Armchair Reader The Gigantic Reader

What do you get when you fill more than 500 pages with some of the most curious, interesting, and oddball facts and explanations available to intelligent man? You get Armchair Reader: The Gigantic Reader. It s a classic installment in the immensely popular Armchair Reader series.

Some of it is downright absurd like the art of gurning, a British contest in which you try to make the ugliest face possible. Some of it makes you realize what a big world we live in like the fact that Sesame Street is now in 120 countries (and, in several cases, is very different from the original U.S. version). And some of it is startling such as the descriptions of The Women of the SS, ladies who saw fit to lend their aid to Hitler s killing force.

Read only a few pages of Armchair Reader: The Gigantic Reader and you ll come out smarter and more amazed at the world around us. It digs into hundreds of fascinating topics, such as:
Trepanation, the 7,000-year-old art of drilling holes in the skull for medical reasons
The strangest baseball injuries, including the time Roger Craig lacerated his finger on a woman s bra strap
An interview with a real pet psychic
The largest living organism not a whale but a mushroom
An enormous list of flubbed headlines, like Meridian Woman Training for 20004 Games

Equal parts wisdom and humor, Armchair Reader: The Gigantic Reader contains countless stories about the kooky, the fascinating, and the amazing. Perfect as a gift for a loved one or for yourself and a great way to pass a few minutes or a long weekend on the couch, Armchair Reader: The Gigantic Reader won t fail to make you think.

JR Raphael is a syndicated writer with Midwestern roots and little repute. His work has appeared in dozens of publications, including PC World, The Washington Post, and MSNBC.com. When not scouring the banks of Ohio for web-footed human-frog hybrids, JR loiters around the banks of his own Web site, jrstart.com. (6/2/09)


Erika Cornstuble Koff is a freelance writer who has worn many hats-from stand-up comic to public relations executive to copy editor. In spite of her work on the Armchair Reader, Erika remains a lousy Trivial Pursuit player. She currently resides in Naperville, Illinois, with her husband, Ben. (5/26/09).

Mary Fons-Misetic makes half of her living as a freelance writer, creating snazzy content for clients like PIL, Jellyvision, and syndication company Content That Works, among others. The rest of her grocery money is generated through her performances as a slam poet, actress, and ensemble member of Chicago's longest-running theatre show, the Neo-Futurist's "Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind." Check out maryfons.com for more on Mary and to read her juicy blog, "PaperGirl." (6/25/09)

Russell Roberts is an award-winning fulltime freelance writer. He has published over three dozen books for both children and adults, including the best-sellers Down the Jersey Shore and 10 Days to A Sharper Memory. Among his children's books are examinations of the lives of Jefferson, Hamilton, Robert Goddard, Galileo and Nostradamus. He also specializes in travel writing and public speaking.

Robert Bullington earned his master's in English from the University of Virginia and currently makes his home in Richmond, where he spends his time writing, raising a family, and performing with Nettwerk Recording Artists the Hackensaw Boys. (updated 04/08)

Allen Smith is a freelance writer living in Vail, Colorado. Smith specializes in writing human interest, humor and health & fitness articles and has written thousands of pieces for magazines, newspapers and the web, including LIVESTRONG.COM and Trails.com. You can contact him at snowwriter.com.