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Product Description
Book Description
This new edition of the bestseller has 26% added ignorance, and is republished in hardback to match the sequel!
Product Description
The indispensable compendium of popular misconceptions, misunderstandings and common mistakes culled from the hit BBC show, QI.
The noticeably stouter QI Book of General Ignorance sets out to show you that a lot of what you think you know is wrong. If, like Alan Davies, you still think the Henry VIII had six wives, the earth has only one moon, that George Washington was the first president of the USA, that Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, that the largest living thing is a blue whale, that Alexander Graeme Bell invented the telephone, that whisky and bagpipes come from Scotland or that Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain, then there are at least 200 reasons why this is the book for you.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If like me, you look forward to every episode of QI on TV and even watch copious reruns of it on Dave, then you will doubtless enjoy this book immensely.
It is packed with all the memorable nuggets of general ignorance expanded with all the reference information for good measure.
Some of the facts are debatable, of that I am pretty sure, but it is definitely the type of book you won't want to put down until you've read the lot.
One side point worth knowing: if you (again, like me) purchased the original book of general ignorance, you will find this one is the same as the original with about 20 or so extra subjects. If you haven't bought the original, buy this instead.
It is packed with all the memorable nuggets of general ignorance expanded with all the reference information for good measure.
Some of the facts are debatable, of that I am pretty sure, but it is definitely the type of book you won't want to put down until you've read the lot.
One side point worth knowing: if you (again, like me) purchased the original book of general ignorance, you will find this one is the same as the original with about 20 or so extra subjects. If you haven't bought the original, buy this instead.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Noticeably Stouter Book of General Ignorance is fun to read and packed full of interesting facts. It's perfect for dipping into every now and again - most of the articles are only one or two pages long, and manage to cram in a surprising amount of information. They often veer off on unexpected tangents - one beginning with a discussion of the phrase `survival of the fittest' concludes with a rush of interesting facts about paperclips (in Nazi-occupied Norway they were used as symbols of the resistance, and only five out of every 100,000 sold are actually used to hold papers together). It's almost impossible to read a page without wanting to run to the nearest person, clutching the book and gibbering, "Did you know...? Did you know...?" (though this has the unfortunate side-effect of making you sound like an irritating know-it-all for the duration.)
This is more of a second edition to the original Book of General Ignorance than an entirely new book, so if you already own the latter it may not be a worthwhile purchase. If you don't, however, Noticeably Stouter has dozens of new articles, amusing quotes from the TV series interspersed throughout, and (for diehard fans), a list of all the QI guests so far. Another definite improvement is the inclusion of an index (subjects range from `aardvarks, colour-blindness of' to `zenzizenzizenzic, as failed neologism'). As well as aiding serendipitous browsing, this can be extremely useful when you confidently announce to a roomful of people that strawberries and raspberries are not, in fact, berries, then promptly forget why; or when you urgently need to calculate your pet's real age in dog years.
I've had to wrestle my copy away from visitors, who pick it up, start idly thumbing through it, and refuse to put it down for the rest of the evening. I've spent a number of rainy Sunday afternoons curled up with it on the sofa. I've spouted facts from it to dozens of long-suffering friends and relations. And I'm not quite sure if I feel more or less ignorant than I was when I started. Definitely a trivia book in a class of its own.
This is more of a second edition to the original Book of General Ignorance than an entirely new book, so if you already own the latter it may not be a worthwhile purchase. If you don't, however, Noticeably Stouter has dozens of new articles, amusing quotes from the TV series interspersed throughout, and (for diehard fans), a list of all the QI guests so far. Another definite improvement is the inclusion of an index (subjects range from `aardvarks, colour-blindness of' to `zenzizenzizenzic, as failed neologism'). As well as aiding serendipitous browsing, this can be extremely useful when you confidently announce to a roomful of people that strawberries and raspberries are not, in fact, berries, then promptly forget why; or when you urgently need to calculate your pet's real age in dog years.
I've had to wrestle my copy away from visitors, who pick it up, start idly thumbing through it, and refuse to put it down for the rest of the evening. I've spent a number of rainy Sunday afternoons curled up with it on the sofa. I've spouted facts from it to dozens of long-suffering friends and relations. And I'm not quite sure if I feel more or less ignorant than I was when I started. Definitely a trivia book in a class of its own.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Smug pub quizzers beware - after reading this you'll find yourself quaking at the onset of the trivia round. Most of what you think you know is, in fact, wrong. Sorry. In an utterly charming way, your confidence in the modest store of facts you've built up over the years is shown to be totally misplaced. If you can handle this, then QI: The Book of General Ignorance (The Noticeably Stouter Edition) is a truly fascinating read. It's at least as amusing as it interesting in its debunking of popular misconceptions. Finding out why your notions are wrong is a pleasure when you're reading something that's been this painstakingly researched. That's not to say it's really worthy - some of the writing is laugh-out-loud funny. You get quotes from the show, too, and perky little illustrations. The links between the entries are often as subtle as the explanations themselves, or they're just quite droll, as `How many legs does a centipede have?' paves the way for `How many eyes does a no-eyed, big-eyed wolf spider have?'
If you're the kind of person who has a mental list of things you really ought to brush up on, expect it to have expanded in all kinds of unexpected ways by the time you're through. Your Ancient Greek, certainly, could do with a dusting down. Expect to confirm that you are, indeed, massively ignorant, but to find, miraculously, that a good read of this book is an excellent way to start putting that right.
If you're the kind of person who has a mental list of things you really ought to brush up on, expect it to have expanded in all kinds of unexpected ways by the time you're through. Your Ancient Greek, certainly, could do with a dusting down. Expect to confirm that you are, indeed, massively ignorant, but to find, miraculously, that a good read of this book is an excellent way to start putting that right.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Useful to impress people with triva
Like the TV programme,this is informative, education and witty. I would not read this cover to cover. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Catweazlefan
ignorance
You can dip in and out of this as you wish. There's a useful index to select from. Makes a fun a gift, especially for anyone not wanting to read a lot at a time.
Published 1 month ago by in_the_picture
Not so ignorant now
Being a fan of QI this book does put into words most of the subjects on the TV programme but with more detail. Read more
Published 2 months ago by nickpain
Quite Intelligent!
This book is brilliant. When ever you want to refer to anything you have seen on the show or you just want to be a smarty pants and outwit someone, then this book is a must. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. D
Good stocking filler
No complaints - my wife liked it. Mr Fry is an entertaining author. This is not the first - and I'm sure it won't be the last - book by SF to grace our bookshelf!
Published 3 months ago by Red Dragon
awsome
Great book, great price and super fast delivery. I can only recommend it to everyone. Totally worth the price. Fun facts for every single day :)!
Published 3 months ago by Z'ltuhn
Great Purchase
I bought this as a gift and it went down brilliantly, It's an interesting read and I had a sneak peak myself!
Published 4 months ago by sarahfox
Love it - and a bargain!
I loved this book - and it is perfectly suited to the Kindle, more so than an actual book I might say. For me to say that being an utter luddite is a big thing as well. Read more
Published 4 months ago by D. Tomkin
Briefly of interest
I have never seen the TV show and having browsed this book, I won`t bother. Full of superficially interesting trivia and irritating, unfunny comments from the show (I assume). Read more
Published 5 months ago by Meg
It's great but I do wish they'd leave the playground
99% of this is superb - interesting and funny at the same time. My only downer on it is their approach to anything that is vaguely to do with religion, actually only with... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Graham Lewis
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