The Beginning

So, after having read just about 1/10 of the book, Jacobs has made it clear that he has learned to annoy people with his newfound knowledge. He looks for ways to insert his trivia into conversations, and finds most people are not impressed. It is almost painful to read his description of going to a chess club and trying to find anyone who is interested in playing him, or listening to his tidbits about the history of the game.

The set up to this books is similar to Reading the OED in that the author takes the reader alphabetically on his journey, making comments on specific entries. Jacobs, has more stops along the way though, giving more insight into what is happening in his life while he reads. His quest to become the smartest person in the world seems to have much to do with his brother-in-law, and wanting to show him up. I must admit though, from the way he's described, if I had a relative like that I'd probably want to show him up sometimes, too.

Jacobs seems a bit more cynical than Shea, but he seems to be having more fun with this, too.

Aztec is the last word in the A section of the book. When Jacobs finishes reading it he describes doing "a little touchdown dance". All I can think is that it is a bit premature. Shea doesn't do such a thing until he finishes the Z section of the OED.