15. The Know-it-all

The Know-it-all: One Man's Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, by A.J. Jacobs (2005)

I've had this book on my shelf since it came out in paperback a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. By the time I picked it up and started reading, the only think I could remember about it was that it had gotten some good reviews, including some time on NPR, and that the author had written for magazines.

Jacobs, who I learned was an editor at Esquire, is a funny and engaging writer. He manages to make a really silly endeavor, reading the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica in a year, into a very personal narrative of his family, his wife, and his impending fatherhood. I particularly liked his wife, Julie--or, more accurately, the character of Julie--because she tempers Jacobs' tendency to run off in tangents. Very cool device.

I think this book really worked for me because I read it in fairly short chunks over a couple of weeks. Usually, I gobble up books really quickly. This can be like spending too much time with a good friend; the little things start to annoy me. The format of the book helped me divide it out nicely. Because Jacobs inserts sections that mimic encyclopedia entries, it's easy to say, "hey, I'm going to stop after finishing the 'H' section." Portion control is my friend, I've found. So, yeah, I liked this a lot.