Many people will tell you that GRE is the first step towards grad school. However, I’d argue that the very step is selecting the suitable GRE prep material. GRE prep comes in many shapes and forms. Some people go for online courses, while others stick to prep books.

Knowing which resource to pick can be an immense help for a beginner, which is why I have compiled a list of the 10 best GRE books and resources below.

10) Princeton Review GRE Premium Prep (6.5/10)

Princeton Review has an interesting take on GRE prep. Instead of focusing entirely on learning the concepts, Princeton Review gives you numerous techniques and strategies to help crack the questions.

The lessons in this book are excellent in their own right, and if you’d want to learn technique, this is the book for you.

Also keep in mind that if you are short on time and want to get to the gist of the test, this book will not waste your time. All lessons are to the point and focus on strategies that you can learn pretty effortlessly.

Hence, if you don’t have the time to go through a more comprehensive book, get this.

As for the practice material, you get hundreds of GRE practice problems and seven full-length practice tests, 5 of which are delivered online.

Key Features:

• 7 full-length practice tests
• Powerful tactics to avoid traps and beat the GRE
• Tips for pacing yourself and guessing logically
• Drills for each test section

Get it from here.

9) 1,027 GRE Practice Questions by Princeton Review (7/10)

This is Princeton Reviews answer to the other practice workbooks available on the market. Princeton Review’s 1027 GRE practice questions contain both verbal and quant questions. Keep in mind that this is not meant to be a guide and you wont learn any concepts from it. Instead, the primary focus of the book is to give you ample practice questions to improve your score.

In addition to the questions, you also get one full-length practice test and one diagnostic test at the beginning to help gauge your performance.

As for the quality of the questions, I’d say most questions are GRE-like. However, you might encounter the odd question every now and then that does not seem authentic.

Overall, for practice alone, this is one of the better books out there.

Key Features:

• 1 diagnostic test
• 1 full-length practice test online
• Drills broken down by topic
• Techniques and approaches for every question type

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8) 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems by Manhattan Prep (7.5/10)

As far as practice questions are concerned, it doesn’t get better than this. The 5lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems is a must-have book for those looking to ace the math section. Again, this is strictly a practice book and won’t teach you the concepts.

Having said that, this book should be a part of every GRE aspirant’s arsenal as it provides the most extensive practice in book form. You get some 1800 practice problems of varying difficulty, and the answer explanations do a good job of explaining the actual solution.

Not all questions are top quality, and every now and then, a question either seem too easy or too difficult. Striking the right balance is somewhat a challenge for any third party prep company, but overall, I would say Manhattan Prep has done a good job of replicating actual GRE questions.

Key Features:

• 1800+ Practice Questions
• Covers both Verbal and Quant
• High-quality practice problems
• Detailed answer explanations for each question

Get it from here.

7) GRE Complete by Kaplan (8/10)

If you are looking for a comprehensive multi-book prep solution, get this. Kaplan has been a dominant player in the test prep industry for a long time. Thanks to their high-quality GRE guides, Kaplan is a highly revered prep company amongst students.

This three-book set contains virtually everything you would want to know about the test. The main guide is a consolidated book containing both verbal and quant prep. For an even extensive study, there are two separate books dedicated solely to verbal and quant prep, respectively.

The math workbook contains more than 1000 high-quality practice problems with detailed answer explanations. The beautiful thing about Kaplan books is that they also gives you access to Kaplan’s excellent online learning platform. The online platform lets you form customized practice sets where you can choose the difficulty and other parameters such as question types.

The verbal workbook is also an excellent book containing hundreds of practice questions. One thing I specifically like about Kaplan is that it teaches you everything from scratch. 

Key Features:

• 2500+ high quality GRE practice questions for both quant and verbal
• Six full-length GRE practice tests
• Access to Kaplan’s online question bank
• Video expanations for select quesitons

Get it from here.

6) GRE Analytical Writing Essays by Vibrant publishers (9/10)

Book 1:

An often overlooked aspect of GRE is the AWA portion. For some reason, students take the AWA section for granted and don’t pay it the same attention as the other sections. This might be because prep companies rarely publish AWA specific books and only address it in their verbal books.

Thanks to Vibrant Publishers, you can study the AWA section in the same detail as you would any other section. This is the first book in the 2-part AWA series, and it contains 65 solved issues and argument topics.

The topics for the 65 essays in this book are taken from the pool of official Issue and Argument topics. The one thing I like the most about it is that essays are approached from different angles, such as the first-person point of view and employing historical and literary references.

This book is a treasure trove for those who are self-studying for the test. Preparing for the AWA section is often a challenge because you cannot evaluate your own writing accurately. And without access to a human expert, most students end up scoring low on the section.

With this book, you will be able to study each essay in great detail and understand what makes a good essay. You will learn the various tools and techniques necessary for forming cogent arguments and presenting your case authoritatively.

Key Features:

• 65 solved essays
• Multiple approaches for each essay
• Expert Strategies and simplified methods
• Scoring Guides for Issue and Argument tasks

Get it from here.

Book 2:

This is the second book in the AWA series by vibrant publishers. Much like the first book, this one too contains official essay topics that are solved by applying different approaches. In addition, you will find 33 Analyze an Issue Essays, and 32 Analyze an Argument Essays.

Each essay task is accompanied by plenty of statement examples for practice, followed by lessons on how to turn the statements into essays.

Key Features:

• 65 solved essays
• Topics sorted by categories
• Online access to printable Answer sheets
• Incredibly detailed step-by-step explanations

Get it from here.

5) Magoosh GRE Online Course (9/10)

If you have looked around for GRE stuff, I am certain you have already run across Magoosh. Magoosh’s GRE online course is perhaps the most popular one amongst students due to its affordability. If you are looking to get the most out of your money, get this course without a second thought.

Not only is Magoosh’s online platform incredibly well built, it also has a ton of instructional videos that cover every topic that comes up on GRE. Moreover, the course also offers thousands of high-quality practice problems with detailed answer explanations.

Furthermore, the dashboard is excellent at keeping track of your progress and shows different stats pertaining to your performance.

Overall, this is easily the best bang for buck GRE course out there. They have excellent customer service and are so confident in their product that they offer a money-back guarantee. If you fail to improve at least 5 points on your GRE test, you get a refund.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive coverage of GRE at affordable price
• Over 1400 practice questions
• Up to 3 practice tests
• +5 total score guarantee

Get it from here.

4) The Official Guide to the GRE General Test (9.5/10)

The one thing that everyone stands by in test prep circles is that no one does a prep book better than the people who made the test. In this case, ETS is the body that makes and administers the GRE, and they also publish prep books for the test.

The official guide to the GRE is a one-stop-shop for your GRE prep. This single book contains a well-rounded course detailing both the verbal and quant sections. For a beginner, the contents of the book will be more than enough for a general understanding of the concepts.

Moreover, the greatest strength of any official guide is the authentic practice problems. Unlike third party guides, this book contains real GRE questions taken out of actual tests. Hence, as far as practice is concerned, you get the real deal.

Key Features:

• Authentic GRE practice questions
• Decent coverage of verbal and quant in one book
• Four real GRE practice tests
• Succinct and easy-to-grasp language

Get it from here.

3) Official GRE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Questions (9.5/10)

Much like the previous book, this too is an official book. However, the focus here is primarily on the quant section. This official GRE math book contains lessons and explanations for all the different math topics tested on GRE. Not only that, but you also get access to 150 real GRE practice questions with detailed answer explanations.

If you want to take your GRE prep a step ahead, I strongly advise getting this book especially if you already studied the official guide mentioned above.

Key Features:

• 150 Real GRE Quantitative Reasoning questions
• Detailed step-by-step answer explanations
• ETS’s own test-taking strategies
• Valuable information on the quantitative section

Get it from here.

2) Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions (9.5/10)

This is the sister book to the one mentioned above as it contains exclusive coverage of the verbal section. Since this too is an official guide, you get access to 150 real GRE questions along with superb answer explanations.

Moreover, the book contains complete coverage of all verbal topics and question types. The verbal section of the GRE can be especially tricky due to ETS’ crafty use of the English language. And the key to cracking the verbal section is to understand the various tricks and traps GRE uses to make you choose an incorrect answer.

Fortunately, this book will teach you what to look out for in reading passages and how to avoid traps by carefully analyzing passages.

Key Features:

• 150 Real GRE Verbal Reasoning test questions
• Answers and explanations for every question
• Valuable test-taking strategies from the makers themselves
• overview of the GRE Analytical Writing measure

Get it from here.

1) GRE Math & Verbal Strategies Set by Manhattan Prep (10/10)

For a good overall GRE prep solution, you cannot go wrong with these two books. The Manhattan Prep Math and Verbal Strategies books are a condensed and updated version of the highly acclaimed 8-book strategy guide.

These books are a comprehensive guide to the GRE and cover every aspect of the test. The math book has a comprehensive subject review along with examples to help you grasp the concepts effectively. You will also find numerous time-saving strategies for specific question types, not to mention the 700+ practice questions included in the book.

On the other hand, the verbal book is also a complete and extensive study of the verbal section. You will learn how to tackle the different question types by carefully analyzing the passages. Similar to the math book, the verbal guide also includes tons of strategies and techniques to help you crack those difficult questions. As for the practice problems, this book contains roughly 700 high-quality practice questions.

Key Features:

• Clear and easy-to-understand lessons
• Total of 1500 practice questions
• Effective and tested strategies
• Extensive coverage of all topics

Get it from here.