1
of
1
The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything
by the Sunday Times #1 Bestselling Author
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 268 ratings, 43 reviews)
Brief Description
'I love Jonn Elledge's brain, and his tireless quests to boggle everyone else's' MARINA HYDEBrought to you from the inquisitive mind of Jonn Elledge, the number-one bestselling author of A History of the World in 47 Borders, The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything is a treasure...
Read More
Format: Hardback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
Latest News
Tiny Books, Big Adventures: Meet Bookcessories!
We are so excited to introduce to you our mini Bookcessories range! These are super cute...
New Releases to add to your TBR this week (9th September)
Lizzy is rounding up the newest arrivals across fiction, non-fiction, and children's books! Check out...
The Book Briefing - September 9th
Welcome to this week's Book Briefing where we round up the news for the week!
Your Introduction to Paranormal Romance
Paranormal Romance is a sub-genre of the romance world that I love in all it's...
Lizzy and Roopa loved Practical Magic 2
Lizzy and Roopa went along to the Practical Magic 2 screening and had a wonderfully...
See moreBizarre, brilliant and filled with things you didn't know you didn't know - The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything evokes a sense of wonder at the scale of this planet, and the universe in which it sits.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
'I love Jonn Elledge's brain, and his tireless quests to boggle everyone else's' MARINA HYDEBrought to you from the inquisitive mind of Jonn Elledge, the number-one bestselling author of A History of the World in 47 Borders, The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything is a treasure trove of random knowledge. Covering everything from the furthest known galaxies to the murky origins of oyster ice cream, inside you will find a discussion of how one might determine the most average-sized country in the world; details of humanity's most ridiculous wars; and, at last, the answer to who would win in a fight between Harry Potter and Spider-Man.Bizarre, brilliant and filled with the unexpected, The Compendium covers the breadth and depth of human experience, weaving its way through words and numbers, science and the arts, the spiritual and the secular. It's a feast of facts for a hungry mind.Includes entries on the cosmos, the human planet (and the lines we draw on it), questions of measurement, history and politics, the natural world, leisure and many other random things you didn't know you didn't know.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781035437344
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 11 September 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Wildfire
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 30.0mm
Width: 136.0mm
Height: 218.0mm
Weight: 425g
Pages: 320
Collections
About the Author
Jonn Elledge is a New Statesman and New World columnist, a regular on the podcasts Oh God, What Now? and the late, lamented Paper Cuts, and a frequent contributor to the Big Issue, the Guardian and assorted other publications. He was previously an assistant editor at the New Statesman, where he created and ran its urbanism-focused CityMetric site, spending six happy years writing about cities, maps and borders and hosting the Skylines podcast. He has written three books, as well as over 200 editions of the Newsletter of (Not Quite) Everything. He lives in London, with the best dog in the world.
Also by Jonn Elledge
View all-
Conspiracy
'Uproarious . . . [Phillips and Elledge] pair the abundant good humour of this book with a warning about the corrosive effects of conspiracy theories' The Times From the Satanic Panic to the anti-vaxx movement, the moon landing to Pizzagate, it's always been human nature to believe we're being lied to by the powers that be (and sometimes, to be...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New Release31 Inventions that Built Our World
For over 10,000 years, the human race has been busy altering our environment and embracing 'progress', evolving seamlessly from hunter-gatherers to the modern urban sophisticates we see ourselves as today. But what are the ideas and inventions that enabled humanity to become, by the early 21st century, a majority urban species for the first time? How did the essential infrastructure...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
A History of the World in 47 Borders
'Fascinating' TOM HOLLAND | 'A delight from start to finish' MIRANDA SAWYER 'A novel and fascinating perspective on world history' BILL BRYSON 'By turns surprising, funny, bleak, ridiculous, or all four of those at once' GIDEON DEFOE 'Elledge writes with wry humour and infectious enthusiasm' OBSERVER People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been...PaperbackSold Out -
A History of the World in 47 Borders
Fascinating TOM HOLLAND | A delight from start to finish MIRANDA SAWYER A novel and fascinating perspective on world history BILL BRYSON By turns surprising, funny, bleak, ridiculous, or all four of those at once GIDEON DEFOE People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography,...PaperbackSold Out
More from Humour
View all-
Me vs Brain
The hilarious book from TikTok and Insta sensation, Hayley Morris Brain - No one's going to buy your book Me - But it's good! My editor says so! Brain - Well she would, wouldn't she... Btw, didn't you leave your hair straighteners on? Me - I can't get into this now, I've got a book description to write Hello! Hayley...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
What A Way To Go
The Million Copy #1 Bestselling Author of How to Kill Your Family is back with the new book of the moment. Featured in Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Sunday Times Style, You Magazine… 'Super-sharp, lethally witty' - NIGELLA LAWSON 'Delicious' - JOJO MOYES 'Very funny… I inhaled it' - JOE LYCETT ‘Taut, pacy, seamless… a huge pleasure to read’ - MARIAN KEYES ‘I...Paperback$3699Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid September -
Murdoku
Place the suspects, reveal the killer! An innovative puzzle book that incorporates murder mysteries with sudoku-like logic. An addictive mix of cosy crime and colourful grid logic puzzles. These visually appealing, addictive puzzles drop solvers into immersive mini murder mysteries, combining the elegant simplicity of games like sudoku with the storytelling of classic logic problems. But Murdoku introduces its own...Paperback$3899Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Minute Cryptic
Welcome to your brand-new wordplay obsession. From the creators of the hugely popular online puzzle platform, Minute Cryptic, comes this step-by-step guide to solving cryptic crosswords. With over 160 different clues for you to solve, each chapter takes you through a different wordplay concept essential for unlocking cryptic crossword clues. As you complete the book, you'll build your skills and...Paperback$2799Elsewhere:$3600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Gate of the Feral Gods
The fourth book in the explosive LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl series New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that's talent. Surviving in a multilevel dungeon that also happens to be the set of the galaxy's most watched game show has taught Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess...Hardback$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Kitchen Confidential
The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. ‘Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino’ — A.A. Gill ‘Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioli’ — Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
The sixth book in the explosive LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Chaos reigns on the eighth floor. Coast Guard vet Carl and Princess Donut have survived longer—and climbed higher—than anyone expected in the galaxy's favourite reality show, but now the game is wide open. The task: capture six monsters and turn them into battle cards. The stronger the creature, the...Hardback$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Women's Prize WinnerThe Correspondent
84 Charing Cross Road meets A Man Called Ove in this heartwarming, witty story about the life of an extraordinary woman, told through her letters. In her letters to family and friends, we come to know the life of Sybil Van Antwerp—stubborn, cantankerous, opinionated, always steadfast in her belief in the power of the written word. But as the clock...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3700Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Detective Beans and the Map of Mystery
Enjoy this new DETECTIVE BEANS adventure in the bestselling and award-winning graphic novel series by Li Chen! Your favourite kitten detective is back with a new mystery to solve . . . and treasure to find! When Captain Scuttlebeard gives Beans a treasure map, Beans is determined to find the prize at the end. The clues take him all over...Paperback$1900Elsewhere:$2200Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Game On
Book three in the No.1 New York Times bestselling Into Darkness series,following the dark rom-com sensations Lights Out and Caught Up. The game ison for these enemies-to-lovers with laugh-out-loud banter and scorching-hotbrat play. I hate that woman. Tyler Neumann has spent years looking for his father, and not because he wants to meetthe man. No, he wants to destroy him....Paperback$2000Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseOnly One for the Orc
A burnt-out bookseller. A lovesick orc. Is fate enough to keep them together? In Claw Haven, Alaska, monsters are real – but what about fated mates? Vi Harper is good at many things and great at pretending she’s got her life figured out. Truth is, she’s a hot mess – especially when cocky, gorgeous orc Nick Wicker goads her in...Paperback$1999Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
