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The Book of Riddles
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
- GenresClassics
5 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 5, 2011
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132 people want to read
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* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 1, 2021
Good. Too short.
April 21, 2022
A book of riddles from 1846 by John F. Brown. Gives the answers. I used this once for an icebreaker. Very short read, but back then it may have taken people a long time to reason this out..but good none the less.
June 7, 2022
Some were to lengthy so couldn't follow. Written in old style, so.....
December 18, 2024
Great book took me back to my childhood memories.
August 24, 2012
I don't recommend anyone bother with this book. The book is only about 10 pages long and the selection of riddles have utterly failed the test of time.
The book ends abruptly almost as if it's not the complete book. I re-downloaded it to be sure I got the entire thing. The thing is, I've read books exactly like this in the library as a child. They were hundreds of pages long. So I think this particular version might actually be an error.
The few riddles in the book fail to last through the test of time. They refer to archaic cultural items which only existed in the English Empire of the Regency period. The example of the grandfather clock riddle, listed merely as "clock" makes the assumption that all households have one of these expensive pieces of furniture in them. Even poor people back then didn't own grandfather clocks. Then let's look at the ladies' pocket-watch. Carrying a pocket watch was a custom in Europe nations only, for women of high aristocracy only, from about the time of King Louis IV until the late 1800's. Even if we took away the concept of the riddle being out-dated, it would only be applicable in that country, in that class of people. Therefore, I say again that the riddles fail the test of time, because few people in the modern world could be expected to guess these archaic cultural items used in the riddles. This is a classic example of how pop culture references fail in the long run to endure.
JRR Tolkien did not make that mistake in "The Hobbit". He was careful to use something universal and timeless. Who expects fish to disappear from the planet... really?
I got this book with a sense of excitement that it would be packed with riddles that would remind me of the tense riddle-contest in the deep caves of the mountains between Bilbo Baggins and Gollum. I also got it because I'm a serious fan of the Riddle-Master series of books.
You can get it for free, but it's not even worth that much. As a matter of fact, I think I put more thought and effort toward this review than the publisher of the book did.
The book ends abruptly almost as if it's not the complete book. I re-downloaded it to be sure I got the entire thing. The thing is, I've read books exactly like this in the library as a child. They were hundreds of pages long. So I think this particular version might actually be an error.
The few riddles in the book fail to last through the test of time. They refer to archaic cultural items which only existed in the English Empire of the Regency period. The example of the grandfather clock riddle, listed merely as "clock" makes the assumption that all households have one of these expensive pieces of furniture in them. Even poor people back then didn't own grandfather clocks. Then let's look at the ladies' pocket-watch. Carrying a pocket watch was a custom in Europe nations only, for women of high aristocracy only, from about the time of King Louis IV until the late 1800's. Even if we took away the concept of the riddle being out-dated, it would only be applicable in that country, in that class of people. Therefore, I say again that the riddles fail the test of time, because few people in the modern world could be expected to guess these archaic cultural items used in the riddles. This is a classic example of how pop culture references fail in the long run to endure.
JRR Tolkien did not make that mistake in "The Hobbit". He was careful to use something universal and timeless. Who expects fish to disappear from the planet... really?
I got this book with a sense of excitement that it would be packed with riddles that would remind me of the tense riddle-contest in the deep caves of the mountains between Bilbo Baggins and Gollum. I also got it because I'm a serious fan of the Riddle-Master series of books.
You can get it for free, but it's not even worth that much. As a matter of fact, I think I put more thought and effort toward this review than the publisher of the book did.
May 29, 2017
This book was very, very short. I think there were only ten or so riddles in there. It took me a minute and a half to read the entire book. (Six pages. That's how long Amazon says this book is.)
But, I knew that this was an older, shorter book. The entire thing was pretty much what you'd expect from a collection of riddles from the 18th/19th century. I can't find an exact date of publication, but that time-frame feels about right, given the subject-matter of the riddles.
The only real problem I had with this book was with the formatting. The way each riddle is laid out, the first thing your eyes are drawn to is the answer, because of how it's off-set from the rest of the type. Or at least, that's what kept happening to me. Although, to be fair, the riddles are pretty straight-forward, and you probably don't even need the answers printed below to know what it's talking about.
This would be a good choice if you're just looking for a quick, older-world read. If you're in it for the riddles, you'd probably be happier getting a more modern book.
But, I knew that this was an older, shorter book. The entire thing was pretty much what you'd expect from a collection of riddles from the 18th/19th century. I can't find an exact date of publication, but that time-frame feels about right, given the subject-matter of the riddles.
The only real problem I had with this book was with the formatting. The way each riddle is laid out, the first thing your eyes are drawn to is the answer, because of how it's off-set from the rest of the type. Or at least, that's what kept happening to me. Although, to be fair, the riddles are pretty straight-forward, and you probably don't even need the answers printed below to know what it's talking about.
This would be a good choice if you're just looking for a quick, older-world read. If you're in it for the riddles, you'd probably be happier getting a more modern book.
October 1, 2011
This is a free public domain book. If a person is a fan of riddles it is nice but very short with the answers directly beneath the riddle. All of the riddles are old and probably known to others but enjoyable to try and get you friends to answer them if they are not into riddles.
May 31, 2014
Amazing
this book made me think deep,
would have been a better rating
if it would have been more contemporary.
helps me counteract multiple sclerosis.
this book made me think deep,
would have been a better rating
if it would have been more contemporary.
helps me counteract multiple sclerosis.
Read
December 12, 2016Good riddles, and very poetic...just, extremely short.
January 2, 2017
Very short
Very short booklet. It has only about 6 or 7 pages of riddles and most of them easy to guess.
Very short booklet. It has only about 6 or 7 pages of riddles and most of them easy to guess.
December 4, 2017
Really, don't bother reading it. About four pages, old-time riddles from about Jane Austen's time, written in convoluted phrases. Basic answers include clock, time, bellows, etc.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews