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5 Best GRE Books 2024 – Top GRE Books for Quant, Verbal, Beginners, Self-study

Choosing the right GRE prep guide is the first step in your journey towards graduate studies. Moreover, picking a GRE book from an endless stream can be confusing.

So, you have decided to study for the GRE but are unsure which prep book to choose?

Choosing the right GRE prep guide is the first step in your journey towards graduate studies. Moreover, picking a GRE book from an endless stream can be confusing. I get many queries from students regarding this very question; the short answer, however, is that no single book is all-encompassing.

GRE guides come in many flavors, and all of them have their pros and cons. No one book will teach you everything you need to know about the GRE, which is why I advise that you should study from a combination of books.

Every company claims that they make the “No. 1” GRE prep book. If this was the case, you could simply pick any book off the shelf and study. This, of course, is not the case. Some books offer accurate practice tests. Some provide great strategies to tackle the questions. In contrast, others offer good practice exercises.

Selecting the right book depends on certain qualities that are crucial for a useful prep guide. Let’s have a look at some of those qualities.

What makes a good GRE book?

Accurate GRE practice questions

A good GRE prep book would offer practice questions that are close to the real GRE. GRE questions are modeled in a certain way. They are meant to be deceptive. Practice questions that are too general will lack the nuances of the GRE questions. You don’t want that.

Clear advice and strategy

Good GRE prep books would map out sound strategies on how to go about the test. They would give you practical advice on how to manage time, what to do when you are unsure about an answer choice, how to make an educated guess, how to eliminate certainly answers based on context clues etc.

In-depth answer explanations

Answers alone are no right if you don’t know how to arrive at those answers. A good GRE prep book would offer comprehensive answer explanations on why a particular answer choice is correct. It would systemically list the tools you can use to eliminate wrong answer choices and narrow down to the possible correct answers even if you don’t have the exact answer.

A complete practice that mimics the real GRE

You can study all the books you want, but you will certainly fall short on your exam without actually practicing the GRE styled exams. Any good prep book would include full-length practice tests that are as close to the actual GRE as possible. The more practice there is in a book, the better. Real-like practice tests accustom you to the format of the GRE. They help you manage time and build your stamina.

Keeping in mind this checklist, we have devised the 5 best GRE prep books. As mentioned earlier, no one book will incorporate the criteria above but knowing which book offers what should make the decision easier.

1. Official GRE Super-Power Pack

The Official GRE Super-Power Pack is a compilation of three books, namely:

  • The official guide to the GRE General Test
  • Official GRE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Questions
  • Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions with Analytical Writing Practice

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What gives these books an edge over other GRE prep books is that ETS, the official test-maker, has written them. Hence, these are the only official prep books you can get your hands on.

These books provide an overview of the GRE structure and content. They go into detail about various strategies and tactics.

Each section of the GRE has an individual chapter in the book where the different question types are explained. At the end of the book, there are practice sets followed by explanations. An additional two full-length practice tests can be found on their online utility, Powerprep, for free.

All in all, these books provide well over 700+ real practice questions.

However, keep in mind that these books on their own are not meant to teach you the concepts in detail. The aim here is to provide students with authentic GRE practice questions.

PROS

Most authentic GRE questions

These three books provide the most authentic and GRE like questions that you can find in any book out there. Questions are well worded. The vocabulary used mimics what you will see on the real test. The difficulty level also depicts the actual GRE.

An all-in-one solution

This pack is perfect if you don’t want to buy multiple books from different companies. You get a general guide that teaches you about the GRE format, time duration, scoring mechanism, etc. The other two books go into detail about their respective subjects, i.e., verbal and quantitative.

Questions are classified by difficulty

These guides split questions into easy, medium, and hard difficulty levels. If you are just starting, then a good strategy would be to tackle the easy and medium questions first and then work your way up to the hard ones.

A detailed chapter on AWA section

The official ETS GRE pack is one of the few test prep books that dedicates an entire chapter to the AWA section. Essays can be difficult to evaluate since they are not “specific answer questions.” Hence, many books just give you general pointers on how to write an essay. However, ETS has provided official sample essays that are commentated by ETS examiners. This will provide you with a precise idea of what to avoid in your essay and what not to.

CONS

Limited explanatory scope

The verbal section in the official Guide to the GRE lacks in-depth explanations of why certain answer choices are incorrect. The explanations provided only discuss the correct answer choice. This might be a problem for those who are less proficient in the verbal section.

No vocabulary lists

ETS doesn’t provide a list of words, unlike many other books. This would have been an excellent addition, but sadly you will have to look elsewhere to learn vocabulary, i.e., Magoosh, Barron’s, Manhattan, etc.

Difficult to understand explanations

Not only are the explanations brief, but they are also worded in such a way that it can be difficult for students to understand. Sometimes, explanations will skip steps to arrive at a conclusion leaving you confused.

Bottom Line

Official GRE Super-Power Pack is a phenomenal GRE prep set. Any student looking to understand the GRE should look no further.

Get this book here.

2. Manhattan Prep GRE Set of 8 Strategy Guides

In our articles, we often say that no GRE book or set of books can ever be all-encompassing; however, if there is one set of books that comes close, then it’s this one.

Yes, this set has eight total books. If you want to go above and beyond with your GRE preparation, then these are the books you want to get.

In most GRE books, you would have different parts dedicated to each of the GRE section. In some book sets, you get dedicated books for quantitative and verbal sections.

However, Manhattan has each book dedicated to individual quantitative topics. Talk about detail.

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Six of the eight books are dedicated to quantitative topics. They are:

  • Algebra
  • Fractions, decimals, and percentages
  • Geometry
  • Number properties
  • Word problems
  • Quantitative comparisons and data interpretation

The verbal books are:

  • Reading comprehension and essays
  • Text Completions and Sentence Equivalence

Most GRE books are forced to cut corners because they have to fit everything into a book. From general information about the GRE to all the different quantitative and verbal topics, everything has to be included in a single book.

This leaves a lot on the table, and hence different companies come up with “strategies” and “tactics” to help you answer the questions even if you don’t understand the concepts thoroughly.

The problem is that these strategies are guesswork at best. They will never give you consistent right answers. So, the best way to prepare for the GRE is to get into the nitty-gritty of the concepts.

Manhattan Prep offers that approach. If you are a novice to the GRE, if you want to understand GRE questions’ concepts and want to start from the ground up, you should get this set.

Having each book dedicated to one topic, Manhattan has the liberty to get into details and leave no stone unturned. However, it will take time to go through these books. This is by no means a last-minute book. Plan out your schedule and give yourself a few months before taking the GRE if you want to go with this set.

You will have access to 6 full-length practice tests when you purchase this set. The practice tests can be found on Manhattan’s website.

PROS

Incredibly comprehensive

The eight books will explore everything on the GRE test. If you are generally bad at math or forgot what you learned in high school, this is a great resource. Each book will start with the basics of geometry, the different angles, the ratios, etc.

The same is true for the two verbal books. You will find the 1000 most common vocabulary words for GRE. You will find detailed explanations for all question types, coupled with numerous strategies.

Eloquent style

One thing that stands out with these books is how well the instructions are articulated. It almost feels as if a personal tutor is teaching you. Each topic is explained in detail in explicit language. No embellishments are used, and everything is straightforward and easy to understand.

Very well organized

Although there are 8 books, thanks to the excellent organization of the books, it doesn’t feel overwhelming. There is no clutter of useless information, and every topic and explanation is aptly arranged.

Plenty of drills and practice tests

Each chapter contains about 40 drill questions that are used to consolidate the concepts you have just learned. Moreover, each book also has 60 practice questions ordered by difficulty, i.e., easy, medium, and challenging. Each question is followed by an easy to grasp and detailed explanation.

CONS

Verbal guides not as good as quantitative

The two verbal books included in the set are not as good as the quantitative ones. Manhattan uses obscure words in text completion questions that are unlikely to appear on the GRE. Moreover, the drill questions and the practice questions are not as close to the actual GRE as you would want. Most of the questions are too tricky for beginners and lack the real GRE questions’ nuances, such as context clues.

Too costly

Most of the GRE guides out on the market are anywhere from 20 to 50 USD. However, this set contains eight books, and while the comprehensiveness is unmatched, it indeed comes at a price. If you can shell out around 140 USD on a collection of books, I would recommend that you do on this set.

Bottom line

Manhattan Prep GRE Set of 8 Guides is as comprehensive as you will ever find. Each dedicated book covers its respective topic from the basics leaving no stone unturned. The practice questions for the verbal part could be better, but overall, it’s an excellent guide. If the hefty cost is not a problem for you, then this set coupled with ETS’ 3 guides might be all you need for your GRE prep.

Get this book here.

3. Manhattan’s 5Lb GRE book

As the name suggests, Manhattan’s 5LB Prep GRE book is a hefty book that includes over 1800 practice problems. The book contains questions from quantitative as well as verbal section. Organized into 33 chapters that span over 1000 pages, you are sure to come across various problems that resemble the GRE.

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However, keep in mind that this book is NOT a guide on how to approach the GRE. The emphasis in this book is on practice. Although it provides ample explanation for each practice question, it won’t teach you concepts from the ground up.

This book’s strength lies in the thousands of practice questions that cover almost every aspect of the GRE. It is meant to reinforce concepts through practice and get you accustomed to the test format.

Moreover, this book offers more quantitative questions than verbal. It also lacks any in-depth coverage of the analytical writing section.

The book also provides an “Advanced Quant” section that is more difficult than the GRE. This is meant for those who want to venture beyond GRE’s difficulty level.

PROS

Variety of practice questions

It offers a magnitude of practice questions that somewhat resemble GRE. The practice questions vary in difficulty and skill required to help you pinpoint your weaknesses.

Advanced quant for higher learning

Provides an “Advanced Quant” section for those who want to go above and beyond their quantitative practice.

Detailed answer explanations

Offers extremely detailed answer explanations for questions. Lays out methods on how to arrive at the right answer choice.

CONS

Not all questions resemble actual GRE

Some of the quantitative questions can be overly simple and straight-forward. They don’t represent the actual GRE questions, which tend to be trickier.

The verbal section could be better

Verbal section questions fall short when it comes to text completion and sentence completion questions. Only reading comprehension passages are worthwhile. Even reading comprehension questions are not very realistic.

Obscure vocabulary

Some of the vocabulary used in verbal section questions is obscure and will never appear on the GRE.

Non-Context based questions

Text completion questions rely heavily on the meaning of the words rather than context clues, which we know plays a vital role in the actual GRE. Some problems are just too vocabulary dependent, unlike GRE, where even if you don’t see the word’s exact meaning, context clues will help you narrow down your answer choices.

Bottom line

Manhattan’s 5LB Prep GRE book is ideal for those students who already have a grasp on GRE concepts. Please don’t purchase this book thinking that it will teach you ideas and in-depth strategies. Instead, think about it as an enormous practice question bank. The book aims to provide ample questions to familiarize you with GRE questions.

Get this book here.

4. Kaplan’s GRE Complete

Kaplan’s GRE Complete is the newest addition to their GRE prep material and it comprises 1700+ practice problems. Their latest book is Kaplan’s attempt at making the most comprehensive GRE book to date.

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Much like the ETS official GRE Super-Power Pack, Kaplan’s GRE complete is comprised of three separate books. The first book you would read is a general guide to the GRE. It will explain the GRE test’s nuances, like the format, time duration, scoring system, etc.

The second book is Kaplan’s GRE Math Workbook, and its focus, as the name suggests, is the quantitative section of GRE. The math workbook offers a stream of math questions that are modeled after the GRE. You will learn all the formulas and other essential techniques to solve quantitative problems.

The third book, called “GRE Verbal Workbook,” is dedicated to GRE verbal questions and strategies. You will receive a comprehensive guide to the verbal section, coupled with in-depth explanations and strategies.

Moreover, Kaplan provides you a total of 6 full-length GRE practice tests on their website. In addition to the six full-length tests, there are eight online verbal and quantitative practice tests. As for the AWA section, you will have access to 5 online analytical writing practice tests.

If that’s not enough, they will also give you access to additional online content like explanation videos and online tutoring.

PROS

An abundance of practice questions

Kaplan’s is only second to Manhattan’s when it comes to the sheer quantity of practice questions provided. The three books combined have a total of 1700 practice questions. In addition to that, you will get access to 8 online Verbal practice sets, eight online Quantitative practice sets, and five online Analytical Writing practice sets.

6 Computer-based GRE full-length practice tests

Kaplan’s GRE complete provides six full-length GRE practice tests, 5 of which are computer-based. Since the GRE test is a computer-based test, it will give you an idea of what to expect when you practice the computer tests.

Additional online learning material

Once you are done with the books, you can head on to Kaplan’s website to watch six exclusive videos featuring strategies for GRE question types and grad school application tips. 

CONS

Some practice questions do not resemble GRE

Kaplan provides a plethora of GRE practice tests, but sadly these are not as authentic as ETS’s practice questions. You will often find that the problems are not engineered as you get on official practice tests. The vocabulary used is often obscure and may never show up on an actual GRE test.

Moreover, we know that GRE verbal passages are tricky and test you on your reading comprehension and critical thinking. They do this by using subtle context clues. Kaplan’s practice tests lack these clues and are not as nuanced as official GRE questions.

Quantitative questions lack complexity

Many would argue that the math practice questions are nowhere as complicated as you would find on an actual GRE test. Moreover, the books don’t provide any in-depth explanations on how to solve a math question. Instead, it will give the required formulas and to-the-point techniques. If you want to learn the concept behind questions, then you may want to look elsewhere.

Full-length GRE practice tests lack difficulty

While Kaplan’s offers six full-length GRE practice tests, you should never use these as your only practice tests. The questions lack the difficulty that you would encounter on GRE. This will give an unrealistic idea of what an actual GRE test looks like. However, you should still practice these tests but make sure to supplement them with ETS’s official practice tests.

Bottom line

Kaplan’s GRE complete is an excellent resource for practicing a stream of questions. You will get access to tons of online material and additional practice tests, as well as six full-length GRE practice tests. However, we recommend that you supplement your preparation with practicing ETS’s official GRE practice tests, as they are the most authentic ones you will find.

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5. Princeton Review GRE Prep

If you are an absolute beginner and are more concerned about learning the GRE questions’ concepts, then this book is best suited for you. Princeton review starts from scratch.

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Princeton review is a great starting point for GRE prep. It will brush up your basic understanding of the contents first and then present you with question exercises.

The book is split into four parts. The first provides an orientation and a general overview of the GRE test. How the test works, how it’s formatted, how the scoring system works etc.

The second part is dedicated to the verbal section. You will learn strategies on how to answer correctly. You will find explanations for what makes an answer choice correct and how to distinguish the right answer choice from the rest even if you are unsure. You will also find a vocabulary list at the end comprised of the most common GRE words.

The third part is all about the quantitative section. Same as the verbal, the math section will start off with basics. It will teach you strategies and tactics for all question types.

The fourth and last part is dedicated to the analytical writing section. This part is considerably shorter than the verbal and math sections. It will teach you how to write “the issue essay” as well as the “argument essay.”

Overall, Princeton review is an excellent choice for students, especially if they are starting. However, we will advise that you don’t solely rely on one book alone. Consider adding another book with more practice tests of varying difficulties, i.e., ETS GRE Super-pack, Manhattan 5lb prep book.

PROS

Great test strategies

Princeton review has perhaps the best strategies when it comes to solving GRE questions. The verbal section stresses the importance of learning the context behind words. Unlike other books, you are not asked to memorize words simply; instead, great emphasis is placed on passage clues.

For example, the book provides a strategy that they call POE or “process of elimination.” It explains how even if you don’t have the correct answer for a question, you can better your chances of choosing the right solution by eliminating answers that you know for sure are wrong.

Moreover, you will also learn how to look for traps in verbal passages and make sure you identify them.

Explanation of fundamental concepts

Every page of this book proves its application for beginners. It begins each part with a “geography” of each of the GRE sections, i.e., “geography of the math section,” where it outlines the test format, the different question types, and how to use different strategies, etc.

You will find definitions for all math terms that apply to GRE, i.e., Order of operation, fractions, integers, etc.

Beginner students will significantly benefit from Princeton’s fundamental approach. This book is your best bet to understand GRE from the ground up.

Four full-length practice tests

Studying alone won’t account for much if you are not practicing. In this regard, it’s nice to see that Princeton has included four full-length GRE practice tests. Two of these can be found in the book, while the remaining two can be accessed online.

CONS

Sub-par math section

If you are looking to score 165+ on the quantitative section, you may need to look elsewhere. While it is true that Princeton provides a great fundamental understanding of the math section of GRE, unfortunately, that is all it is, just basic.

The questions are nowhere as complicated as you will find on the actual GRE. They are enough to get you started, but you definitely shouldn’t rely on this book alone for your quantitative preparation.

Practice tests not authentic

The practice tests included throughout the book, whether verbal or quantitative, are way too easy to prepare you for GRE. The verbal section is better than quantitative in this regard, but they lack the depth of what you will find on ETS official practice tests. The math section is mostly sub-par when it comes to the credibility of the questions.

Strategies not as reliable as they seem

Princeton review goes above and beyond when it comes to providing tips, tactics, and problem-solving strategies. However, I couldn’t help but notice that these strategies only seem to work when applied to the in-book practice questions.

It seems as if the questions are modeled around the strategies and not the other way around. This can be extremely detrimental as it may give you a false perception of your test-taking abilities.

Bottom line

The Princeton Review GRE Prep is undoubtedly an excellent resource for those just starting their GRE journey. It provides a great fundamental understanding of GRE questions coupled with definitions of all math terms. However, the questions lack difficulty, and the strategies provided don’t work consistently on practice questions outside the book. We would advise that you learn the fundamentals from this book and then make your way to more authentic practice tests like Manhattan and ETS.

Get this book here.

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