Member Reviews

• 

  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 5 stars

  “Love useless trivia? Me, too! I was so sad to see the end of this book--definitely the Cliff Claven of literature. I would actually laugh outloud...alone. It was also fun to see this author on Oprah.”

  Roo wrote this review Tuesday, October 30 2007. ( reply | permalink )
• 

  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 5 stars

  “I absolutely adore this book. It's one of the most entertaining books I've read. A.J. Jacobs sets out to read the Encyclopedia Britannica in its entirety and then synthesizes the facts and factoids into one neat work that is funny in all turns. It's an invigorating read despite the fact that we're talking about the gamut of the universe from A to Z here. The storytelling is unique and fluid, so it's really best read from cover to cover, despite the fact that it's chapters are alphabetically arranged. Otherwise, you'll lose the essence of the novel. Because it is a "novel" and not just a trivia listing. And beneath all the trivia, A.J. Jacobs has a wonderful story to tell. When I finally put this book down, I knew that A.J. Jacobs has earned another fan. He has a new book, "The Year of Living Biblically," another real life adventure, and for sure, I'm on queue to grab it from the racks. In a word, "The Know-It-All" is something I'd call an oh-my-god-it's-just-amazing!”

  Dred wrote this review Monday, October 29 2007. ( reply | permalink )
• 

  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 5 stars

  “I could not put this book down! The text was really witty and filled with fun trivia. ”

  chinkee c wrote this review Thursday, October 25 2007. ( reply | permalink )
• 
  • Rated 5 stars

  “This book reminded me a lot of Justin, so I gave it to him. The author documents how he reads the whole of Encyclopedia Brittanica, and most of the book consists of him relaying nuggets of information he learned, so it's like a quick, bizarro version of the EB.”

  Collin T wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
• 
  • Rated 0 stars

  “So, this isn't actually a review. It's a "thank you" to the mystery person who saw this title on my wish list and delivered it to my school mailbox! Wow, do I feel blessed!”

  Cyra S wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
• 
  • Rated 3 stars

  “I had so much fun reading Jacobs book. I'm a fact hog and a "people on a mission" hog, so this book totally fit the bill for me.”

  kidcurry1 wrote this review Wednesday, September 10 2008. ( reply | permalink )
• 
  • Rated 4 stars

  “A fun and funny book- especially for a guy who aspires to one day be a know it all as well. While the book covers the author's quest to read the entire Encyclopedia Britanncia, it also is an examination of what it is that makes someone "smart." I enjoyed this book and learned a few new facts.”

  Morgan wrote this review Thursday, September 4 2008. ( reply | permalink )
• 
  • Rated 3 stars

  “Written under alphabetical subject headings (like an encycolpedia). It's really easy to tell that the author is a journalist and not a novelist (but that's not a detriment). It was pretty funny, and it doesn't necessarily have to be read chronologically to get the gist. It's a good book to read if you don't want to think too much.”

  Monica J wrote this review Saturday, August 30 2008. ( reply | permalink )
• 
  • Rated 4 stars

  “Cute book about one man's desire to actually complete something. Amusing.”

  Fallon wrote this review Saturday, July 26 2008. ( reply | permalink )
• 
  • Rated 5 stars

  “A unique book. A 1 yr autobiography while he read the EB. Funny and insightful.
  ”

  Paul O wrote this review Friday, July 11 2008. ( reply | permalink )