QI: The Book of General Ignorance
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Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
Written By: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson
Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780571233687
ISBN: 0571233686
Label: Faber and Faber
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: 2006-10-05
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Studio: Faber and Faber
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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: The Book of General Ignorance-Andrex
Comment: I have just finished this book of which was kept in the toilet (where it belongs and if I run out of toilet paper)I found the so called 'facts' hard to believe on doing some research myself on these 'facts'. I found Stephen Fry full of hot air,there was also a hint of him being anti Scottish 'There a no Scots just people from Ireland and Scandinavia etc who moved there thousands of years ago (If that was the case we would all still be African? Muppet) and that they (the Scot's never invented that or this.
At the back of the book it states 'QI stands for Quite Interesting.We do not claim to be Quite Right'.
I would say that this line is about the only thing THEY HAVE GOT RIGHT!!!
Waste of time and money
Better buy-Andrex !
Customer Rating:
Summary: QI
Comment: I really enjoyed reading this book and found it more than "Quite Interesting". Unfortunately though, if you are an avid fan of the television series like I am it offers nothing new. Most, if not all, of the material is taken from the series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfect bedtime reading
Comment: As has been mentioned before, this loose tie-in to the BBC QI programme feels rather like shuffling through a box of randomly shuffled Trivial Pursuit cards and peeking at the (often surprising) answers.
There is a bit more to it than that though. The subjects are grouped together into some approximation of commonality - the animal world, war, inventors, science, colours etc. and each topic does go into some depth about its subject. Often, and most fascinatingly, this includes exploring how myths have grown around the subject.
Many of the facts will surprise you (one of my eye-openers was that the Celtic ethnicity as we understand it today has only existed since 21st June 1792), whereas many will already be widely known (as one of the non-carnivorous persuasion myself, I sincerely hope this book knocks on the head once and for all the calumnious lie that Hitler was a vegetarian!).
The expectation as you turn the page eagerly awaiting the next topic is palpable! I savoured this book by reading just a half dozen or so facts at bedtime and have genuinely found myself adding some snippets of information from this book into my conversations.
Anything that makes us all a tiny bit less generally ignorant can't be bad!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great fun for trivia nerds
Comment: This is a very entertaining book that you can pick up and browse for short periods. It helps you to challenge all the things that you assume you know. It delights in debunking popular misconceptions - for example that glass is really a very slow-moving liquid. Glass is a solid. At times it is a little precious and pedantic. I am sure that some of its claims can be challenged. However, it remains one of my favourite bedside books. Recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: fun but tedious at times
Comment: This is a fun book to pick up and put down at leisure but it loses something for not being delivered by the dry tones of Stephen Fry. If you are an avid watcher of the series you will have heard most of these entries before but there are still some gems among them. Some of the explanations do go on and there seems to be a fascintaion with space that just doesn't excite me but there were a few chuckles along the way. At the end there is a disclaimer inviting readers to send in alternative answers or explanations which does dilute the whole thing a bit. Good for picking up trivia to delight your mates at the pub.
Summary: The Book of General Ignorance-Andrex
Comment: I have just finished this book of which was kept in the toilet (where it belongs and if I run out of toilet paper)I found the so called 'facts' hard to believe on doing some research myself on these 'facts'. I found Stephen Fry full of hot air,there was also a hint of him being anti Scottish 'There a no Scots just people from Ireland and Scandinavia etc who moved there thousands of years ago (If that was the case we would all still be African? Muppet) and that they (the Scot's never invented that or this.
At the back of the book it states 'QI stands for Quite Interesting.We do not claim to be Quite Right'.
I would say that this line is about the only thing THEY HAVE GOT RIGHT!!!
Waste of time and money
Better buy-Andrex !
Customer Rating:
Summary: QI
Comment: I really enjoyed reading this book and found it more than "Quite Interesting". Unfortunately though, if you are an avid fan of the television series like I am it offers nothing new. Most, if not all, of the material is taken from the series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfect bedtime reading
Comment: As has been mentioned before, this loose tie-in to the BBC QI programme feels rather like shuffling through a box of randomly shuffled Trivial Pursuit cards and peeking at the (often surprising) answers.
There is a bit more to it than that though. The subjects are grouped together into some approximation of commonality - the animal world, war, inventors, science, colours etc. and each topic does go into some depth about its subject. Often, and most fascinatingly, this includes exploring how myths have grown around the subject.
Many of the facts will surprise you (one of my eye-openers was that the Celtic ethnicity as we understand it today has only existed since 21st June 1792), whereas many will already be widely known (as one of the non-carnivorous persuasion myself, I sincerely hope this book knocks on the head once and for all the calumnious lie that Hitler was a vegetarian!).
The expectation as you turn the page eagerly awaiting the next topic is palpable! I savoured this book by reading just a half dozen or so facts at bedtime and have genuinely found myself adding some snippets of information from this book into my conversations.
Anything that makes us all a tiny bit less generally ignorant can't be bad!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great fun for trivia nerds
Comment: This is a very entertaining book that you can pick up and browse for short periods. It helps you to challenge all the things that you assume you know. It delights in debunking popular misconceptions - for example that glass is really a very slow-moving liquid. Glass is a solid. At times it is a little precious and pedantic. I am sure that some of its claims can be challenged. However, it remains one of my favourite bedside books. Recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: fun but tedious at times
Comment: This is a fun book to pick up and put down at leisure but it loses something for not being delivered by the dry tones of Stephen Fry. If you are an avid watcher of the series you will have heard most of these entries before but there are still some gems among them. Some of the explanations do go on and there seems to be a fascintaion with space that just doesn't excite me but there were a few chuckles along the way. At the end there is a disclaimer inviting readers to send in alternative answers or explanations which does dilute the whole thing a bit. Good for picking up trivia to delight your mates at the pub.
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