Random Illustrated Facts are just that: a book about random tidbits with cute illustrations.
I love books like this. As a trivia hound I love knowing random facts that can impress people. This gives me a whole slew of new ones to use. I love the art; it's fun and doesn't make the book seem overly educational.
I'd definitely buy this book as a gift for my erudite but fun friends.

Fact books are my guilty pleasure - I believe you can never know too many random trivial facts to surprise people with. This book doesn't disappoint. First of all, the illustrations are devastatingly adorable (I found myself staring at cute bunnies for far too long) and flow really well with the information given. Most importantly, the facts provided were new to me and quite interesting - did you know Bob Ross didn't get paid for his show? WHAT?
Random Illustrated Facts would make a great gift for anyone of any age who enjoys the odd tidbit of information. Here's to winning at your local trivia night!

Random Illustrated Facts: A Collection of Curious, Weird, and Totally Not Boring Things to Know is a collection of illustrations by Mike Lowery and handwritten tidbits about the obscure, unusual and simply random. The book is divided into sections covering history, animals, food and drinks, science and everyday things.

After developing an [obsession] interest with children's non-fiction books last year and borrowing [all the new ones throughout the year regardless of topic] some from the library, I already knew a lot of these random facts and had absorbed others through osmosis over the years. Apparently my brain clings to [useless] random snippets of information and in doing so pushes out the stuff I actually need to remember in the process.

This was a quick read. I enjoyed the quirkiness of the illustrations and think this would be a suitable gift book. I can also see these illustrations being used as a basis for an office desk calendar.

I found the writing which tends to slope upwards to the right fairly often distracting until I got used to it, the clutter of words on some pages hard to follow and the smudges on others a bit off-putting, but maybe I'm being overly picky.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley (thank you very much to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Group for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback.

I have been following this artist on instagram for a few years and was delighted to see that he was making a book. The book fun facts over whimsical one page drawings. I appreciate the authors curiosity, which is well matched by his art style.

I can't read this book without a big goofy grin on my face and interrupting everyone within reach with random facts. An entire book full of the most hilarious anticdotes that you will feel compelled to insert into all future conversations!

This little book is a helluva good time! It has a few facts that are actually pretty obvious and that most everyone knows, but for the most part -- I'd say 95% at least -- these facts were completely new and yes, TOTALLY RANDOM. I had never heard most of these things before reading this book, and it was a lot of fun to read them now. For instance, did you know that, in Georgia, it is against the law for a mortician to say naughty words in front of a corpse? Or how about that the tongue of a blue whale can weigh up to three tons? That cheese was stolen more than any other food in 2011?

These are only a teeny, tiny sampling of the awesomeness that is waiting to be found inside of this book. If you are like me and enjoy trivia or just learning random, useless things for fun, then this is definitely the book for you. It's also good for kids because the art makes it fun. Furthermore, the art helps to reinforce the facts, themselves, so if you are training for some kind of random information trivia night, I would definitely recommend this book, as the art that goes along with the facts really helps to cement the facts, themselves, in your mind.

I had a lot of fun with this book. I'm going to let my son read it tonight. I think he will have a lot of fun with it as well.

I will admit - my rating went from a three star to a five star on this book. When I first started reading, I really wished there was more substance to the subject matter rather than throwing out...well...random facts. But then, it's described right in the title, isn't it? I soon got into it, and really enjoyed the trivia and the cool drawings. This would be a great coffee-table book, or one to keep on the reference bookshelf to pull down, get a subject to look up, and then read more about elsewhere. There are laughter-inducing and jaw-dropping facts to be had. The chapters are separated into subject matter so you find things more easily and read up on things that interest you or learn something new I recommend this book, and I recommend you read the first chapter so you don't give up to soon. It's worth it!
I received an ARC from the publisher, but was under no obligation to give any review, good or otherwise.

I know it's not just me, but I LOVE a random fact. Just that tiny little nugget of, usually weird, information that could potentially unfold into an entire new story! Or, a little blurb of information that simply stands on its own as a "Huh, what do ya know" fact. Perfect for small talk or planting curiosity. Mike Lowery pulls it off with his unique illustrations and writing/art style. I loved this book just as a casual interesting read. Anyone of any age or gender can appreciate this collection of quirky facts. SO GOOD! I can't wait to share the fact about Alfred Hitchcock, so odd!

I'm so glad I got to review this book from NetGalley. Once in a while a book comes along that ticks all the boxes. This one does. It's funny and weird and the art finds the perfect balance between folk primitive and goofy. It's not easy at all to draw clearly and well and with character. Mike Lowery has been at it for years.
I am a trivia junkie and this book scratched my itch. If you're 'that person' at work.. the one who has all the trivia, the one people look at in wonder and say 'how the heck...what the heck? How did you KNOW that?!' then this book will give you even more ammo for amazement and mirth around the water cooler. If you're NOT that person, but want to be, well, here's your new secret weapon.

These full page cartoons are collected into five parts dealing with diverse (very diverse) topics such as science, everyday things, and food and drinks. The temptation of course, when reviewing this sort of book (well, not exactly this sort, since in my estimation, it's unique) is to spoil the heck out of it by listing a selection of the contents. I am resisting the urge. You get the cover blurbs, go buy the book! Seriously.

Additionally, in the background/biographical intro, Mr. Lowery states that has been drawing in notebooks nearly daily for a couple decades. This actually gives me some hope. I have masses of notebooks, all bought with firm and grandiose plans to fill them up with drawings and notes and brilliance. 99% of them sit tauntingly on my bookshelves, empty. I'm going to start jotting, maybe drawing. Well done! I think this is one of those things that people (i.e., Mike Lowery) do and make it look effortless when it's not effortless at all.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

Five stars. With bonus stars because drawing like that's not easy.

Random Illustrated Facts is an awesome book for people who love bulking up on trivia! The facts are amazing and the illustrations bring them to life in a humorous way. I would have never guessed how Bluetooth got it's name or that Bumblebee Bats existed until I read this book. I hope to see more random Illustrated Facts in the future!

This book is so interesting - chock full of interesting, fascinating and downright odd facts. It would be a great addition to any library, large or small. Recommended. (Love the drawings too!)

5 helms

Please follow me on my blog :) Review originally posted on Vellum Voyages (www.vellumvoyages.com) .

I'm a curious person by nature....I have this insatiable thirst for knowledge and I LOVE random trivia regardless of its usefulness....I just enjoy knowing weird things ok!!! :P Trivia is always a great conversation starter right?! This book had a plethora of fun facts all accompanied with cute doodles! What's not to like!? Fun to read and fun to flip through....I finished it quickly and wanted more.

I'm also impressed with Mike Lowery's interest in facts and scrapbooking at the tender age of 11! He's been doing this since childhood! Wish I was that curious at 11 lol...Buy this if you are a curious person too and love your fun facts, if you need a gift for someone (or yourself!) or just feel like an impulse buy hehe...If you do give into that impulse buy, it will make a great addition to your bookshelf! Enjoy!

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4 / 5

This is an excellent coffee-table sort of book, cram packed with vibrant illustrations and weird and wonderful facts. It's approximately 200 pages long and each page has at least one, but often multiple, fun facts based around a theme. Random Illustrated Facts would make a great gift, but it isn't the kind of thing that I would normally just buy for myself.

The book is split up into sections, so the facts are loosely based around themes: animals, everyday things, history, etc. Whilst I knew a few of these facts - for example, that in 2013 the Mars Rover sang Happy Birthday to itself - there were a lot I didn't know, so it was great to learn a few things. I did look up a couple to confirm their validity, so I'm reasonably confident that the facts in this book are actually true.

The illustrations are cute and the style is consistent throughout; they're detailed doodles, in full colour, and always related to the facts. I didn't give this book five stars because I thought that some of the pages were overcrowded; some of the colours were too jarring and the writing was sometimes difficult to follow if there were, say, five facts on a page and illustrations for each.

Overall, this book is gorgeous and the facts are interesting. Like most books of this type, it doesn't have a whole lot of re-reading value, but it was super cool and easy to read.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.

Random Illustrated Facts is a great way to start learning about all the crazy things that have happened and are still happening. I have a greater respect for history now, knowing that I could stumble upon unexpected information. Some of the facts were gross, the bugs especially, but they are facts. I will admit, my favorite section was the first one. Who knew animals and historical figures joined together so often? If only there had been cameras during Napoleon's little experience. My guess is that it would have been a viral video.

The illustrations are awesome. They make the facts more than just words on a page. I felt like the facts became something more when combined with the illustrations. Mike Lowery should write a companion book to this one with just history facts. I'm sure there are a lot of random history facts out there that most people don't know about. I think it would make history come alive in a way that it doesn't for a lot of people. I know I would have liked something like that when I was taking history in high school.

I don't know of any demographic that would not like this book. There is something for everyone. It's an enjoyable read that doesn't drag, and as a bonus, actually makes you smarter. Smarter with random facts, but you never know when those will come in handy.

This is a great book for people that don't really like to read, but are willing to try if given the right book. It makes reading enjoyable.

Wow! This is so much fun and even better than I expected. I love to learn random facts and this book is full of information that I didn't even know. The best part were the illustrations. They were so cute and funny, I never wanted to put it down!

A gorgeous gift / coffee table book, I've learned so many facts from reading this and the illustrations and typography are fantastic. A definite winner of a gift for trivia lovers!

I absolutely adore completely useless trivia, my brain is full of it, I like pulling out random facts in those awkward conversation moments when there is just thick silence. It doesn't really do much for the conversation, but now someone else knows some random bit of trivia, maybe one day they will win a trivia game thanks to the little nugget of nonsense I supplied them.

I have often thought it would be awesome if these books of facts had illustrations because some of these snippets of info could be made into hilarious pictures! Luckily someone has done just that, and what a fun book it is. If you like your weird facts to have pictures then read this book, it is fun, cute, and legitimately entertaining!

This book is jam packed with cool and random illustrated facts about history, science, animals, and every day things. The illustrations are adorable,doodle-type, and relaxing to read. This book is great for hectic days when you just need something to wind down. Perfect for all ages, I definitely recommend this book!