The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs

Have you ever thought about being smarter? Have you ever wished you just possessed more trivial facts for games or party chat? That's where A. J. Jacobs found himself.


He read the 32 volumes of the 2002 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica in one year and then wrote a book about the experience (about 90 pages a day). (At least two other people are known to have read a complete edition.) In prep for his task, Jacobs joined Mensa and took a speed-reading course.

He described the experience as one that is perfect for the modern day person who is lacking in an attention span as the topics march forward, apace. He found that he did not become bored because of that..but he also found the heavier topics to be hard to slog through.


This was a very interesting book and the personal story he weaved through the tale of his learning adventure kept things moving right along as I read.


One of my favorite quotes from Jacobs is: 


"Reading the Britannica is like channel surfing on a very highbrow cable system, one with no shortage of shows about Sumerian cities."


The author's site may be found here:
http://www.ajjacobs.com/books/kia.asp

Reading seasonally...

Well, it appears that spring has finally arrived in the mid-western United States. It's been cold and very rainy. I am sitting here with the window open until I decide it's time to sleep.

I find myself wondering if readers of my blog see an increase or decrease in the amount they read depending on the time of year. I think the amount I read remains generally the same througout the year. In the winter we are pretty house-bound here. There isn't much incentive to go out in the freezing temperatures; at least not for me. In the summer, once we settle into a routine, our kids and I tend to go to the pool almost every day. I read during all of the safety breaks and often sit near the sand or even at the edge of the water, with my NOOK double-bagged for water protection!

Yesterday I read of a woman who reads books about the Holicaust every April; it's just something she's done since she was a young girl. I am trying to think of whether the genres I read change with the seasons. I think my reading is more inclined to change if we happen to be able to travel. I try to fin'd books set in the locations of our travel destinations.

Do your reading habits change seasonally? Does the amount you read change?

Now I remember reading it!

If you've been following my site you are aware that while I read many books at once I generally focus most of my time on one or two selections so that I manage to actually finish a book once in a while! I also try to be reading at least one classic.


Our high school-aged daughter has just begun reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens for her honors English literature class. That was just the motivation I needed to begin reading it again. I started reading it while we were living in England but didn't read it frequently enough and just couldn't get into it. I just began reading it two days ago and I'm really enjoying it.


I must have reached a critical place in my reading today, a new character was recently introduced and upon that introduction I began to recall having read it previously. A friend whom I went to school with listed it when the two of us once tried to recall all the books we'd been assigned in school. I honestly didn't recall reading it until now. I also haven't recalled any particulars of the lesser plot-lines so far so while I am aware that I've read it the measure of reading it hasn't been spoiled. I do know a bit about Dickens and wondered how I came about that knowledge. Now I realize we discussed him in middle school as we discussed this title.


I'm glad I decided to (re)read it.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood

This was a sweet little book about three young children who were found by a man and his young, new wife. The children had been living wildly and alone in the woods of their estate in England. The couple has no knowledge or evident ability to care for them although they have the money to provide care for them. They dub the children "The Incorrigibles".

Penelope Lumley is a recent graduate of The Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females. She is 15 and has no place to go now upon graduation until she is hired by Lord Frederick and Lady Constance to work for them as governess to the children. 



The story is lighter than Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events (I've read all of that series) but is written with a similarly advanced vocabulary. The language used does tend to be period language from the early to mid 1850s. Wood's style is gothic in nature. Romance and horror both abound; the story jumps easily back and forth between the two. Penelope's gentle awareness of the children's needs is quick to follow and avert any threat of horror. 

Word of warning: (possible spoiler)
At one point in the story several men grab guns and head to the woods to hunt for the children. While this sounds very scary the story progresses well and quickly so that there is not a long amount of worry over what will happen.

Due to the possible scare factor I would suggest that people consider a pre-read of this before allowing very young children to read it. Our 9 and 10 year olds could handle reading it. I am thinking back on it and think that I could read this to our 5 year old without her being upset by it.

There's A Slight Chance I Might Be Going To Hell by Laurie Notaro

This book was Laurie Notaro's first attempt at fiction.



Charlie and Maye are moving from Arizona to Washington because Charlie has taken a professorship with a better college. Leaving behind her friends proves to be very hard.


The only harder thing will be making new ones.


Along the way Maye will encounter:
Chirping that is not made by crickets, the threat of a possible face-eating raccoon, the nasty wife of a charming and sweet university English department dean, hostile vegetarians, a crackpot reporter with a giggle inducing name, a policeman-plumber with a dangerous donut habit, a bookseller who can't hold her wine, a dog breeder with baggage, a trio of very odd wanna-be-witches, and an age-old local mystery to solve.


At 317 pages the book is a little long for a simple work of fiction. That said, Laurie manages the length quite well. The book moves from point to point and minor plotline to minor plotline while causing the reader to want to move right along with it. This is just the sort of book that I generally think of as a good beach-read. I picked it up in April because I had just finished reading her only other work of fiction.


Impressively, Notaro seems to please me as a reader, both with her writing of fiction and non fiction.


* Word of Warning *
Laurie Notaro's non fiction titles are childish at best, and loaded with immature, but ADULT content. Argue that it's wrong...but she never fails to make me giggle.


My review if her other work of non fiction, Spooky Little Girl:
http://tinyurl.com/NotaroSpiikyLittleGirl

What genres do you read?

I think most people find they prefer certain reading genres.


Mine have changed over time. When I first began to read for pleasure (high school, but few books) I preferred fiction. As an adult, once I really began to read more, I found I enjoyed mostly non fiction selections. Many of those books were related to my Christianity or marriage/family. Now that I read even more, I have found that I enjoy both fiction and non fiction.


These days I can really appreciate the creativity required to produce a riveting and well written fictional story. I think that preference has been influenced by my homeschooling our kids. Together we have truly enjoyed some wonderful books! My avoidance of books as a pre-adolescent means I have a lot of uncovered ground in juvenile fiction!


In regard to fiction I've branched into some areas I previously hadn't ventured. Around the time we moved to England I found Jasper Fforde's books and really fell for them; they are so smart but very funny.


I enjoy biographies, often those written about film or tv stars of the 1940s-1960s.


I really like to read memoirs. A true story is sometimes the best!


I occasionally like a mystery.


I enjoy well written juvenile fiction.




I am learning that I have a real affinity for classic British literature too!

Today brings exciting news for owners (or prospective owners) of NOOK COLOR devices.

Today Barnes and Noble announced a software upgrade to their NOOK COLOR.


It is only a 1.2 update and not a 2.0 as some have hoped.


That means that the update comes with some asked-for improvements but likely nothing too amazing. In fact, I read a lot of whining about it today online as I perused the ereader news for the day.


All of that aside, an online acquaintance of mine contacted me today to say how very
excited she is with regard to the update! I could hear her squeals of delight through her
Facebook post! I am excited for her and other NOOK COLOR owners.
(Maybe she'll pop in to tell us what she likes!)


Ereader devices are great. They are becoming more multi-functional all the time.
The prices are great. The competition is strong too. Rumor has it that Amazon is coming out with a device they are going to call a tablet but which will be integrated into their already strong Kindle system. That will surely please Kindle users and prospective buyers.


         
Some sites:
http://tinyurl.com/NOOK-COLOR-UPDATE
http://tinyurl.com/AmazonTabletInTheWorks
http://tinyurl.com/6dj6zft

Are you doing any "Royal" reading?

I've seen interest in Prince William's upcoming marriage to Kate Middleton  has inspired some readers to delve into books relating to the monarchy. Since we lived in England for a couple years I've already done my share of that.


My suggestion is for some light and fun reading; a quick but delightful book:


An Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett


 Kindle Edition
  Paperback Edition


An Uncommon Reader NOOKBOOK < click here


I've done a review of it previously.



If you might read it, just skip the review and read it. 


It is only 120 pages long. 


The main topic is the love if reading and the story comes with a neat little pleasing twist right at the end of the book.


My previous review of An Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett < click here

The Help by Kathryn Stockett...to be made into a film.

Well, here is another delightful book being made into a film.





The release date is set for August 2011.


The Help (film) < click here


My review of the book can be read here:


click here >The Help by Kathryn Stockett

50 books a year prescribed for 11 yr olds.

See the whole article here:


http://tinyurl.com/Independents50BookListFor11s


My thoughts?


First, I think it is important to realize that this article was written by a British journalist. The five people who were approached to create the list of 50 books are all British. Therefore, the titles are overwhelmingly British also.


In theory, it's a great idea. The books I recognized from that list are pretty meaty though, in prose or length. Remember, some kids get little homework, others have loads each night. That doesn't even take into consideration social activities such as church or scouting. What about sports? Just because kids may not read 50 books a year or they aren't reading at that high a level, it does not necessarily mean they are not using their time well.


Of course I'd love for it to be a reality that 11 year olds would read 50 books such as these every year. I see it as more of a reality for homeschooled kids (and we've homeschooled so I've been there and know the reality of homeschooling vs public schools).


Three of our five kids really enjoy reading. Two will likely continue to prove to be prolific in their reading. One of them is dying to have an ereader and that will likely further encourage his joy of reading. Our youngest already owns a child's ereader:


Our Initial Impression of the VReader < click here


VReader and extra memory < click here


I have also signed our kids up with accounts at www.librarything.com where they can track and review their reading.


The article mentions the unfortunate closure of libraries too.
Can any country really hope their kids will read if we close libraries? (Especially with the current economy?)


I am intrigued by the list. I had surgery this week and am recovering so my body is telling me I need to take a break now and take a nap. I will be returning to the list though to take a deeper look at it myself. I may read some of the selections myself! I haven't heard of some of them.



As for our kids, I will continue to encourage them to read. I've told them I will always find money for books if they ask me to buy them. I try to make our house a comfortable place to read and I often read to or with our kids. I'll keep doing that. Of course I want them to read a lot but I don't want them to focus on the number of books they read more than the benefit or pleasure they receive from reading.


I'm just happy when they read and that they tend to enjoy reading.