The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs

Complete title:

The Know-It-All One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World

I loved this book. My nephew David recommended it quite a while ago. I bought it, began reading it, and promptly loaned it to my son. I knew he would love it. He recently returned it to me, and I finished it.

This book is about Jacobs' quest to become smarter by reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. The book is comprised of various entries - spun off of actual entries in the EB. I found it witty, intelligent, and thoroughly enjoyable. It is just my cup of tea - full of completely irrelevant trivia and interesting facts. My head was already full of things that won't help me or anyone else in the world, but that I find interesting. This has compounded that problem. Jacobs also manages to weave interesting threads about his own family and life through the various entries.

I was sad to see the end of this book.