Intellectual Devotional Vs. Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

Okay, I confess, I'm a bookstore junky. Some times, before meetings that are near a bookstore, I slip in for as little as 10 minutes and look around. You really can't get much reading in during such a time frame so I often wander to the humor book section and in front of Uncle John's Bathroom Readers.

I like these books because you can read summaries of entire books, profound philosophical concepts, scientific theories, and more, usually on one page. However, I could never own such a book. In fact, when I have been there, I would glance around my shoulder to make sure no one is watching me read them. But when time is short, they are a great source of information in, essentially, "capsule form."

Enter the Intellectual Devotionals. I saw these interesting books, one on US History and one summarizing the major areas of intellectual thought, during the Today Show. During the show, the authors David Kidder and Noah Oppenheim were interviewed by Matt Lauer and I was intrigued. The books offers immediate advantages to Uncle John's. The books look smart and they are more systematic than Uncle John's books. But are they actually any better?

The truth is, the Devotionals seem to have their share of errors. There are areas that I'm stronger in than others and noticed several mistakes (particularly in the "religious" categories). Still, the books are a lot of fun and will certainly look better by your toilet than Uncle John's Bathroom Readers.