This book, in my opinion, just does not make the grade. A lot of hype has been written in the sdvertising of this book, I can only say in my opinion, it is a load of rubbish. Fact after fact is given with no storyline and with nothing to hold your interest. i am sure that there are people who like to know 'facts' , I myself like intersting observations, but I like to read them in an intersting way and sorry to say that I do not think this book achieves that.

Youtuber Jim is well known for his videos he creates or known due to his sisters or wife whom are also big YouTube stars themselves.

In this, his debut book, we know this is one hundred percent Jim from the first word as his questions surrounding many odd things in the world come to light. As well as being a storyteller at times letting us in on a few odd mishaps he's had happen to himself as well as sharing his views on subjects he discusses.

Topics brought up throughout include; Health, the world, life issues, confidence, birth, death, puberty, adolescence and more!

The whole book is backed up with plenty of facts interspersed throughout which are quite amazing to read also and you're sure to learn something from this book of wonders.

A great debut from Jim!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

If I inherited anything from my father at all, because I damn sure didn’t get his maths genius gene, then it is a thirst for knowledge. I read a lot, and I acquire a lot of seemingly useless facts, tidbits or information.

You just never know when you’re going to need to know that penguins can jump up to three meters high or that it is illegal to hunt and kill camels in Arizona. Really? How many camels are there in Arizona that they need a law to protect them?

Essentially this is what 147 Things is about. A collection of odd facts connected via witty commentary. I don’t think I am going to get over the whole kangaroo fact, now every time I look at one I will be wondering about what is hidden in that pouch.

To be completely frank the concept of a book of random facts could be considered a wee bit boring after a while, and that exact thought crossed my mind just a few facts or chapters in. Then the book took a slightly different direction and became more personal. Specifically from Thing 19: Some people aren’t bad, they just do bad things, onwards.

The element, which I believe redeems the book, and makes it not only an entertaining read but also a heart-warming one, is the part of himself Chapman puts into the book.

He lets the reader take a close look at his memories and what is in his heart. He lets us in to take a snapshot of what has shaped him as a child and as a young man, and this is what makes this more than just a book about odd and interesting facts.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This had me laughing out loud on many paged and I loved the little drawings.

Let’s start this by saying I don’t follow any YouTubers, put simply that requires time and I don’t have that commitment level to people; but an educational fact-filled fun book? Yes please! I’ll read that!

The book contains a rollercoaster of topics from jellyfish to death to pouring wax down a sink, the first irritation I had was the book didn’t flow well, I was reading about a really serious topic which I wasn’t eased to in only to shoot back to a light-hearted.

There are some personal stories in the book which I think a fan of the authors would really appreciate, both about himself and his wife Tanya (a fellow YouTuber) for me it felt like a person I had just come across telling me personal matters but that’s fine, nothing wrong with that!

One thing I struggled with was who exactly is this book for? Too much information about VERY personal body parts to be for younger audiences but the information and facts were rather well known to anyone who has had a decent education, I got 27 things in before I fell I’d learnt something.

We were given a fact but within it sometimes an unrelated story, such as in a ‘thing’ about women being born with all their eggs being mixed with a story about some fancying his sister…how are these related? Thankfully the facts became shorter towards the end of the book.

Something I really didn’t understand was what is with all of the asterisks in the book? If it’s important enough to be the book then pop it in the main text if not leave it out otherwise it just leads to confusion and jumping around the book.

I’d recommend the book to people who like him, his personality and are real fans rather than people who are seeking out facts, while there are some facts in there they are mingled between personal opinions and Jim’s life.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher plus the author for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for this, an honest review.

'147 Things: My User's Guide to the Universe, from Black Holes to Bellybuttons.' Sounds pretty wacky and out there, right? Pick up some interesting facts in a very easy read style book, or at the very least get some random and interesting trivia. Right? Right??

Well, I'm sorry, Jim, but your book just didn't do it for me. The balance of seriousness with sheer stupidity (the amount of times your penis was mentioned just wasn't funny, particularly when juxtaposed beside the story of how a major father figure in your life died) doesn't gel. And as for the amazing facts and stuff? Well... meh. There wasn't even anything that new there. I mean: there were a few things that I didn't know specifically, but nothing to make me get too excited about. Apart from that, they were facts that, well, everyone knows. Apparently not Chapman because he presents them as though he's the bringer of some amazing new piece of science that will really shock you. But it's mostly GCSE level type stuff, it's not ground-breaking. And it's completely erratic and all over the place. I'm not entirely sure who the target audience was in terms of age range, because the facts are ones that teenagers will know but the way it's presented wouldn't work for a younger age group. I'm not sure what audience that leaves us with...

I only finished this book, to be honest, because I wanted to give it a fair review. And I have. Unfortunately, slogging through every single one of the 147 facts didn't change my mind.

Two stars, purely for the fact that I did go and watch about half of one of Chapman's YouTube videos (I switched it off because it was boring), so I must have been a little more intrigued than I realised. Now, I'm even more confused. Why do people find him so interesting on YouTube? I could walk around with a camera all day too, y'know...

Nothing personal about Jim Chapman; he seems like a really nice bloke. I imagine if you follow his YouTube channel, you'll enjoy this book because it appears to be along the same style. Not one for me, but (this sounds weird) I wouldn't mind meeting Jim Chapman. I think he'd be an interesting conversationalist.

Just - unfortunately for us - not an author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ah, Jim. Regularly appearing on the telly in our house due to my daughter’s love of watching Zoella and Alfie on YouTube, I found myself watching more when Jim was on. I do like Jim. He seems like a thoroughly nice chap, the kind of guy you would quite happily spend an hour chatting to in the pub over a beer. You’d probably end up talking about some of the things in his book.

I really enjoyed 147 Things. They’re a slightly odd, eclectic mix ranging from quantum physics, to life (and death), the universe, lobsters, and why not to try and wax your gentleman’s parts. This was painfully funny. Funny for me, painful for Jim. Poor Jim. He also talks about animals, bodies, fears, myths, urban legends and a whole host of other stuff.

Dotted amongst the science-y bits, Jim also tells us about some more personal things – how he met his wife (another of my daughter’s favourites, and whose cookery book sits on our shelves. Tanya Burr’s cookbook is also really quite good and we’ve had some excellent cakes as a result. I digress), stories about his first love, his family and so on. It’s a bit hard to work out the target audience – his younger YouTube fans (such as my daughter) would love to read about some of the personal stuff, but might balk at some of the more serious science, even with Jim’s down-to-earth, chatty style.

It’s that writing style that I really liked – it does feel a bit like your mate telling you stuff that he’s just found out which you might find interesting. And some, indeed most, of Jim’s 147 Things are genuinely interesting.

Great fun. Not my usual genre (I’ve never read a book by a YouTuber before), but an entertaining way to pass a couple of hours. Jim, if you ever fancy a pint and someone to tell some more things to, give me a shout.

This is a book to lift and lay when your brain has space for some interesting but actually useless information. The writing has all the hallmarks of a cocky teenager but the autobiographical parts are exceedingly well crafted. The other information will come light relief. It is full of facts you almost certainly didn't know but the author has very kindly dredged them up for our interest. As he says, there are bits that will freak you out.

Another Youtuber book release?! I know, I hear you. When I first heard that Jim Chapman was releasing a book, believe me, I felt the same and after the whole debacle of #HelloWorldLive, maybe we were all right in thinking that. The issue with Youtubers is that some of them (I repeat, some. This is in no way about all of them) have become marketing and merchandising machines (I’m not going to name any names but I’m pretty sure you know which name I’m referring to) but I was like, do you know what - I don’t know a great deal about Jim Chapman so I’m going to give him a chance.
Did I make the right decision? Honestly, right now I don’t think so.
The positive side of my opinions of 147 Things are entirely referential to the book’s concept, as the idea certainly stands out from the more standard and generic memoir route that some of his peers have gone down. It is clear that he wants the book to educate his younger target demographic, and the facts are certainly interesting despite their scattered and jumbled nature.
The issue is, due to his internet personality status, Jim Chapman tried way too hard to include little random tidbits about his life that didn’t link - IN ANY WAY - to his look on consciousness and immortal lobsters; no matter how hard he tried to tenuously link them.
Sure, I guess that his fanbase cares about the time he tried to wax his balls or the fact that his wife talks in her sleep, but I don’t. And if he wants to branch out his audience to anyone who hasn’t seen his YouTube videos, this book certainly won’t be how he does it.
Add that to the clunky writing and the attempts at a casual, chatty tone that leads some really odd instances of sentence structure, which doesn’t really come across the way that he probably imagine it would; and I have reached to the conclusion that, if I ever desire to hear more from Jim Chapman, I will do it through his YouTube channel.
But honestly, I wouldn’t hold your breath on that happening anytime soon.

I love stuff. I love facts. I love knowing things. It is this reason why 147 Things: My Users Guide to the Universe, from Black Holes to Belly Buttons by Jim Chapman is the perfect book for me.

It is a culmination of a curious mind in book form. Jim Chapman has posed very serious life questions and answered them in a serious (and seriously hilarious) way.

I will admit that whilst I was enjoying 147 Things My Users Guide to the Universe from Black Holes to Belly Buttons it wasn’t until I got to the 123 thing that I was really blown away. Jim Chapman voiced a thought that has plagued me all my life and I realise that we should have some deep and meaningful conversations about life. I don’t think it is going to happen but man we could shoot the poop something wicked. I’m not going to tell you where Jim Chapman and my train of thoughts meet. You are going to have to buy and read his book for that.

147 Things: My Users Guide to the Universe, from Black Holes to Belly Buttons by Jim Chapman is available now.

For more information regarding Jim Chapman (@JimChapman) please visit www.jimchapman.co.uk.

For more information regarding Pan Macmillan (@panmacmillan) please visit www.panmacmillan.com.

I'm sorry but I just didn't like the style of writing and couldn't get very far into the book.

I adored this so much! As someone that loves to find out random facts and push my knowledge further and further, this was perfect! This book was crammed with so much information that I couldn't get my head out of the book. A really great gift idea for this christmas, even for people that aren't huge readers! A really lovely, easy to pick up book to read!

Very interesting read and actually learnt some things. Great book for ages 12 - 102! Easy to dip in and out of. Never heard of the author before but now following on twitter.

147 Things is a terrible book. To be fair to the author, I don't think I'm the target market, but having thought about it for a little while, I'm not entirely sure which demographic he's targeting. It seems too immature for the typical YA reader (the 'magical wonder of everything' is very primary school level), but the content is too adult in places (lots of references to his penis). I'm familiar with the author, as I watch YouTube videos created by his family, but I can't say I've spent a lot of time viewing his own content, so can't comment on whether this fits with his brand.
The style of writing is quite breathless and stream of consciousness, which is an odd choice given the type of book the author has decided to write. Having read the first third of the book (I tried my very best but I literally couldn't carry on any longer), I can't really remember anything specific that was discussed, apart from a horrible waxing anecdote I'd really like to forget. If Jim Chapman really wanted to pass on his fascinating knowledge and thirst for learning, he should have taken a more direct route - the rambling doesn't help.
I also found it uncomfortable that a book with such a science-led focus has no sources or evidence to back up the claims. It's sort of like listening to a friend at the pub who likes to spout 'fun facts' - you have no idea whether the information he's telling you is true, but you're not bothered enough to challenge him. I think it would be irresponsible to buy this for a child or teenager, as you really can't be sure the content is accurate.
All in all, I'm really glad I stopped reading this book as it was making me miserable. There are lots of very talented writers out there, and I think it's grossly unfair that someone should be gifted a publishing deal just because they make popular videos.

To be honest, I expected a slightly different book. I am aware of Jim Chapman as a YouTuber and will admit I am more likely to find myself watching his vlogs when my daughter is catching up on all her subscriptions 😆 But, I was expecting something a little different. I judged Jim (wrongly) and thought I was going to read 147 absurd facts, so I sat back and expected a really easy, comical read. I didn’t get that, I got scientific facts and historical knowledge with a few anecdotes and jolly facts thrown in to pep me up every so often. I mostly enjoyed this book but did find myself skipping over a lot of facts and sciency stuff.
I need to ask... why does my Year 7 Reading lesson think it is hilarious that their reading teacher/librarian was reading Jim Chapman???? I’ve got a long reservation list for this book already.

A fun little book of funny anecdotes from jim who you might know as a youtuber. Target market would be young adults and it shows in some places. Much is useless information that I skimmed through.

This book is hilarious!
I used to be a huge Jim Chapman fan on youtube a few years back and honestly I have watched one of his videos in ages but after reading this I've been perusing videos again!
I will say that some of the 147 things didn't 100% interest me so I skimmed but I've definitely learned a lot and feel good for reading this as I haven't read many things by youtubers. This book might change that for me.
Not much to say about a book of facts but a very enjoyable book for sure!

I love trivia, so a book full of it undoubtedly appeals. Granted, it is targeted at the YA market and it shows at times. I've never really thought of such books have a target age before, but it seems it can be done. Luckily the actual information tends to scale age fairly well, it's more the that some of the anecdotes regarding the information can be a bit more skewed towards a slightly more youthful audience. It probably does a good job of making otherwise fairly dry data a little more exciting. Much as I enjoyed the book it ended up being a little unbalanced; there are some lengthy sections which are little more than anecdotes of varying relevance, and then the final part of the book is a race to cram a lot more things into a very short space. Ultimately I found this made for a slower read than I'd expect with a book like this. It just didn't engage me how I'd hoped. If you're a fan of Jim Chapman it'll be a hit. If you're a fan of trivia it's a nice time-filler.

Well I think I'm the wrong demographic for this book. The style was too erratic for me and felt as if we were travelling at the speed of light. As a he's a YouTube blogger, there's often a stream of consciousness - and that's how i felt whilst reading this book.

I persisted for as much as I could but couldn't finish. I think it would be a perfect book for my nephew and son but there's too many adult references.
That said, there's lots of funny anecdotes and Jim Chapman is very open and honest about his life.
3* would make a great present