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The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
lisaortiz1221's review against another edition
4.0
interesting, witty, funny, and just generally entertaining. this won't be the most profound book you'll ever read, but it is good fun, with a bunch of really great trivia facts thrown in. the writing is done in a simple alphabetical format, following the exploration of the britannica in chronological order, with lots of personal memoirs and journalist-like commentary of the actual feat itself.
the writing style made this an easy book to read in short segments without really breaking up the flow of the story in any way, which i appreciated. the facts, most of which i've forgotten now, were at times hilarious, depressing, or just weird. i found myself sharing the more random facts with my boyfriend (who i'm sure appreciated them just as much as jacobs' wife, which most of the times means not so much), but, the information was often just too interesting not to share.
i would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves trivia, random information and subtle humor, but i could understand that it would not be a book for everyone.
the writing style made this an easy book to read in short segments without really breaking up the flow of the story in any way, which i appreciated. the facts, most of which i've forgotten now, were at times hilarious, depressing, or just weird. i found myself sharing the more random facts with my boyfriend (who i'm sure appreciated them just as much as jacobs' wife, which most of the times means not so much), but, the information was often just too interesting not to share.
i would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves trivia, random information and subtle humor, but i could understand that it would not be a book for everyone.
nabenn67's review against another edition
3.0
Growing up we had two sets of encylopedias: the World Book and the Encyclopaedia Britannca. (My parents had 6 kids -- these things were well used for decades). I think about 4th or 5th grade I decided it would be fun to read the whole thing -- but only the World Book because it was shorter and the print was bigger. Unlike AJ's father, who made it to the B's, I think I might have read 20 articles from the A's before I lost interest, so I have to applaud someone who actually accomplished this feat.
AJ Jacobs read the entire Britannica, A-Z, and takes us on the journey with him. He sprinkles knowledge about the some topics with anecdotes from his personal life. I've read his later works and thoroughly enjoyed them and this was enjoyable enough, though not as much as the others. Maybe it was the topic - there is only so much personal information you can correlate to the strange and varied topics in the Encyclopedia. All in all a very solid 3 with various spikes to a 4-star rating.
AJ Jacobs read the entire Britannica, A-Z, and takes us on the journey with him. He sprinkles knowledge about the some topics with anecdotes from his personal life. I've read his later works and thoroughly enjoyed them and this was enjoyable enough, though not as much as the others. Maybe it was the topic - there is only so much personal information you can correlate to the strange and varied topics in the Encyclopedia. All in all a very solid 3 with various spikes to a 4-star rating.
caitlin_89's review against another edition
1.0
I feel like a one star rating is unfair to the author, but i just didn't enjoy the book and don't recommend it.
mladams's review against another edition
4.0
A fun read. It drew me in with the personal way it was written and how we spent a year with the author.
heidiimmes's review against another edition
4.0
I was going to read it anyway, but I figured now was the time - directly after the Twilight saga, another way to feel smart and relieve some of my guilt. Thoroughly enjoyable, frequently funny, and great for increasing vocabulary as well as trivial knowledge. I'd sort of like to befriend AJ Jacobs @ now.
mrsgrievous's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up at random and it was surprisingly a good read. The author is funny and you can bother your friends by reciting all the facts he learns in the book.
matthewwester's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about one man's experience of reading the entire 2002 version of the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z. It's nerdy, fun, interesting... basically, if the premise appeals to you at all then you should give it a try. The author knows how to write with humor and ease. Good read.
I'm counting this as "a book you have started but never finished" for #vtReadingChallenge
I'm counting this as "a book you have started but never finished" for #vtReadingChallenge
bookworm_anna's review against another edition
4.0
A.J. Jacobs chronicles his quest to read the Encyclopedia Britannica with humor and insight. He not only enlightens the reader with facts he's learning, but also what the Britannica can teach us about life. His observation that "there's nothing new under the sun" indicates how most things we take for granted as being novel to the 20/21st century probably has a history spanning back to the dawn of time. His determination to put his new-found knowledge to the test results in hilarious encounters and humbling self-awareness. Jacobs makes you wonder if knowing all the facts actually makes you intelligent!