When you go to bed between 8pm and 9pm (with 9pm being "really late"), to be able to get your bones outta bed at 4am in order to be at the gym before 5am during the week (you know, so that you can be back at the house early enough to spend some morning time with your husband and son before they head off to their day...What? That's not your routine?), you often find yourself up relatively early on the weekends.
Thus began my Saturday. Up before 6am meant I got to finish the book I'd been reading since December (you know, between holidays, partying, sleeping, working out, cleaning, changing diapers, making tyrannosauruses out of play dough - my standing record is nine, by the way). Finishing the book felt like a small achievement.
My impression: The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World is a good read (especially for the working parent who has serious time constraints for leisurely activities such as breathing and reading). The book can be picked up and set down on a whim. It was entertaining and enjoyable. I found myself shaking my head at the author for being such a nit-wit. Yes, you can be book smart but still not see the forest for the trees. He has an extraordinary patient wife.Book description from the author's site:
The Know-It-All is the story of one man’s quest to learn everything in the world. His method? Reading the Encyclopedia from A to Z. All 44 million words of it. From a-ak (ancient East Asian music) to Zywiec (a town in Poland known for its beer). The book that results is a combination of:
--The most fascinating and funniest facts from the encyclopedia so you’ll never be at a loss at your next cocktail party.
--A series of adventures that test the limits of knowledge (Jacobs sneaks into a Mensa convention and competes on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire).
--The story of how information overload wreaks havoc on Jacobs’ life (his wife started fining him $1 for every irrelevant fact he inserted into conversation).
--A search for profound wisdom among the ocean of facts.
Read more about the author.
The Know-It-All is the story of one man’s quest to learn everything in the world. His method? Reading the Encyclopedia from A to Z. All 44 million words of it. From a-ak (ancient East Asian music) to Zywiec (a town in Poland known for its beer). The book that results is a combination of:
--The most fascinating and funniest facts from the encyclopedia so you’ll never be at a loss at your next cocktail party.
--A series of adventures that test the limits of knowledge (Jacobs sneaks into a Mensa convention and competes on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire).
--The story of how information overload wreaks havoc on Jacobs’ life (his wife started fining him $1 for every irrelevant fact he inserted into conversation).
--A search for profound wisdom among the ocean of facts.
Read more about the author.
Want to read it? I'll pass it along.
2 comments:
I started reading that last year on our trip to the farm in June. I pick it up now and again and read a bit, but it hasn't sustained my interest and other books keep cutting in line. The parts I've read so far are entertaining and yes, the author is crazy!
I was wondering if you had finished it. :) The author is neurotic. God bless his wife.
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