, and look & feel just like the real GRE test does.

The quant sections are a bit easy than the actual GRE but the verbal section is highly relevant to the actual GRE test.

Nonetheless it is an extremely useful way of knowing the overall feel of the test, the interface and the structure.

You can also take the power prep exams in the official GRE test centers in some locations around the world.

For a detailed ETS GRE exams review please go here.

To download: Go here

6 Manhattan GRE Full-length Online Tests

The online adaptive Manhattan tests are the best GRE exams after the ETS paper and power prep exams.
 Quantitative is really up to the mark of the actual GRE and is a reliable measure of your performance.
Verbal questions on the other hand are slightly below par but they are still the best.

Supplement these 6 tests with GRE Power prep practice exams.

For a thorough review on these 6 exams by Manhattan, please go here.

To have a look: Go here

Conclusion: To sum up,

1. The 3 ETS guides and the power prep exams are a must for anyone taking the GRE exam.
2. Manhattan strategy guides are best for studying quantitative topics. Manhattan 5 LB book must be used to supplement your quant practice.
3. For developing a strong vocabulary you can turn to Barrons or Magoosh but be sure to work on these early in your preparation as cramming vocabulary at the
eleventh hour seldom helps.
4. For overall verbal strategies turn to Princeton- for verbal practice, use the ETS Big book and the verbal official guides.
5. Top it up with 6 practice tests by Manhattan and the 7th test should be your actual GRE exam.

Good Luck!

26 Comments

1.
noreen anwer July 4, 2017 at 1:13 pm

from which source we can get these books??

Reply

Talha Omer July 12, 2017 at 9:13 am

You can buy them online on amazon. Thanks

Reply

2.
Zaryab August 8, 2017 at 6:30 am

We have to go through all of these books or just any one of these?

Reply

Talha Omer August 21, 2017 at 12:49 pm

Just these.

Reply

3.
Arafat Asghar August 22, 2017 at 10:27 am

You mean to say all of these? How much time would that reasonably take?

Reply

Talha Omer August 22, 2017 at 10:28 am

yes – around 3-4 mths

Reply
4.
Aimal Khan September 27, 2017 at 12:17 pm

Salam Talha air! I have started Baroon’s 1100 words. And now following Brightlink’s 30 and 60 day verbal plan. Can I skip the vocab part of the 30 and 60
day plan? can Barron’s 1100 be taken as a substitute for the 30 and 60 day verbal plan?

Reply

Talha Omer September 28, 2017 at 12:07 pm

AOA Aimal – Thanks for the message. Yes definitely, Barron’s 1100 words can be substituted for the vocabulary in the 30 day and the 60 day Verbal
plan.

Reply

Aimal Khan October 1, 2017 at 3:43 pm

Thank you Sir for your response…

Reply

Talha Omer October 18, 2017 at 12:14 pm

Most welcome!

Reply

5.
Sabah Panhwar November 7, 2017 at 12:30 pm

Hello Talha!
I am starting to prepare for GRE and then I’ll give my test in March.
Can you guide where should I start from? Like Vocabulary, Quantitative reasoning or Verbal section?

Reply

Talha Omer November 30, 2017 at 12:42 pm

Hello Sabah, I ll advise just follow the Manhattan 8 guides for GRE, ETS Official guides and the Manhattan 5LB book. For vocabulary follow the
magoosh app.

Reply

6.
Sadia Akram March 13, 2018 at 12:30 pm

Salam Sir Talha!

I want to start for GRE preparation now. Can you please guide me if your 60 day advance plan is sufficient for metro study for GRE. and for quantitative
section what material do you recommend me?

Reply

Talha Omer March 22, 2018 at 9:14 am

W.A.S Sadia, Yes it is sufficient to do decently on the GRE. For quant I advice Manhattan books

Reply

7.
Mohammad Kamil shams June 12, 2018 at 1:09 pm

Salam sir Talha. What would be the best resource for practicing text completion and sentence equivalence? Are only the official guides useful for that?

Reply
 Talha Omer June 12, 2018 at 9:06 pm

Wasalam, See if you can get hold of magoosh. They have some really good questions on those types

Reply

8.
Joseph Doe June 17, 2018 at 1:13 pm

Hello Talha,
I have in possession, the Barron’s 1100 words book and of course, the magoosh app. You mentioned in your article that it would be wrong to use both of this
materials. Can you please explain why?

Also, would learning the words from the magoosh app be sufficient for the verbal section?

Reply

Talha Omer June 22, 2018 at 8:20 am

Hello Joseph, So basically they have a lot of overlapping words and some of the words which are non-overlapping, those are really not required for
prep. So if you consult both sources you will end up learning an extra 500-600 words that are not needed on the GRE test day Yes Magoosh app is
sufficient!

Reply

9.
umair June 26, 2018 at 2:57 am

Asslam o Aliakum,
Sir is it necessary to follow the editions of these Books.

Reply

Talha Omer June 28, 2018 at 8:16 am

Waalaikum Asalam, No it is no required. You can choose any edition

Reply

10.
Muzna Hamza October 7, 2018 at 11:09 pm

Hello Talha!
For vrrbal section which source should be used?

Reply

Talha Omer October 10, 2018 at 10:07 am

Hello Muzna, ETS guides are really the only good source for GRE verbal!

Reply

11.
TINA GHAEMMAGHAMI October 23, 2018 at 12:33 am

Hi Tallah,

Thanks for this! It’s really helpful. How many months do you think I should put aside if I am working full time? I won’t be applying to grad school till the fall
but am thinking to take the GRE during Spring of this year. Do you think Jan-March of diligent studying (3 evenings a week, half a day over the weekend)
with all of these resources is enough time?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again
Tina

Reply

Talha Omer November 2, 2018 at 12:17 pm

Hello Tina – 3-4 months is usual with your routine, if you put in 10-12 hours per week
 Reply

12.
TINA GHAEMMAGHAMI October 23, 2018 at 12:35 am

Hi Talha,

One more question – are these tips/guides your suggestion for native English speakers as well?

Thank you

Reply

Talha Omer October 24, 2018 at 11:38 am

Hello, Yes definitely. These do apply!

Reply

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