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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “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.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Just okay. It was a little tedious and the author is not a clever/witty as he is clearly trying to be.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Just okay. It was a little tedious and the author is not a clever/witty as he is clearly trying to be. ”
Amy L wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Can get a little slow, but you learn a lot and it's hilarious.”
Vicki M wrote this review 12 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Entertaining snippits ”
technolibrary wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Good, enjoyable, very witty writing. I felt his tedium with trying to get through the whole Encyclopedia series a little more than halfway through the book, and it made me tired! I really liked this book; it's not a gripping pageturner and it's not supposed to be. Just good writing and an interesting story about attaining knowledge!”
Bookie wrote this review Friday, December 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Fun. I wish I could remember half the encyclopedia entries he used!”
kirsten a wrote this review Tuesday, December 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A.J. Jacobs charts his journey through the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. This is a hilarious book that explores the nature of intelligence.”
Aaron Munro wrote this review Sunday, November 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Cute. Not as good as I thought it was going to be, but I still liked it. Got to admire the fact that the guy actually read the ENTIRE encyclopaedia britianica. Now, to look up the Ebbinghaus curve....”
Casey G wrote this review Sunday, November 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Very cool book! This guy has a pretty witty way of telling is odd little story, and you actually learn somethings along the way. The only thing that sucks is that it makes you want to learn more about the little snippets he writes about and I have to force myself not to put down the book and get knee deep into googling. ”
Taylbee wrote this review Sunday, November 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The Know-It-All is a surprisingly heartwarming tale of an Esquire magazine editor leaving behind the world of low-brow pop cultural trivia and embracing the realm of the high-brow. A.J. Jacobs has a gift for entwining abstract intellectual knowledge into the fabric of his own personal life, and here he does not disappoint. Throughout his account of his epic quest to conquer Britannica page-by-page, volume-by-volume, Jacobs recounts his own struggle to understand what exactly it means to be "smart." From MENSA meetings to a disappointing finish on "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?", this memoir/compilation hybrid adeptly mixes the heart and the head. The icing of Jacobs' personal touch is how he ties his quest for knowledge with his relationship with his wife, Julie, whom he obviously adores, and their struggle to conceive. The happy ending is that he succeeds in both: he plows through the encyclopedia, A-Z, and Julie is finally with child. We meet young Jasper in his next volume, "The Year of Living Biblically".
Scott Daniel wrote this review Monday, November 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This is a real treat, and a new personal favorite.”
