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2.5 stars. This was my emergency book that I kept on my phone so in case all other reading options died or burned or were flung out a moving window.
I had read The Year of Living Biblically previously, and found it funny so was happy to find this one for sale. At first I thought, really? You're just going to throw facts at me? If I wanted to read that I would go read the encyclopedia myself thank you very much. But I settled into it eventually, becoming appreciative of his wit and the story he t ...more
I had read The Year of Living Biblically previously, and found it funny so was happy to find this one for sale. At first I thought, really? You're just going to throw facts at me? If I wanted to read that I would go read the encyclopedia myself thank you very much. But I settled into it eventually, becoming appreciative of his wit and the story he t ...more

I don't think I enjoyed this book as much as everyone else, and it makes me feel kind of sad. In the book, the author meets with Alex Trebek, who I love, and Alex Trebek tells him that he is curious about things that he isn't interested in. Well, sadly, I don't like learning about things I am not interested in. I just got kind of bored when Jacobs talked about some of the encylopedia entries he read, because I really didn't care all that much and I wasn't all that curious. I wish I was a little
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A.J. Jacobs sets out to read the complete Encyclopedia Britannica -- Macro and Micropedia, for the librarians out there -- and documents his slow process of reading, going a little nuts, and driving everyone around him a whole lot nuts. Funny and engaging; Jacobs has a great narrative voice, and the threads of his personal life that he weaves into his quest (he and wife Julie are trying desperately to conceive the whole time he's reading, which makes for some hilarity with fertility practices fr
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A funny and insightful look at the nature of intelligence and smarts - in between giggles you realize that Jacobs really does have something to say on a fairly serious topic. His quest is one I can relate to, but I don't think I'll be attempting his feat anytime soon.
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Nov 13, 2007
Amy Rosa
marked it as to-read

Oct 26, 2009
Janna
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Jan 07, 2011
Megan
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Jan 23, 2012
Anna
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Jan 15, 2013
Kent Winward
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Feb 01, 2013
Kim DeCina
marked it as to-read

Jul 06, 2016
Davida "Davi"
marked it as to-read