Best books for GRE Verbal

To be the best, take the best books for GRE Verbal that will transform your skills from normal to superlative. As a serious candidate, you must need the best resource materials to crack the GRE exam in the first attempt. The best GRE books will be guiding in your preparation as they will be explaining the expert-proven tips, strategies and exercises. Without good study materials you may find the GRE verbal reasoning section challenging. 

After thorough research, we have brought you the 16 best books for GRE verbal, having information such as price, authors, publishers, etc. Students after following the experts’ review, toppers’ tips from these books, have scored high in their first attempt. To keep yourself fully-equipped with all the useful resources, you can go through this blog till the end.

Table of Contents

1. Best books for GRE Verbal
2. How do I study for GRE Verbal Reasoning?
3. What are the best books for the GRE Verbal test in 2023?
4. Barron’s GRE Verbal Workbook
5. Verbal Workout for the GRE: 6th Edition
6. Kaplan’s GRE Verbal Workbook
7. 1,027 GRE Practice Questions
8. Manhattan Prep: 5lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems
9. Manhattan Prep GRE Verbal Strategies
10. The Vocabulary Builder Workbook
11. Official GRE Verbal Reasoning: Practice Questions
12. The Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test
13. GRE Verbal Grail
14. McGraw-Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Verbal and Writing
15. Cracking the GRE
16. Kaplan’s GRE Premier/New GRE: Strategies, Practice and Review
17. The Princeton Review GRE Premium Prep 2022
18. Manhattan Word Problems GRE Strategy Guide
19. Word Power Made Easy
20. How to choose the best books for GRE verbal reasoning?
21. Summary
    

How do I study for GRE Verbal Reasoning? 

Are you confused about how to study for GRE verbal reasoning? If you have a clear plan, deadline, and strategy, you can study and perform well in the exam. In order to start planning, fixing deadlines and strategies, follow the instructions given below. 

• Take the GRE verbal reasoning syllabus and find out what topics are given and how long it takes to complete.
• Go with the best books for GRE verbal reasoning that will develop your skills.
• Fix a deadline for each chapter and start preparing. Make sure you complete the syllabus well ahead of time.
• While practising, look for the weak points and give more time to master them.
• Once you are familiar with the topics, practice with the sample question papers available both online and offline.
• To verify all the answers, keep sufficient time in the end. 
• Learn, Practice, Repeat - that is your mantra when it is one month before the exam.
• Track your progress and achieve your targeted GRE score in verbal reasoning.

What are the best books for the GRE Verbal test in 2023?

The best books for the GRE Verbal test in 2023 are as follows.

S No.	GRE Verbal Book name	Authors of the GRE Verbal	Publishers	Year of Publishing	Edition	Cost/Price	No. of Pages	ISBD No./ISBN	Where to buy
1	Barron’s GRE Verbal Workbook	Philip Geer	New Age International Private Limited	2014	NA	Rs. 275/-	342	8122435769	Amazon
2	Verbal Workout for the GRE: 6th Edition	James L. Flowers	Princeton Review	2017	6th	Rs. 326/-	412	978-0451487858	Amazon
3	Kaplan’s GRE Verbal Workbook	Kaplan Test Prep	Kaplan Publishing	2015	9th	Rs. 1,,940/-	444	978-1625232984	Amazon
4	1,027 GRE Practice Questions	Princeton Review	Princeton Review	2018	5th	Rs, 1,141/-	672	978-0525567592	Amazon
5	Manhattan 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems	Manhattan Prep	Manhattan Prep Publishing	2015	2nd	Rs. 5,424/-	1032	978-1941234518	Amazon Flipkart
6	Manhattan Prep GRE Verbal Strategies	Manhattan Prep	Manhattan Prep Publishing	2018	NA	Rs. 2,174/-	976	B07CL94PMG	Amazon Kindle
7	The Vocabulary Builder Workbook	Chris Lele	Zephyros Pr	2018	NA	Rs. 821/-	234	978-1939754813	Amazon Kindle
8	Official GRE Verbal Reasoning: Practice Questions	Educational Testing Service (ETS)	McGraw Hill Education	2014	NA	Rs. 535/-	256	978-9339217969	Amazon
9	The Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test	Educational Testing Service (ETS)	McGraw Hill Education	2017	3rd	Rs. 1,095/-	608	978-9352607372	Amazon
10	GRE Verbal Grail	Aristotle Prep	Aristotle Prep	2013	NA	Rs. 1,499/-	354	978-9350872888	Amazon
11	McGraw-Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Verbal and Writing	Kathy Zahler	McGraw Hill Education	2011	NA	Rs. 3,226/-	240	978-0071331838	Amazon
12	Cracking the GRE	The Princeton Review	Princeton Review	2019	Premium	Rs. 999/-	592	978-0525568049	Amazon
13	Kaplan’s GRE Premier/New GRE: Strategies, Practice and Review	Kaplan	Kaplan Publishing	2014	2015th	Rs. 490/-	600	978-1618656339	Amazon
14	The Princeton Review GRE Premium Prep 2022	The Princeton Review	Princeton Review	2021	NA	Rs. 1,092/-	768	978-0525570479	Amazon Kindle
15	Manhattan Word Problems GRE Strategy Guide	Manhattan Prep	Manhattan Prep Publishing	2014	4th	Rs. 1,500/-	216	978-1937707903	Amazon Kindle
16	Word Power Made Easy	Norman Lewis	Goyal	2011	NA	Rs. 147/-	686	978-8183071000	Amazon

Barron’s GRE Verbal Workbook 

Barron’s GRE Verbal Workbook with new questions, explanations, and strategies, is all set to prepare you for the GRE verbal reasoning exam. Compared to the other books, the verbal section in this book includes effective verbal strategies and concepts. Since the verbal section requires good vocabulary, this book serves its purpose. The author is Philip Geer, and the book is published by the New Age International Private Limited.

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam?

Many toppers suggest that Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook is the best book for the GRE Verbal Exam preparation, mainly for its practice questions. The questions given here for the practice are very similar to the actual GRE test pattern. This helps the students in understanding the question type easier. 
 
Pros:

• It has practice question papers.
• The tips given in the book are from the GRE experts.
• The book is cheaper than the other books.

Cons:

• The reading comprehension part is not helping for the GRE actual test.
• The reading passages are extremely long, and hard to follow.
• The answers are not logically explained.

Verbal Workout for the GRE: 6th Edition

‘Verbal Work for the GRE: 6th Edition’ by Mr James L. Flowers is a verbal guide for students in GRE verbal reasoning preparation. Since the verbal section requires skimming, scanning, and identifying information, this book guides you how to do it. The author provides various vocabulary with quizzes to enhance your verbal skills. This book is published by Princeton Review, where the material is beyond the standards. 

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

The Verbal Workout for the GRE: 6th Edition is suggested by both students and tutors as a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam. It saves your valuable time in practising sample questions and understanding each question type easily.

Pros:

• Students know the vocabulary and use it while practising.
• Students can compare various techniques available.
• The book is also available on Kindle.

Cons:

• The Kindle version is not accessible sometimes.
• The PDF version available on Kindle is not user friendly.
• Students feel that guidelines given are confusing.

Kaplan’s GRE Verbal Workbook

The Kaplan GRE Verbal Workbook, prepared by the Kaplan Prep Team is one of the preferred books for students who aim to be an expert in verbal reasoning. With 200+ practice questions, 175+ vocabularies, grammar, etc., this book will teach you in answering all questions. This book has added powerful strategies, need to be followed before the exam. It is also provided with experts’ guidance that explains each question type elaborately.   

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

If you are looking for a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, you must buy Kaplan's GRE Verbal Workbook. With key strategies, online resources like practice questions and lessons, this book is well-established in the market. 

Pros:

• Some tips and exercises seem to be effective for beginners.
• Has the best vocabularies and explanations.
• A strategy sheet is newly-added for verbal and writing topics.

Cons:

1. Too much information makes the reading part dull and boring.
2. Certain explanations given are based on intuition only. 
3. Some questions in the essay are hard to understand. 

1,027 GRE Practice Questions

‘1,027 GRE Practice Questions’ book is comprehensively made for practising GRE sample questions. Many experts prefer this book for its verbal drill exercises, which covers text completion, and sentence equivalence questions. This book ultimately aims for students to get targeted scores in all questions. The Princeton Review from the US published this book. Besides GRE verbal reasoning, students also use this book for the math section. 

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam?

'1,027 GRE Practice Questions’ is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, mainly for its  diagnostic test to know your status, full practice test online, and 70+ additional verbal exercises.

Pros:

• Students improved rapidly in their GRE verbal exam scores.
• It enables amateurs to prepare for the actual exam.
• All questions are similar to the questions from the real GRE tests.

Cons:

1. There are many printing errors in the book.
2. Some pages are coming out, not in good condition.
3. No effective tips and strategies are shared.

Manhattan Prep: 5lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems

‘Manhattan Prep: 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems' is one of the best-selling books, offering high standard questions and verbal techniques. With more than 1,500 practice questions and essential vocabularies, it makes your preparation effective. With this book, you can understand some of the tough vocabulary and use it appropriately. This book will also help in building a strong foundation in reading essays and interpreting the information.

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

‘Manhattan Prep: 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems' book is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, providing nearly 1,800 questions. It has 33 chapters along with an expert's review on each topic.

Pros:

• The book offers the best online resources for GRE verbal.
• The questions are easy-to-follow and understand.
• Experienced tutors have added their valuable inputs like nuances to crack the questions.

Cons:

• No emphasis given to all question types.
• The book does not provide a CD-ROM.
• The Kindle version of this book is not user-friendly.

Also Read: Best books for GRE Quantitative Reasoning.

Manhattan Prep GRE Verbal Strategies 

Manhattan Prep GRE Verbal Strategies, published by Manhattan Prep, is a comprehensive guide, having practical techniques to tackle the verbal reasoning section. For reading comprehension questions, you will learn useful tips from the book to understand hard and unfamiliar content. With recent updates, the book features in-depth lessons for each question type. Overall, it’s best if you’re aiming for a GRE top score. 

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam?

Manhattan Prep GRE Verbal Strategies is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, acting as a guide for its valuable content and strategies. It is mostly preferred for learning, understanding and using the verbal section practice questions. 

Pros:

• Each question is provided with a thorough explanation.
• Questions and strategies are based on each topic, making it convenient for students.
• The practice questions are useful and test your reading skills.

Cons:

1. The Kindle version is costlier.
2. The instructions are ambiguous in nature.
3. The book printing is not in good condition.

The Vocabulary Builder Workbook 

The Vocabulary Builder Workbook by Mr Chris Lele is a one-stop book to meet your vocabulary needs. The book helps you to become a better reader and a writer. The author has introduced many new vocabulary to develop your overall English. Through many fun exercises, it gives a useful learning experience, mainly to prepare you for the GRE. Students also refer to this book for math questions and answers.   

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

The Vocabulary Builder Workbook is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, with lots of exercises that expands your vocabulary and tests your reading skills with a different set of questions and tricks. 

Pros:

• The book quality is excellent with a matte-finish.
• The content is helpful and allows students to navigate without any confusion.
• Students attain confidence after answering all the questions given.

Cons:

• Some students feel that this book does not help in vocabulary building.
• Factual errors are found while practising.
• The book is confusing with its exercises.

Official GRE Verbal Reasoning: Practice Questions 

The McGraw Hill Education has published a book exclusively for GRE verbal reasoning, that is Official GRE Verbal Reasoning: Practice Questions. To ace in the reading comprehension, text completion and sentence equivalence, this book is the right choice. It provides key features like reviews of test topics, practice questions, and importantly, toppers’ strategies to score better in the GRE test.

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

For sample questions and experts’ opinion, the ‘Official GRE Verbal Reasoning: Practice Questions’ will be a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam. After using this book, many have increased their GRE verbal scores. 

Pros:

• The book gives the essence of the test which other books failed to do.
• Questions given here are easy to relate to the actual GRE test questions.
• The book is easily available in the market and online.

Cons:

1. The book is expensive.
2. Too much information given, easily gets bored.
3. Some students do not get access to the online version.

The Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test 

The Official Guide to the GRE General Test is one of the sought-after training materials for GRE aspirants. It encompasses key details about the sample questions and their explanations. Since the Educational Testing Service (ETS) team has authored, this book provides only authentic information like questions, answers, reviews, and many more. This book has two GRE tests, and two more are available on the revised PowerPrep site.

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

All institutions suggest that The Official Guide to the GRE General Test is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, mainly for its authenticity and giving a general overview of the revised GRE pattern. 

Pros: 

• All the questions and answers are detailedly explained.
• Students find the reading comprehension and other exercises useful.
• There are two practice tests in the book and two in the PowerPrep mode. 

Cons:

• No CD-ROM is provided with the book.
• Students complain that pages are missing in-between.
• The online resources are not accessible sometimes.

GRE Verbal Grail 

GRE Verbal Grail, published by Aristotle Prep, will provide topics and questions to measure your ability to read, write and evaluate information from the text. Through a complete study of GRE verbal, five different parts are newly-added in the book to keep you competitive. To build a solid foundation in verbal reasoning, you must take this book without any doubt. 

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

GRE Verbal Grail is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, because of its practice questions set for each question type. It also provides a memory aid like mnemonic, root, word group, etc.

Pros:

• The book helps you master in a step-by-step approach. 
• The book breaks down each question type into different sets and gives explanations.
• There is a review section separately for difficult levels of questions.

Cons:

1. Explanations given for some questions are not helping.
2. The book material is not good.
3. Basic spelling mistakes are found.

McGraw-Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Verbal and Writing 

The McGraw-Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Verbal and Writing book introduces you to an intense learning process. By offering a complete review of GRE vocabulary, you can strengthen your overall verbal skills & knowledge. The book also covers topics such as action plans, sentence structure skills, GRE vocabulary, etc., that are not available elsewhere. The author - Kathy Zahler’s techniques will certainly clear your doubts about reading comprehension and text completion. 

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

McGraw-Hill’s Conquering the New GRE Verbal and Writing is considered a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, especially for its topics, questions, and effective answering methods. 

Pros:

• The sample GRE verbal questions are useful for beginners.
• The book provides topics like GRE Analogies, GRE Sentence Completion, etc., to each question type. 
• The explanatory notes are easy to grasp and understand the concepts.

Cons:

1. Students feel that the book is not up to the GRE standards. 
2. Some explanations make students confused.
3. The topics given are difficult to follow for the beginners.

Cracking the GRE 

Cracking the GRE book, published by the Princeton Review, offers the best nuances to answer difficult-level questions and helps you understand the essence of GRE verbal reasoning. This book is featured with a premium edition, where you can use extra practice questions, reviews, and the premium online portal. The book is user-friendly and easy to navigate from one chapter to the next. 

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

‘Cracking the GRE’ is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam because of its premium edition. Many students use it for practising extra questions from the online portal.  

Pros:

• Sample questions given are effective and make students competitive.
• The tips and tricks are welcomed by beginners as it improves their verbal skills.
• The online portal contains important question types.

Cons:

1. Some students could not access the online portal. 
2. The strategies shared are not practically used.
3. Reading the book is difficult as some fonts are big.

Kaplan’s GRE Premier/New GRE: Strategies, Practice and Review 

Kaplan’s GRE Premier/New GRE: Strategies, Practice and Review is a prep system given holistically, including the best book and online features. With this, you can access in-depth analysis, key information, and practice questions to help score more. You will also find diagnostic tools at the end of all chapters. Other than verbal reasoning, this book covers quants and analytical writing too. 

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

Kaplan’s GRE Premier/New GRE: Strategies, Practice and Review is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, as it offers free academic support from experienced tutors on Facebook along with traditional aspects like questions, answers, explanations, etc.

Pros:

• The practice questions are of great help before the exam.
• The hints and strategies are effective and exam-oriented.
• This book contains an updated version with a new set of questions and answers. 

Cons:

1. The book is poorly written and has errors.
2. Sample questions are not well arranged, making students get confused.
3. Students report that the book is not sold in a good condition.

The Princeton Review GRE Premium Prep 2022 

The Princeton Review GRE Premium Prep 2022 will be one of the important training books offering powerful strategies for GRE aspirants. It contains details about the important question types, sample questions, and experts’ review. After thorough research of the GRE syllabus, topics are updated with new information. This book gives access to premium online content that has additional resource materials. 

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

The Princeton Review GRE Premium Prep 2022 is a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam compared to other books, especially for reflecting on the exact GRE test questions and answers.

Pros: 

• 7 fully loaded practice tests (2 in the book & 5 online).
• Drill exercises for each question type are given.
• Detailed score reports are given for online test-takers.

Cons:

1. The Kindle version is not user friendly, and students follow the topics very hard.
2. Explanations given are not logical but based on assumptions.

Manhattan Word Problems GRE Strategy Guide 

Manhattan Word Problems GRE Strategy Guide includes significant features like GRE word problems, frameworks, and successful tips. This book contains a "Check Your Skills" that brings quizzes and other exercises to check your progress at the end of every chapter. Moreover, drills are added to speed up your reading abilities. Since the book is published by Manhattan Prep, the quality is at its best.

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

If you’re looking for a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, the Manhattan Word Problems GRE Strategy Guide is the best. It gives you an ample amount of exercises to master verbal skills to another level. 

Pros:

• The book provides 6 full-length practice tests.
• The online mock tests are of GRE standards.
• The study material is comprehensive and test-oriented.

Cons:

1. The book is expensive.
2. This book is very similar to the older version.

Word Power Made Easy 

Word Power Made Easy, authored by Mr Norman Lewis, is an excellent book for you if you want to freshen up your verbal skills like reading, writing and comprehension. It helps you to improve your vocabulary with interesting exercises and answers. Each topic comes with an introduction, meaning, followed by sample questions, which makes any learner understand concepts quickly.

Why is this a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam? 

Word Power Made Easy is always a good book for the GRE Verbal Exam, because it teaches you each concept interestingly and builds a solid base on all question types.

Pros:

• The book is cheaper.
• Explanations given are far better than a dictionary.
• The book is designed to refresh your reading, writing and other essential skills.

Cons:

1. The book is not advanced enough to appear in the GRE.
2. The book quality is poor, easily damaged.
3. The reading exercises are lengthy and hard to understand.

Also Read: Best books for GRE Analytical Writing.

How to choose the best books for GRE verbal reasoning? 

Choosing the best books for GRE verbal reasoning always rely on experts’ opinion and customers’ feedback. These things will determine a book’s value in the market. Beyond that, if you think that a particular book will help you improve your vocabulary and reading skills, then buy it without further delay.  

To choose the right book, check the following things:

1. Author
2. Topics covered
3. The publisher to ensure the best quality
4. Book’s reviews from newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc.
5. Availability (online or offline)
6. Cost/price

Summary 

Verbal reasoning is one of the tests in GRE, where you will face difficulty in text completion and sentence equivalence. To target them using the right tactics, follow the best-selling books. Like GRE toppers, always go for the best books instead of searching in quora or other materials, and then see the results.

FAQs

1. Which book should I read for GRE Verbal Reasoning?

For GRE Verbal Reasoning, you must read at least one best-selling book from either GRE, Manhattan, Kaplan, or Barron. Then, read English journals and newspapers to sharpen your skills. 

2. Is the GRE official book enough for the GRE Verbal Reasoning section?

No. The GRE official book alone is not enough for the GRE Verbal Reasoning section. You must read additional resources like The Economist, Harvard Business Review and other English journals.

3. What is the best way to prepare for GRE Verbal Reasoning?

The best way to prepare for GRE verbal reasoning is to master your grammar and vocabulary first. After that, practice all question types and try to score at least 155+ in your practice tests.

4. Which book is best for GRE Verbal Reasoning?

The best book for GRE verbal reasoning is the ETS Official Guide for Verbal Reasoning as it contains authentic information, test-like questions and explanations. Please remember, reading one book cannot meet all the requirements. 

5. Which book is more preferable for GRE Verbal Reasoning 2023?

The ETS Official Guide, Kaplan GRE Prep Plus and The Princeton Review GRE Prep are the more preferable books for GRE Verbal Reasoning 2023.

6. How can I score 320+ in GRE (by joining our coaching)?

Kanan International gives individual attention and coaching to each student, thus assuring you a 320+ score in the GRE General Test. With their experienced tutors and updated materials, they easily made students reach the highest score on GRE. They are flexible in terms of courses, timings, and fees.

7. How long does it take to score 320 in GRE?

Typically, it takes around 50 to 100 days to achieve a score of 320 on the GRE.