The Book of Answers:
The New York Public Library
Telephone Reference Service's
Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions
By Barbara Berliner
Fireside (1992)
Paperback, 311 pages
Rated 3 stars of 5 possible
Well, the subtitle says it all, folks. This book is a compilation of unusual questions and the entertaining answers as researched by The New York Public Library's Telephone Reference Service. Questions on topics such as American History, Crime and Criminals, The English Language, Geography and more are included in this book and grouped according to topic. The book is fully indexed so the topics can be quickly located for the curious or for a springboard into deeper reserach.
This book would be tedious reading if one attempted to read each page in order as with a novel, but as a point of curiosity, it appeals to trivia buffs, young or old, who wish to look up answers to questions that plague the mind. I found this book to be an entertaining aside from my usual non-fiction reading, but not something I need to keep or read again.
Recommended for trivia buffs and the curious with the caviat that I spotted a typographical error or two while reading some of the questions so don't depend on this as a reference if you need authoritative answers. This review has been simultaneously published on Amazon.com, Dragon Views and LibraryThing.
About This Blog
This blog was started as a place to post book reviews. The books reviewed here will be mixed. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, General Fiction, NonFiction and more. Both positve and negative reviews will be posted, as well as reviews for books written for all ages and all reading levels.
Many of the books reviewed here are ones that I have purchased for my own reading pleasure. Some, I receive free in exchange for reviews. Beginning in December, 2009 you will know which are the free ones if you read the final paragraph of my reviews.
Also of note: I choose what I will read, attempting to avoid the books on which I would end up writing a negative review... but I have been known to make mistakes. Thus you see some one and two star reviews here. Since I don't enjoy writing negative reviews, I only write them if the review was promised, or if the book was so exceedingly bad, I just had to say so. Regardless of the percentage of positive to negative reviews on this blog, I give my honest opinion each and every time, and have never received financial compensation for posting my reviews.
Note that, except for fair use portions quoted from some of the books reviewed, all copyright in the content of the reviews belongs to Lady Dragoness.
Many of the books reviewed here are ones that I have purchased for my own reading pleasure. Some, I receive free in exchange for reviews. Beginning in December, 2009 you will know which are the free ones if you read the final paragraph of my reviews.
Also of note: I choose what I will read, attempting to avoid the books on which I would end up writing a negative review... but I have been known to make mistakes. Thus you see some one and two star reviews here. Since I don't enjoy writing negative reviews, I only write them if the review was promised, or if the book was so exceedingly bad, I just had to say so. Regardless of the percentage of positive to negative reviews on this blog, I give my honest opinion each and every time, and have never received financial compensation for posting my reviews.
Note that, except for fair use portions quoted from some of the books reviewed, all copyright in the content of the reviews belongs to Lady Dragoness.
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