A review by rpych2
How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler by Ryan North

3.0

When reading this, I couldn’t help but think of What If? by Randall Munroe, because it’s a similar kind of book except it’s written in a very different way and it’s way more practical. Instead of answering hypothetical questions, it was a guidebook for someone who wants to restart society when stuck in the past. It was full of quips and one-liners that made me laugh out loud. My favorite running gag was that any quote mentioned in the book was credited to “you” (originally ‘the name of the person who actually said it’) because technically if you go back in time and say a quote that you heard but it hasn’t been said yet, you originally said it (it’s a paradox!). Admittedly, it was probably closer to 3.5 stars because I did enjoy it, but it could be really dry in parts. If there’s some apocalyptic event, I know one of the books I’ll be grabbing when I leave the house.