The Know-It-All
My good friend KC gave me this book for Christmas and it's absolutely fantastic !
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
Catchy title, no?
The author, A. J. Jacobs, is charmingly, hindsightedly self-depricating, despite the child-like joy he finds in those moments when he thinks he might just be approaching unprecidented smartitude.*
I could write entries to pass on the trivia I have read from the pages of his book, but I don't feel like I have the freedom to mooch off his work. It would be like me writing my own book about my responses to the words, concepts and people he is reading about. He'd be doing all the work and I'd reap the convenience of his selection. To be honest, I want to write his book. I really really do. What a perfect thing to write about: my response to things I learn. Heck, I already do that sometimes, in my Word of the Day entries.
(Side note: the word that popped into my head at the bus stop this morning was bucolic. Again, another where-in-the-world-did-that-come-from word. I could certainly go for "a country life of arcadian contentment" where I could live in "rustic tranquility.")
*Language is dynamic.
posted by sarahanne @ 11:58 PM
6 Comments:
Sarah:
Here's a yuletide secret:I bought two "The Know-It-Alls". . .one for you and one for another friend.
Then I started reading it and decided to forget that friend.
Isn't it great?? Next you should read Freakonomics. It's brilliant.
KC
Hey either of you, I have a question that may stump even you english experts:
Is a phone number considered a proper noun?
Seriously, I need to know, 'cause I'm designing a layout at work and need to hyphenate a certain number, but hyphenating proper nouns is typically a no-no.
To clarify, is it OK to split a phone number between two lines, like this:
"For referrals call 1-919-555-
5555. The Center opens 5pm."
I don't know about official rule, but it's just plain ugly to split a phone # across a line break. It breaks up the flow. I wouldn't even put the "1" in front of it because that's usually reserved for 1-800 numbers. I'm partial to (919) 555-5555 over 919-555-5555 because the parentheses make it look more welcoming.
While I'm playing unofficial editor...
-Are you intentionally omitting the preposition "at" before "5pm"? I don't think you should.
-There should be a comma after "For referrals."
See... that's what you get for asking for input!
No, thanks!--Just what I was looking for. Obviously, I came to the right place.
The omission was my typo, and not broken english. Hehe The comma suggestion is good, too--I just patterned my example after what the author wrote.
hey, can a brother from another chapter (kurshan) stop by on friday or saturday?
And as far as mooching off his work, I am coming up with all my own comments, but I'm still stealing his idea. He doesn't seem to mind though, and send me an encouraging e-mail.
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