There’s no denying that GK or general knowledge will always be a vital part of any competitive exams out there. If we can study our GK well, then no one can stop us from achieving good marks.
Various competitive exams like IAS, IBPS, SBI, SSC and the likes have GK as one of the main sections in their question papers.
If we can obtain satisfactory marks in the GK section, then our aggregate marks will easily increase and we can be a success in that competition.
When it comes to GK books, there are numerous ones in the current market – which can help us to get high marks in that subject. But, the main problem that most students face is not finding the right one for their needs.
In this article guide, we’ll discuss some of the best GK books that we can obtain for competitive entrance exams.
The List of Best GK Books For Competitive Exams
1. General Study 14,000+ Objective (Buy Online)
This is indeed one of the best GK books that you can get on the current market. It doesn’t matter whether you’re planning to buy it for gathering information or for competitive exams – you can do it all with this book.
There are various categories that this book covers including Indian Culture, Indian History, science, technology, world geography, India, General Science and a whole lot more as well.
The amount of information that has been provided in this book is indeed very noteworthy.
There’s no such topic in GK that hasn’t been covered by this book. This book can be used for various examinations such as IAS, IFS, CDS, NDA, UPSC and the likes.
It’s recommended that you always buy the revised edition of the book so that you can get all the information new and exciting. The book will be containing over 14,000 questions when it comes to GK.
The vastest categories are geography and the history section in the book, which has been explained in detail.
There are also small bits and pieces about sciences like biology, chemistry, physics, and the likes. You also get the addition of environmental studies as well.
2. Lucent’s General Knowledge
This book is one of the most popular books in the current market when it comes to GK. The students who are preparing for competitive exams also suggest this book as well, making this book a fan-favorite among all as well.
Every year, a fresh edition of the book is released, therefore, you must buy that instead of any older versions because otherwise the ‘General Affairs’ section won’t be updated with the latest and greatest information regarding the same.
The content inside the book has been described in such a beautiful manner that no student should have any difficulties in understanding and learning the same as well. Furthermore, each section is described on a point-type basis, making the process of reading the book a lot easier and effective.
The book will cover all the aspects regarding the subject of GK that is asked currently in most competitive exams. There are more than 400 pages inside the book which also makes it one of the most comprehensive too.
Therefore, buying the latest edition of this book does indeed pay off because you’ll be updated with all the new information.
3. R.S. Aggarwal’s S. Chand’s Advanced Objective General Knowledge (Buy Online)
There’s no doubt that RS Aggarwal books are always preferred in the first place by most students out there. The reason? The author is well-experienced and also very reputed in the world of education for many years now.
So, if you’re looking for a book that has been written by a good author and will also suit your competitive exam preparation too, then you’ve come to the right place.
This book will contain all the GK sections you ever need to succeed at any competitive exams with categories like history and general politics. But, that’s not all though. The other categories are economics, geography, general sciences, general awareness and also some additional questions to help you make your preparation even better.
With the help of the above categories, you can easily make yourself prepared for competitive exams in a very comprehensive and holistic manner as well.
The book will contain a large number of questions for you to read and memorize, thereby helping in testing your knowledge for the subject in specific. Moreover, you’ll also completely grasp the idea of the way or pattern through which questions are asked in competitive exams.
4. Disha Experts’ Rapid General Knowledge 2020 for Competitive Exams– (Buy Online)
Every year, Disha Experts releases a new version of this book, especially for students who are trying to prepare themselves for competitive exams.
The reason is that students that are preparing for competitive exams need updated data about GK on a per-year basis.
Therefore, even if the data is one year older, it will still not work at all. With this book, you don’t have to worry about old data at all because the book will have all the new information needed to succeed in such competitive exams.
The book not only contains the general subjects for preparation but also comes updated with all the latest developments when it comes to the banking sector, science, economics, defense – so that you’ll be able to cover as much information as you possibly can before the exams and that too from a single book.
The book will come with various charts, maps, graphs for you to get an overall impression of your memory capabilities – which will help you to remember things in a much better manner. Apart from that, you can expect all the usual, much-needed information from the same.
5. Arihant Experts’ General Knowledge (Buy Online)
When you’ll be preparing yourself for competitive exams and you’ll be buying books for your studies, then the name of ‘Arihant Expert’ should have struck you once.
This is because they’re one of the better-known book publishers in the current market. This is the reason why this book has been very popular among students.
Like the other books in this list, this book is also released every year as a new version to provide students with new and updated information.
This book is indeed a great option for students who want a concise book for studying all the sections related to GK, which will turn out to be helpful preparation for your exams too.
The book also has a separate section covering current affairs which will help you to update with all the latest happenings around your own country as well as around the world as well.
Questions from current affairs always come in exams, so you need to get yourself prepared for the same, in case you want to score good marks. Also, the price of the book is on the cheaper side as well, which makes the purchase all the more compelling.
6. The Pearson Concise General Knowledge Manual (Buy Online)
For the last 15 years, this GK book has been very popular in the current market, not because of the overall quality – but also because of the overall content as well.
The information, as well as the overall quality of information that is provided inside the book, is very much noteworthy – to say the least. Therefore, you can not only use this GK book for not just on government competitive exams but private competitive exams as well.
Each topic has been widely covered in detail so that you can easily understand the whole thing in detail. It will also help you to not miss out on any important or essential things as well.
It’s suggested that you first read the book thoroughly in one go, which will help you know all the concepts and data.
Afterward, you can go with tables which are mentioned inside the book – which includes all the topics in summary form for you to remember and memorize them again and quickly before your exams.
When you’ll be buying this book, there’s no need for you to consult any other book in particular because you don’t need to as well.
7. The Mega Yearbook (Buy Online)
This book can be defined as the most comprehensive book on the market. It’s also one of the most authoritative books in the market as well, making it a great option for students to rely upon as well.
The book will contain all the high-quality references to all the subjects that you need to study through, including current affairs and history. That’s not all though because there are also other ones as well, such as panorama, healthcare, sports, education, English language, career and so on.
The sheer vastness of the book itself will help you show how much you can grasp in terms of overall content in regards to GK.
The book has been designed to be perfect for students who are preparing for various competitive exams and are therefore looking to be aspirants in that field as well.
You can use this book for civil services exams, banking sector exams, UPSC exams, railway exams, PSC exams, numerous quiz competitions, and the likes.
The book is also targeted towards media persons, teachers, planners, researchers, laymen readers and avid readers too.
This shows that the book is very much versatile at what it does. The book can also be useful for school students as well who like to increase their knowledge in the field of GK.
8. Encyclopedia of General Science for General Competitions (Buy online)
If you’re looking for an ideal book to cover your GK syllabus for your competitive exams then there is no better book than this book in the current market.
The main concept of this book is based on the information from the NCERT type of books – which means that students from the CBSE and ICSE board of studies will right at home with this GK book.
The book will be covering all the important topics that you necessarily want to talk about.
The categories include chemistry, physics, biology, environment, health, computer sciences, animal husbandry, agriculture, space, computer science and lots more as usual.
Each of the above categories is then sub-divided into their respective sub-chapters too, which makes reading this book an absolute pleasure for most students out there.
You can use this book to help your preparation for the civil services and UPSC exams. Furthermore, you can also study this GK book for SSC exams, railway exams and various other competitive exams happening all around the country. It has over 1,000 MCQs for you to read through and solve too.
9. General Knowledge Latest Who’s Who & Current Affairs (Buy Online)
Sometimes, even the simplest books can help you so much with your exams and that’s the case with this GK book as well. When it comes to simplicity in terms of overall content and information, you cannot get a better book than this in the market.
The way the author has used the language to his advantage and has been able to portray even a bit of understanding relating to the particular subject category is indeed very much commendable, to say the least.
This book is indeed very unique in the way it integrates the normal subjects for GK and also current affairs in it as well. It also contains all the necessary information to know each important person in the political world of the country, India.
Apart from the information provided in the book, the author has been able to provide jists of each chapter in a concise manner, so that you’ll be able to grasp the idea in a short version after you’ve gone through the main subject matter.
The price of the book is also affordable for most students who are planning to appear for competitive exams.
10. Advanced Objective General Knowledge 11000 + MCQs (Buy Online)
As the book suggests that, if you want to gain a competitive edge over your rivals in the examinations, then there’s no better book than this one to help you achieve the same as well.
This book is the epitome of all the wisdom and information that you can get when you plan to study from any GK book in the current market. This book comes with more than 11,000 questions, which most students and even brilliant ones fail to complete in time. Therefore, in terms of overall question patterns and numbers, you don’t have to worry too much.
Furthermore, the best part about this book is that it comes with questions in the form of MCQs with it as well. This makes the whole preparation procedure more easy and quick for the student because he or she doesn’t have to read or refer another book only for the set of questions.
The price is affordable and reasonable too, which makes this entire deal a perfect option for students who want great quality books at a lesser price.
11. General Knowledge Capsule with Current Affairs Update (Buy Online)
The first edition of this book was released in the year 2018 and due to its massive popularity among students, the fourth edition has been released for the year 2020 as well.
The 2020 edition will not only contain all the updated information and materials but will also allow the students to stay ahead of the curve with better content presentation too.
The content inside this book has been brilliantly packaged for students to understand and even grasp the concepts easily too. The book can provide students with crisp and short information in every subject category to be able to crack these current competitive exams very easily.
The book will update your knowledge about not only India but also the world as well. From simple day to day events to events happening all around the globe will be at the palm of your hands with this GK book.
One of the most important features that this book has is all the relevant information which has been collected together and will turn out to be useful for your needs.
12. Manorama Yearbook
Manorama Yearbook is one of the oldest books on this list because this book has been in the market for at least the past 15 – 20 years. Furthermore, the long presence in the market also made it the fan-favorite among students as well.
This book is respected all over the country because of the amount of information it includes for the students as well as avid readers to read. The book also contains various important pictures that will help you to understand the situation or the person precisely after reading the context.
The book contains topics on different subjects such as current affairs, politics, social welfare, Indian politics, Indian literature, and the likes. This makes this book one of the best ones you can find on the market for exams like civil service exams, railway exams, banking sector exams and so on.
The cost of the book is also on the affordable end as well, making the whole process a lot smoother and easier especially with your exam preparation, as you don’t have to spend much to buy a quality book.
13. General Studies Paper 1 2020: for Civil Services Preliminary Examination and State Examinations (Buy Online)
If you want a book mainly for the preparation of civil services exams, then there’s no better book in the market than this one.
Granted that the price of the book is a little bit on the higher side and more than the other ones in the current market, but the overall price is worth the quality this book commands.
The book mainly focuses on providing students with all the important preparation necessary to pass the preliminary exams of the civil services.
The subjects that are covered by this book include economics, social welfare, world geography, and the likes – all in a very clean and precise looking format so that the students don’t get overwhelmed with all the extra information.
In case you’re in the market for a quality GK book for your exam preparation, it’s highly suggested that you pick this book up as fast as you can and start with your studies for a better result.
14. Concise General Knowledge (Buy Online)
This book mainly focuses on imparting knowledge in fields such as geography, history, economics and so on. The book not only provides you with the detailed study material for you to read and study but also helps you understand every bit of detail about the same as well.
The book will help you prepare for your competitive exams in the best possible manner due to its comprehensive content. You can also expect the information provided by the book to be helpful in other aspects, such as quiz contests too.
The price of the book is extremely low and is thus kept that way so that more students can be benefited from its quality.
One of the main disadvantages of this book is that it only comes with the study material for you to read and not the relevant questions, which forces you to purchase another book mainly for the questions so that you can practice what you study.
15. Objective General Knowledge Chapterwise Collection of 6250+ Questions– (Buy Online)
The last one on our list is another book from Arihant Publishers. This book is a lot different than the other one posted before in this article because this contains mainly questions related to GK.
There are more than 6,000 questions for you to read, solve and also interpret – so that you can easily be good at the game of answering questions rapidly.
Furthermore, the questions in this book are segregated chapters, which makes it all the more easy for students to read and study what they want and not stick to a predefined path.
You will find questions from practically all subjects and topics inside this book, which makes it a very comprehensive and versatile companion for your exam preparations. The price being on the lower side is another merit of obtaining this book too.
How We Selected Top 15 Best GK Books?
The following are some of the factors that were used by us to choose the best GK Books for competitive exams:
- The Overall Content – Content is the most important factor that needs to be kept in mind when selecting a particular GK book. The book should cover vast categories when it comes to GK and should be updated with all the latest information too. If the book doesn’t have enough content, then the student can be at a disadvantage because then he or she has to rely on another book – which can be pretty cumbersome and a lot of hassles a well.
During an exam, it’s always suggested that a student should always follow a single book for his or her benefit because reading too many books just before the exam can mess up your concentration and thinking capabilities - The Reviews And Student Feedback – A book is no good if the students themselves don’t like it at all. Therefore, the book should be such that it is popular among students and those who have read and experienced it, should highly recommend the same as well. The reviews should be clear about the contents and also whether the book has helped provide all the relevant answers in each category when it comes to GK.
Without good reviews and recommendations, it’s not suggested to buy any book for competitive exams. - The Reputation Of The Author – A good author always makes the book easy to read and understand for students who are relying on it for competitive exams. For starters, the overall tone of the language should be easy to understand for the students and the information provided should be well-documented and correct. Otherwise, the students will be losing their precious marks in their competitive exams.
Therefore, the reputation of the author plays a massive role in our selection too.
Conclusion-Final Words
It should be noted that GK is one part of the whole exam syllabus where you can easily score high marks if you can choose your study materials wisely.
The above mentioned GK books will help you navigate through your entire GK syllabus in a heartbeat. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about getting good marks anymore as well.
Apart from reading these GK books, it’s always suggested that you appear or sit for mock exams or tests so that you’ll be able to evaluate your progress and then rectify the places where you need improvement.
In this way, you can easily help you prepare for the upcoming competitive exams in the best and the most concise manner possible. Keep up your hard work and you’ll be an immediate success.
