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1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off by James Harkin, John Lloyd, John Mitchinson
tishywishy's review against another edition
5.0
Random and interesting facts that had me scouring the internet for more information. Definitely more of a coffee table / toilet reading kinda book. Not for long, sustained reading.
ellejaoy's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely adore random facts so when I saw this book I couldn't resist. It is an absolutely fantastic collection of facts that range from ridiculous, hilarious and really educational. I couldn't recommend it more for anyone who likes to know random things about our world and it is also great for those pub quizzes!
williagea's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
babblefishgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
coolcatbookreader's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This was a pretty good book. There were a lot of interesting facts. The facts didn't 'blow my socks off,' but it was definitely worth the read. A few of these facts were very surprising. It was an easy read and I really liked how the book was laid out. It was nice to read a little every night before I went to bed. I will look at this book again in the future. It is a nice book for the coffee table. I would definitely recommend this book to friends – I won’t loan it out though! They will have to get their own copies.
This was a pretty good book. There were a lot of interesting facts. The facts didn't 'blow my socks off,' but it was definitely worth the read. A few of these facts were very surprising. It was an easy read and I really liked how the book was laid out. It was nice to read a little every night before I went to bed. I will look at this book again in the future. It is a nice book for the coffee table. I would definitely recommend this book to friends – I won’t loan it out though! They will have to get their own copies.
oldenglishrose's review against another edition
3.0
We don't watch much television in our house (probably because we don't own one) but we do rather enjoy QI, not least because of the ever charming Stephen Fry. When I spotted this book available for the Kindle for only £0.20 I couldn't resist seeing how well the format of the television programme translated into book form. It also proved an excellent choice to test drive my new ereader.
This book delighted and frustrated me in equal measure. The facts in the book are the perfect blend of the bizarre, the amusing, the amazing and the downright strange: exactly what I would expect from the QI elves. These are the type of little snippets of information that you immediately want to share with other people, and I found myself reading quite a lot of it aloud. Had I been wearing socks they would indeed have been blown off.
I like the way that the facts are presented, one leading onto the next which is somehow related by tenuous but undeniable links between the two. It makes the book read, as John Lloyd says in the introduction like a poem to weird and incredible knowledge.
On the other hand, I wanted expansion, I wanted greater detail and I wanted more information. How do we know the centre of the universe tastes like raspberries? I assume it's to do with its chemical make up, but what chemicals? Why does it taste like raspberries? Who investigates this anyway? More than anything else, I wanted footnotes! The stuff in this book is genuinely fascinating and I wanted the opportunity to find out more if I so chose. Of course, this would have made it an entirely different book, and arguably not nearly so entertaining, so I can't win.
Overall, this is a great little book for providing amusement and incredulity. If I want to find out why the universe tastes like raspberries, I'll just have to look it up for myself.
This book delighted and frustrated me in equal measure. The facts in the book are the perfect blend of the bizarre, the amusing, the amazing and the downright strange: exactly what I would expect from the QI elves. These are the type of little snippets of information that you immediately want to share with other people, and I found myself reading quite a lot of it aloud. Had I been wearing socks they would indeed have been blown off.
I like the way that the facts are presented, one leading onto the next which is somehow related by tenuous but undeniable links between the two. It makes the book read, as John Lloyd says in the introduction like a poem to weird and incredible knowledge.
On the other hand, I wanted expansion, I wanted greater detail and I wanted more information. How do we know the centre of the universe tastes like raspberries? I assume it's to do with its chemical make up, but what chemicals? Why does it taste like raspberries? Who investigates this anyway? More than anything else, I wanted footnotes! The stuff in this book is genuinely fascinating and I wanted the opportunity to find out more if I so chose. Of course, this would have made it an entirely different book, and arguably not nearly so entertaining, so I can't win.
Overall, this is a great little book for providing amusement and incredulity. If I want to find out why the universe tastes like raspberries, I'll just have to look it up for myself.
purstiltski's review against another edition
5.0
Quite interesting facts indeed! I liked the way they did all poetically come together in the way they were ordered -- we can draw so many connections between the lines themselves.
themorsecode's review against another edition
4.0
20p on Kindle! The perfect bog read, there's some fascinating little tidbits here that are ideal for reading when you only have a minute or two to spare.
ellejayz's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely adore random facts so when I saw this book I couldn't resist. It is an absolutely fantastic collection of facts that range from ridiculous, hilarious and really educational. I couldn't recommend it more for anyone who likes to know random things about our world and it is also great for those pub quizzes!