October 28-November 3, 2004

artpicks

Hey, Smart Guy

by Andrew Milner

books

"I'm looking at 33,000 pages, 65,000 articles, 9,500 contributors, 24,000 images. I'm looking at 32 volumes, each one weighing in at a solid 4 pounds, each packed with those giant, tissue-thin pages. The total: 44 million words."

With that, A.J. Jacobs begins a project to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. The Esquire editor became an NPR fixture during his yearlong read (as "Encyclopedia Man") and his new book, The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World (Simon & Schuster) chronicles his idiosyncratic odyssey from A to Z. Jacobs, an ex-Entertainment Weekly writer, combines the highbrow and the lowbrow with ease:

fowl Technically, the term "duck" should only be used for a female. The proper term for a male duck is "drake." So Daffy Duck's true daffiness: gender identity disorder.

haboob The haboob is a hot wind in the Sahara Desert that stirs up huge quantities of sand. The sand forms a dense wall that can reach a height of 3,000 feet. Jesus. It kind of reminds me of my life.

Poe, Edgar Allan He married his cousin when she was 13. Sort of the Jerry Lee Lewis of his day but with more interest in Gothic imagery.

Jacobs elaborates on the idea of pursuing knowledge with a visit to a dreary Mensa convention, an appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and an interview with Alex Trebek (his philosophy of knowledge: "I'm curious about everything—even things that don't interest me"). Not since David Denby's Great Books has an author made self-education so enjoyable. Jacobs will be at Borders tonight selling the unexpected virtues of reading encyclopedias—it beats selling them door to door.

A.J. Jacobs will speak Thu., Oct. 28, 6 p.m., free, Borders, 1 S. Broad St, 215-568-7400.