carrotex's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
3.25
Had some interesting facts, and some stupid ones but all in all its a pretty good book.
woolfardis's review against another edition
4.0
shirezu's review against another edition
4.0
Very similar to the first book. The idea wears thin after a while but was still interesting enough to get me through. I think I'll wait a while before I read the animal edition.
imakandiway's review against another edition
4.0
Uma amiga minha costuma dizer, ao falhar do primeiro volume que ele "destrói mundos", pois o segundo continua o trabalho de devastar tudo aquilo que pensamos conhecer.
babyleo's review against another edition
5.0
I love these books. I love how it can twist everything you know and tell you everything you have been taught is wrong to some degree. Who knew that Octopuses actually have two legs and Celtic priests wore horned helmets, not the Vikings. I mean really. This is a brilliant book for people who love facts, and love learning weird things that actually come in handy if you like to counteract what people think they know about everything. There are a bunch more in the QI book series and I implore you all to go find them all and absorb all their knowledgey goodness. Now! Go! Do it!
readingrobyn's review against another edition
2.0
Anyone who is a fan of the British television show, QI (a mock game show, known for it's humor and intelligence) knows how hard it is to see one of the books associated with the program and simply pass it by. When I saw this I knew that I couldn't just leave it on the shelf, knowingly walking away from something that is connected to a group of people that I hold so dear in my squishy, nerdy heart.
Also, it has a bright yellow cover and you should know that yellow covers are a weak spot for me.
The first thing I faced when I actually started to read the book was that I didn't quite know how to approach it. It is a collection of cold-hard fact-based myth-busting, formatted into short two page segments. It covers a lot of information and that in itself is impressive, but it also makes it rather intimidating to read. I can't just open it up and expect to read though cover to cover. That fact became incredibly clear in the first few pages.
As much as I love information, putting so many words and numbers inside my head all at once did not sit well for my brain, which is already at over-capacity. And that's what it felt like. While I was reading, although engaged, I kept feeling like my brain was flashing the "No Vacancy" sign.
Although non-fiction can sometimes be draining, I know from past experience that it normally gives you the most back for committing to see it through. The more I read however, the more I realized that maybe I just wasn't in the right head-space to be consuming this sort of book. It felt like I couldn't do the book justice, couldn't muster up the excitement that normally comes so easily.
So, right now this book just isn't for me. The information it presented is solid, but without a proper a strategy to tackle it, I've rather unenthusiastically skimmed. I think I'll stick to getting my facts through the lighter delivery of the TV show and leave the General Ignorance books to the more hardcore non-fiction readers.
So, If you're a person that doesn't have all the answers but would like to, have a habit of starting really intellectual bets with your friends, like to correct others, don't like google search results, or just want to learn a few interesting factoids, this is probably the book for you! Just not the book for me.
Also, it has a bright yellow cover and you should know that yellow covers are a weak spot for me.
The first thing I faced when I actually started to read the book was that I didn't quite know how to approach it. It is a collection of cold-hard fact-based myth-busting, formatted into short two page segments. It covers a lot of information and that in itself is impressive, but it also makes it rather intimidating to read. I can't just open it up and expect to read though cover to cover. That fact became incredibly clear in the first few pages.
As much as I love information, putting so many words and numbers inside my head all at once did not sit well for my brain, which is already at over-capacity. And that's what it felt like. While I was reading, although engaged, I kept feeling like my brain was flashing the "No Vacancy" sign.
Although non-fiction can sometimes be draining, I know from past experience that it normally gives you the most back for committing to see it through. The more I read however, the more I realized that maybe I just wasn't in the right head-space to be consuming this sort of book. It felt like I couldn't do the book justice, couldn't muster up the excitement that normally comes so easily.
So, right now this book just isn't for me. The information it presented is solid, but without a proper a strategy to tackle it, I've rather unenthusiastically skimmed. I think I'll stick to getting my facts through the lighter delivery of the TV show and leave the General Ignorance books to the more hardcore non-fiction readers.
So, If you're a person that doesn't have all the answers but would like to, have a habit of starting really intellectual bets with your friends, like to correct others, don't like google search results, or just want to learn a few interesting factoids, this is probably the book for you! Just not the book for me.
thiefofcamorr's review against another edition
4.0
A spiral staircase is actually helical - a spiral is two-dimensional that radiates out from a fixed point. Helix is a three-dimensional curve that doesn't change the angle, like a slinky.