Futility Closet: An Idler's Miscellany of Compendious Amusements Paperback – November 18, 2013

I've been listening to the podcast lately, so I bought the book. I feel like I'm communing with a kindred spirit. The book is a collection of short sketches about curious things that actually happened. Sometimes it's just that they happened in the past and illustrate the maxim "The past is a foreign country" Other times they are just plain weird in any context, What they have in common is they are very interesting. I actually like the podcasts better, as he goes into more background than the book can contain. Any way, buy, listen, and enjoy.

Reading the entries in "Futility Closet" is like eating a bag of sweets. You keep telling yourself, "Okay, one more and I'll stop." Before you know it, that "one more" has turned into a couple dozen more.The real charm to the book isn't just in how clever and fascinating each entry is, it's the fact that you never know what the next entry will be about. A historical oddity will be followed by strange scientific fact, which will then be followed by a mind-bending riddle, which will be followed by a bizarre excerpt from a 19th Century newspaper article.It's a great, fun read that will never leave you bored. I highly recommend it!

For those of you out there whose entire reason for living is to collect all of the useless information available, this book is for you. No, actually it will also prepare you for a stint on Jeopardy if you so wish, however, I have found my spouse has grown quite tired of me having an esoteric blurb of information about any topic he brings up.

Did you like the blog? Yes?Cool. This is the blog in book format. Like, posts without narrative between them, reprinted posts. Heck, even the puzzles are treated as they are on the blog. Why doncha just read the blog?

The book is really great, we listen to the podcast all the time and the book is a great companion to it.

Bought a copy for two of our grandchildren. They loved it! These two are avid readers and into the weird and wonderful that the world has to offer.

Another long-time follower of FutilityCloset.com here. Have to say, the book does not disappoint. It's a great collection of little tidbits of information and provides numerous fodder to bring up at cocktail parties. A very interesting read, presented with enough character and subtle dry wit that will have you smiling from page to page.

These bite sized chunks of curiosity are perfect for moments on the train, doctor's waiting room, or perhaps those more private moments that require just the right length of distraction. I've read a lot of these books, and this one is fresh, entertaining, and a worthy purchase.

Avec ses articles à partager ou à grignoter seul, c'est le livre de chevet idéal : un paragraphe par histoire, sur divers sujets. Que l'on aborde des épisodes historiques ou des curiosités mathématiques, des personnages peu célèbres mais qui mériteraient de l'être ou encore des énigmes logiques, le sujet est souvent surprenant et toujours passionnant.Comme toujours avec Greg Ross, les articles sont sourcés avec une grande rigueur - une pratique d'autant plus appréciable qu'elle semble malheureusement en voie de disparition.

I have been reading the homonymous blog of Greg Ross for many years now. It has a great style and a sense of humour that seems to be well aligned with mine. The book is a best of best selection of the blog entries, and it was realy a pleasurable experience to read it.