Reviews

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe

alexmariesc's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

4.5

tuckeralmengor's review against another edition

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3.0


Many thanks to Brooke at Penguin Random House for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

So… How To. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. I painfully choose to give this 3.5 stars. I am honestly as shocked as the rest of you. There were quite a few things I loved and quite a few things I didn’t. I’d like to get the negative out of the way so here we go.

For starters, this book is not What If. I know you’re probably thinking Yeah, no sh*t I (foolishly) expected this to be like What If. The title should have given it away. How To tells the reader how to perform normal tasks in not at all normal ways. What If asks and answers absurd questions like Can you make a jetpack out of machine guns? This book, on it’s own, was decent but compared to What If, it all falls apart.

How To didn’t have nearly as much… absurdity as What If. It also excluded the community aspect. While What If answered questions submitted from the internet, How To did not, eliminating the personal and outrageous feel.

Also, this book wasn’t as fun because as I said, it was much too down to earth. We want weirdness! We want craziness! WE WANT RAVIOLI! See, that sentence is weird and fun. (Or maybe it isn’t and I’m just being weird.) How To was still decently silly but not as much as What If.

That said, this book still had the classic humor and dry wit of Randall Munroe. The doodles and drawings were creative, hilarious and fun. Also, I love Will Wheaton, the narrator of the audio. He’s one of my favorite narrators!

Overall, this book was objectively a good book but compared to the masterpiece that is What If it fell flat, even with the funnish parts.

Bottom Line:
3 Stars
Age Rating: [ PG ]
Content Screening
Cover: 5/5 ~ Characters ~ Plot ~ Audio: 4/5
Publication Date: September 4th, 2019
Publisher: Riverhead
Genre: Science/Humor
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and now back down to three.
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I originally rated this four stars but I'm moving it up to five because... Just because
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Re-reading this one more time. Just because
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Good but not as good as What If... RTC
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AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I HAVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!!!!
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PSYCH! I am gonna hold out to see if I can get a physical copy. If I don't, I'll read my digital one.
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I HAVE A DIGITAL GALLEY AND I AM F**KING QUAKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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A subtitle and a cover!!! *HYPERVENTILATES*
Another What if book?!?


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epimetheus_b's review

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5.0

Quirky, bizarre, delightful, informative. Exactly what you’d expect from Randall Munroe.

devinlocke's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

perfi's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

4.25

samhilton's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

3.0

human0101's review against another edition

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Booring

saarrr's review against another edition

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funny informative fast-paced

4.25

Leuk én leerzaam! Ik vond het andere deel ('What if') wel beter dan deze, maar alsnog een erg leuk boek. Gelukkig ook prima te begrijpen is als je, net als ik, geen ster bent in natuurkunde en scheikunde. Het hoofdstuk over hoe je ergens snel kunt komen (wat uiteindelijk over ruimtereizen en de relativiteitstheorie ging) was favoriet. Het is overigens geen boek dat je in een avondje achter elkaar leest, maar juist tussendoor af en toe oppakt om wat hoofdstukken te lezen voordat je weer in een ander boek begint. 

exlibris_aj's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.5

astridagirl's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.5