Dan Schreiber

This review is for the audiobook version read by the author. Schreiber comes across as a nice, bright guy with a lot of common sense, but the book is sort of a hodgepodge. There are some nice stories here and some good debunking of urban legends, such as Neil Armstrong's second set of words on the moon. But it all rambles on too long and jumps around too much. As a reader, Schreiber is also prone to strange pronunciations. The almost hour long add-on to the book, a roundtable discussion between Schreiber and three of his friends, is not worth much, especially since two of the four speakers' accents are a bit hard to decipher. And everyone is talking pretty fast and informally.… (more)

This is, with absolutely no equivocation, the most "Wait! What?!" book I have ever read.

Hilarious, informative, and fascinating - often simultaneously, and not always pleasantly. Sometimes, it's the same fascination held by roadkill: you don't want to look *at* it, but somehow, you just can't look away.

I tried to pick a favourite moment, or detail, but there are just too many, so I'm going with the last real tea-spitting moment for me: The Royal Society once considered the possibility that drinking gin was causing women to spontaneously combust.

If that doesn't make you want to read it, then you're probably dead.… (more)

The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Schreiber is a very highly recommended hilarious collection of eccentric beliefs, conspiracy theories and speculative encounters. As Schreiber notes: "None of the theories in this book are true. They're just ideas, speculations, beliefs and claims, begging to be accepted as truth." If you chose to believe any of them, that's on you. However, reading about them is sure to entertain you and perhaps become the impetus for some lively conversations.

Dan Schreiber collects several of the most interesting, humorous, and thought provoking stories in this collection. Some of the topics covered are obvious, while others are more obscure. Some topics include: time travelers, aliens, ghosts, seers, communicating with dolphins and plants, clairvoyance, pyramid energy, time travelers, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, a woman who reads butt cheeks, the hollow earth theory, reptilians, a fountain of youth, and more.

The Theory of Everything Else is a well-written, wildly entertaining compilation that doesn't take itself too seriously while discussing, in a conversational style, all manner of topics. As Schreiber writes, "Batsh*t makes the world go round and its footprint can be found everywhere you look. You won't always notice it, but it's usually there, hiding in plain sight." Here is an assortment of some of those wacky beliefs that is sure to hold your attention from start to finish.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via NetGalley.
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