I just finished reading What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe.  I expected a funny book with interesting information and it exceeded expectations.  Much like the What If Blog, the book answers absurd questions in a completely serious manner and does scientific reasoning to answer them. This seems like a great way to introduce scientific reasoning to a kid while remaining highly entertaining for adults.

It’s not just walls of text though, the simple cartoons that first made Randall well known are in the book as well.  They often illustrate the absurdity ideas in the answers to completely ridiculous questions.

The bite size format of the book made it perfect for commuting and travel.  I was never more than a few moments away from finishing a chapter. Each chapter provided a natural break point, though I always wanted to read just one more.