Pocket Size GRE Book for Traveling

[TravelLadyBug]

I just graduated with my Bachelor's and am taking a long journey in Asia this summer. I am packing light (i.e., one backpack) but I want to bring one GRE book to study like hell. It has to be small. I need one with a list of vocabulary words, too. Any advice would be useful!

[UnlikelyGrad]

I just graduated with my Bachelor's and am taking a long journey in Asia this summer. I am packing light (i.e., one backpack) but I want to bring one GRE book to study like hell. It has to be small. I need one with a list of vocabulary words, too. Any advice would be useful!

There's no such thing as a small GRE book.

I would bring vocab flashcards instead; make them in advance. Don't use a full 3x5 card for each word; instead cut 3x5 cards into quarters. Or, better yet, cut sheets of paper into sixteenths (or thirty-seconds). You'll have to write lightly on these in pencil but they will be much lighter than index cards. I spent most of last semester with flashcards (mineral formulas rather than vocab words, but still...) tucked into my jeans and/or jacket pockets, so I know whereof I speak.

[Jae B.]

There's no such thing as a small GRE book.

I would bring vocab flashcards instead; make them in advance. Don't use a full 3x5 card for each word; instead cut 3x5 cards into quarters. Or, better yet, cut sheets of paper into sixteenths (or thirty-seconds). You'll have to write lightly on these in pencil but they will be much lighter than index cards. I spent most of last semester with flashcards (mineral formulas rather than vocab words, but still...) tucked into my jeans and/or jacket pockets, so I know whereof I speak.

^… Ditto this! My best friend used a "pocket" GRE book, and, er, I don't think it helped them. You'd be better off lugging a huge, quality one -- I took one back and forth with me on my 2+ hour bus commute (each way) for a couple months, carrying it around in my shoulder bag all day...before I decided not to take the test.

If you get one too small, then it'd be hard to write in, and many of the good ones have useful exercises and spaces for notes.

Just get a paperback one with thin newsprint-style pages (so it's light), so you can bend it into your bag and abuse it. Mine looks like crap, but it's still good -- was planning on handing it off to a friend.

A lot of GRE books also come with a tear-out vocab list, so that's another reason a larger book could be a good investment, even if you don't want to take the whole book traveling.

[JustChill]

Barron's has an excellent pocket size vocab book. It doesn't have any math in it, but I found it extremely helpful for learning and memorizing new words. Out of my four GRE books, that one was my favorite.

[stefunny]

I used "Word Smart for the GRE"...it's small but great! It has really helped me a lot!

[Neuropanda]

http://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Vocab-Effective-Vocabulary-Shortest/dp/0578028999/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274824045&sr=8-2

Uses fun stories to help you remember the words, and has a vocab list in the back. It's super thin, decently fun to read, and pretty helpful. Not the only vocab study book you'll need by any means, but a good one to get started.

[mnestic]

It wasn't the only book I used, but I found "Pass Key to the GRE" to be helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Pass-Key-GRE-Barrons-Gre/dp/0764142011

It includes practice tests, vocab, and strategies, and it's small. It'll give you a good start.