BBC's Pointless Books in Order

The Pointless books bring the quiz show's questions, jokes and conversational style onto the page. Written by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, they mix opportunities to test your knowledge with observations about everyday life. The pair's exchanges give the collections a familiar voice for viewers, while the quizzes offer something to do with friends or family. Each volume takes a different route through that combination of facts and humour.

The setting is a shared quiz rather than a fictional world, and the reader gets to join in.

In The 100 Most Pointless Things in the World, Armstrong and Osman turn their attention to things they consider unnecessary or absurd. Play-along questions sit alongside their comic commentary. The 100 Most Pointless Arguments in the World moves towards the kinds of debates people can keep having without getting anywhere. Its mix of short comic pieces, quizzes, facts and cryptic puzzles gives readers several ways to take part. These two books place the hosts' musings at the centre, with trivia woven into the discussion.

The Very Pointless Quiz Book puts playing the game more firmly in the foreground. Armstrong and Osman guide readers through rounds that can be shared with other people, so it suits a gathering where everyone wants to try answering. The A-Z of Pointless uses the alphabet to organise 26 rounds. Its subjects range across people, places and history, with hundreds of questions and a large supply of answers. Alongside the rounds, the authors include an alphabetical look behind the scenes of the television programme, and Moose Allain contributes drawings.

A Pointless History of the World takes the same interest in unusual knowledge into the past. It draws on both familiar and less obvious events, combining historical trivia with questions and the authors' comic writing. The historical theme gives this volume a particular focus, while its mixture of material connects it to the earlier collections. Across the books, facts aren't presented as a formal course to work through. They become prompts for guesses, conversation and the occasional disagreement over an answer.

You can start with the volume whose format sounds most appealing.

The publication order begins with The 100 Most Pointless Things in the World and ends with A Pointless History of the World. There isn't a continuing plot to follow, so readers can choose a quiz-heavy book or one built around comic observations. The common thread is Armstrong and Osman's partnership: a relaxed tone, curiosity about odd details, and questions intended to be enjoyed together.