Fun Science: A Guide to Life, the Universe and Why Science Is So Awesome

by Charlie McDonnell

Welcome, fellow humans (and others), to the the world of FUN SCIENCE! I'm Charlie, also known across the internet as charlieissocoollike.

In my book, I'll be taking you on an awesome journey through the cosmos, beginning with the Big Bang through to the Solar System and the origins of life on Earth, all the way down to the particles that make up everything around us (including you and me!).

Expect frequent digressions, tons of illustrations of not-so-sciencey things (NB a microwave flying through space), and pages packed with my all time favourite mind-bending science facts.

So, get ready for a faster-than-the-speed of-light (OK, not quite) tour of all of the best and most interesting things that science has to offer us… and most importantly: WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSE!

(Written by a Science Fan NOT at scientist!)

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Popular Science, Audiobook, Humor

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2016

About the author

Charlie McDonnell (known on YouTube as charlieissocoollike) is a British Video Blogger, Filmmaker and Musician from Bath, who currently resides in London.

After starting to post YouTube videos in 2007, Charlie became the first Video Blogger in the UK to reach one million subscribers on YouTube. Her most viewed video is of her doing a bad american accent (she's not sure why that happened) and her second most viewed video is "Duet With Myself," which she's a bit more proud of, honestly.

In 2010 Charlie released her first album, "This Is Me." People seem to really want her to make more music but she hasn't gotten around to that yet. Throughout 2013-14, Charlie made a series of four short films, funded directly by YouTube. She likes to think they got better as she made more of them, but is happy for you to disagree with her on that.

Over the years, Charlie has worked on numerous projects for charities, including Cancer Research UK, UNICEF, Children In Need, Comic Relief, Save The Children and the Alzheimer's Society. I guess she must like helping people or something.

Beyond her own YouTube channel, Charlie has worked on many online video projects, notably "Science of Attraction," hosted by Derren Brown, and a series of video blogs from behind the scenes of Doctor Who for the BBC. She's also worked with many brands to produce videos for his own channel, including Microsoft, Sony Pictures, Pixar, Disney, and Tommy Hilfiger.

Charlie is a regular participant in Radio 1's Internet Takeover show (yes, for the actual radio) and she's also tried her hand at voice acting for Mike Bithell's upcoming video game "Volume." She's pretty new to both of these things, but fortunately hasn't been told off for doing a bad job by his bosses. Yet.

In her spare time Charlie enjoys consuming media in all its forms, and hanging out with her girlfriend and their cat, Gideon. Basically, she is deceptively boring.

Reviews

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! It reads exactly the way Charlie's Fun Science videos are told, and that has always been one of my favourite series on his channel. Being a person who has always been really bad at the sciences, it is super refreshing to have someone explain basic stuff to you as simply as possible, and that way even I am able to wrap my head around these concepts better. If you like Charlie's Fun Science videos, definitely give this book a go!

[royaevereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lives up to its name - it was FUN! I learnt so many interesting facts and was constantly bothering the people around me with them whilst I was reading. I think the earlier chapters about space were the most fascinating to me.

I love that this book gives a pretty broad overview of science. The illustrations were cool, and pretty funny at times. Charlie's voice is really distinct throughout; if you like how he words things and expresses himself in videos then you'll enjoy how this is written. For a nonfiction book it also felt pretty fast paced, because of the smooth transitions between chapters and the fact that chapters got shorter and shorter as the book went on.

The only things I didn't like were the "editor's notes" just because I found them lame rather than funny, and the occasional irrelevant references to stuff like being "basic", selfies, Netflix and Kim Kardashian (the Kim Kardashian reference was particularly awful!). I feel like these things were added only to make it feel more like a typical youtuber book, which I don't think was needed.

[KaroLin (Fiktion fetzt) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wer Charlies Fun Science Videos kennt (und vermutlich liebt), kann sich ziemlich genau vorstellen, was ihn hier erwartet (zumal der Titel ja eigentlich auch selbsterklärend ist): Wissenschaftliche Fakten, unterhaltsam verpackt. Im Grunde also genau das, was man sich früher im Schulunterricht gewünscht hätte, aber nicht bekommen hat.
In jedem Kapitel wird dabei ein anderer Aspekt des Lebens unter die Lupe genommen. Angefangen beim Universum, über das Sonnensystem, unseren Planeten, den Menschen, Zellen bis hin zu Atomen und Subatomaren Partikeln - von groß nach klein. Quasi eine kurze Geschichte von fast allem.

Nun bin ich natürlich kein Wissenschaftler (jeder macht mal Fehler bei der Berufswahl), dementsprechend kann ich nicht einwandfrei beurteilen ob die hier dargebotenen Fakten wissenschaftlicher Prüfung tatsächlich standhalten würden. Aber ich gehe einfach mal davon aus, dass Charlie kein Buch schreibt und veröffentlicht dessen Inhalt er nicht genau recherchiert hat.
Meine naturwissenschaftliche 'Kompetenz' stützt sich auf Überbleibsel aus dem Bio- und Physikunterricht, diverse Dokumentationen, Besuche im Naturkundemuseum und intensives Lesen von Wikipedia Artikeln - und ich denke, das ist genau der passende Wissensstand für dieses Buch. Denn dadurch trifft man hier auf Fakten, die man schon kennt (jeder hört gern die Greatest Hits), kann sich das eine oder andere Konstrukt durch Charlies bildhafte Erläuterung noch besser vorstellen und wird außerdem noch hier und da überrascht werden (ich zum Beispiel davon, wie wenig ich über Uranus wusste).

Charlies Enthusiasmus für Wissenschaft, wissenschaftliche Themen und das Universum, ist nicht nur in seinen Videos spürbar, sondern schlägt sich auch hier auf jeder einzelnen Seite nieder. Es ist insgesamt offensichtlich, dass in diesem Buch viel Arbeit und Herzblut stecken.
Vermutlich gerade weil Charlie selbst kein Wissenschaftler ist, gelingt es ihm sehr gut, komplizierte Sachverhalte, wie beispielsweise den Big Bang, verständlich zu erklären ohne dabei den Unterhaltungsfaktor, der wissenschaftlichen Erörterungen für gewöhnlich fehlt, aus den Augen zu verlieren – dazu tragen übrigens auch die wunderbaren Illustrationen von Fran Meneses (aka frannerd) bei.

Fazit: The universe is awesome, and so is this book!

P.S. Da ein ausgewogenes Review immer auch negative Aspekte beinhalten muss: Auf Seite 81 hat sich ein Tippfehler eingeschlichen.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just the mention of science to any inactive teenager is enough to make them move rapidly in the other direction, but the You-Tuber Charlie McDonnell has made it his mission to bring the wonders of science and the world to them. He will take us on a journey through all types of science, from the solar system and the cosmos and right back to the Big Bang. He covers all manner of other things too, from the human body, particles physics and a brief introduction to chemistry.

If you can prise the screen out of their hands, then this book is a good introduction to all things sciencey. It is not a serious science book, but those that this book is aimed at is not expecting that and therefore it makes it ideal for those who think that science is scary and difficult. It is full of funky fonts, fun page layouts and weird and wonderful drawings that make the facts appealing and amusing anecdotes to make the reader smile. I have now passed it to the target audience, my teenage daughters, for their opinion, so will report back on this later on.

[Muhamed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Charlie has a great sense of humour and explains the topics really well.

[Sleepover137 · Rating 4 out of 5]

obviously this is a science book so it's pretty hard to read and you can't read it fast even though it is very interesting. I enjoyed the illustrations and Charlie's writing style. And while I knew some of the basic stuff I still learned quite a bit. This also gave me an existential crisis quite a few times :-o

[Ciara Hartigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, sue me!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love about this book is that it is really fun. I enjoyed flipping through it and reading it all as it was very interesting and also very Charlie which is great. It is something that I think everyone would really enjoy reading and even if you just want to flip through it and read about different parts it works that way too. If you are a big fan of Charlies Fun Science videos then you will defiantly love this!

This not much to explain about this book other than if you love science or always wanted to learn more about science, like me, then this is defiantly the book for you. I always loved science when I was in school and was so happy when I got sent this to review. I enjoyed reading it and it is one of those books you could re-read over and over again. It is so interesting!

I loved reading about the big bang and the solar system it was just so interesting and got me looking up more science stuff on the internet and I've started watching his Fun Science videos.

If you love science, Charlie or just want to learn some stuff then defiantly pick up this book! It is one that even though you'll just want to read one chapter you will end up reading more. This is a great book from Charlie and I'm glad he decided to do something with science and pretty much educate me in some of the stuff I didn't know. Defiantly a book for all age ranges!

[Genna · Rating 4 out of 5]

From this, his very first book, it is clear Charlie has incredible writing talent. His flawless rhythm makes this book very difficult to put down, bringing the content to an even higher level of interest (science is always interesting, but well written educational science? A thing of beauty). A solid 4.5 (-0.5 for the 'editors notes' scattered throughout, seemed to break the flow and feel of the book and personality Charlie was portraying of himself. Otherwise, my perfect cup of tea)

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

McDonnell isn't a scientist, but he clearly knows his stuff. He's intelligent and passionate. The writing is funny and accessible, and the illustrations are engaging and charming.

I had a friend give this to me and I read it because it seemed interesting and fun (which it was!). I felt like I learned a lot of cool facts that I didn't know before. I also felt a bit overwhelmed at points because the book covers so much ground, and it's easy to feel overloaded by the amount of information you're reading. I read through it in a handful of days, and I'd actually recommend readers take it slower than that to really absorb everything. McDonnell attempts to tackle a lot (the entire universe and everything it contains) in less than 300 pages. I think the book could've been stronger if it was split into an entire series where he could go into these topics in greater depth.

I'm definitely not the audience for this book, and my rating reflects that. But I do think that the intended audience (particularly fans of Charlie McDonnell's YouTube channel) will love this.

[Sara Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book! I'm a big fan of science and science education and its obvious that Charlie is too. This book does a great job at discussing loads of different scientific concepts- from cosmology to geology to neuroscience to quantum mechanics in a way that is understandable and fun!! The illustrations and humor in the book are also great! Would definitely recommend!!

[Rae Beeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this-
I studied science a bit in college (premed for a time) and enjoy the subject a lot so this did feel a bit like a refresher course, however, it's a FUN book for any budding young scientist and curious mind in your life (and Christmas is just around the corner - just sayin.') #science

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, really made me feel insignificant but in all the right ways

[Rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic overview of science that explains some difficult concepts while still remaining accessible and entertaining. For someone like me, who hasn't particularly studied anything science-related since high school (don't ask how long ago that was), this book was both a great refresher on things I once learned and a fountain of new, fun facts, many of which I plan to commit to memory so I can spout them at parties like small talk. That's how small talk works, right?

All joking aside, scientific topics can feel hugely daunting to those like me who might have a hard time wrapping my brain around string theory and partial physicals. This book distills down those topics and more, and Charlie does a great job both delivering the facts and also sandwiching those facts in wonderful puns and interesting stories.

I've always loved space, and I particularly enjoyed the sections on the stars and planets. I feel like the solar system and everything contained in it is a topic I've previously learned very little about, other than the obligatory memorize-the-planet-names task and the oops-just-kidding-Pluto fiasco. There is so much more to learn, and now I'm thinking I need to find a good book just on Astronomy, though maybe Charlie should just write one and save me the trouble of looking.

I would be remiss if I didn't express my love for both the design and illustrations of this book, which make up a huge part of why it's so entertaining and engaging to read. The changes in font size, type, and color help definite each topic and idea and help to smooth the reading and information-absorption process. With such great design, it would be easy to pass over Charlie's clever writing as "just another science book." The illustrations are so wonderfully whimsical and lighthearted, I couldn't wait to turn each page and see what popped up next. This is the kind of art I want to blow up and put on my wall - not only is it informative, but it just makes me very happy. So congrats and thank you to Dave Brown for his wonderful design work, and to Fran Meneses for her fantastic illustrations.

And thank you to Charlie for writing such a well-informed and accessible book about science, and one I would be happy to pass on to everyone know, adult and child alike. (Those jokes go straight over kids' heads anyways, right?)

PS. My new favorite fact: WE ARE ALL MADE OF STAR STUFF.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Charlie McDonnell. He is the first YouTuber I ever watched, and is probably the only one I still care about even after getting over that phase of my life. I am so proud that he's written this book, because it's different than all the other YouTuber books out there. While the topics he covers are essentially everything (or the important stuff) that you learned in high school science (I took both Biology and Chemistry, so it read a little like a review), the way he writes about it is so entertaining. You can really see his personality come through in it, and I appreciated that a lot (he actually reminds me a lot of the Eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who when he explains stuff, which I also enjoyed). The illustrations are fabulous, and I really enjoyed the little "editor's notes" that appeared throughout the book. In all, the book and the writing really lives up to the title, and while I didn't reeeeeeeally enjoy taking sciences in high school, I totally agree that science is super cool and fun and this is definitely and excellent way to show people that.

Also, I've now had the Fun Science theme (from his videos) stuck in my head for days. So, beware of that.

[Himanshi Agrawal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to be honest, I didn't care for the trend when all youtubers suddenly got book deals, and I didn't think I'd be reading any of them.

But then Charlie, who is possibly my favourite, decided to write a (fun) science book.
And, oh my god, it so lived up to its name - It was funny and it was science-y.
As some one who kind of did not understand science beyond a certain level, Charlie's book made me wish I had taken science as an option in 11th grade. (Although it's better for my life that I didn't, but hey - how great does a book have to be to inspire this kind of wishful thinking)

He does such a good job of breaking down concepts to a layman's level, and he does it with so much passion and it doesn't matter if he is talking about galaxies, mitochondria, the muscular system or the string theory, I wanted to know everything he had to say about the subject and more, (even if I didn't completely get it. - Science is confusing y'all)

This was wildly different from the books I read, but it was a charming read.
Now, if only Charlie could write a book about Math.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breezy and irreverent intro to Science for people who enjoy Charlie McDonnell's YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/charlieissoco...). That's a very large universe of people, which I joined more than a decade ago. Charlie is not a scientist, but an entertaining humorous guy who finds science fascinating. He has an infectious knack for sharing his joy in the subject matter. Solid research. Corny, chatty jokes. I found the early chapters on the origins of the universe and astrophysics the best. The last third of the book covers too many topics, too superficially to be very informative. What Charlie gets absolutely right is the most important thing anyone can know about science: namely, that it is not a collection of facts about the world, but rather a method for discovering how the world works.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie did a wonderful job with this book. He managed to explain even the more complicated stuff in simple terms, and in a way that surely makes most of his readers more curious about science. I would have loved it as a teenager, which I think is the target audience (I still love it as an adult, I just think that this book is best for an audience that thinks science is not that interesting or important).

Charlie writes the way he talks in his videos, so I constantly had a little Charlie bopping up and down with excitement talking about his favourite subject in my head.

The chapters of the book and the length of each were cleverly made, even though I had serious trouble getting through the first chapter, but that was mostly due to the fact that even with Charlie's fun writing, I am simply bored of the whole cosmology topic. Or maybe a bit scared. I really am scared of the universe.

But it may also be due to the design of the whole book, and I mean the actual layout of the pages (this is where I get into the looks of the book). While I absolutely loved the drawings (the urinary system screaming "Wee!"? Definitely my favourite) and the different colours used for the pages, I'm sill wondering why the text was printed in bold, cursive, bigger or smaller, or even in a whole other font at times. It simply made no sense whatsoever. It felt more like someone tried to stretch the text to fill a page or make the book seem longer. And for the subheadings; I never really knew which part of the chapter I was in, which was particularly infuriating during the first chapter (because I do have some idea about basic geology and biology, but as a complete novice to cosmology, it was hard to follow the actual text when the design is such a mess). I know this sounds very picky, but I do believe that design is an integral part to a book such as this, and if the reader is confused by it, then the whole reading experience is compromised (and please don't try to tell me that I'm just too stupid to understand the intricate thought process behind the design, because unlike a written text, design has to be accesible without the reader having to think about it too much).
For this reason I put down the book for a few mont and only came back to it a few days ago. As I said, the writing is accesible and fun, but the design confused me and made me put the book down. That's why I am giving it four stars instead of five. Sorry Charlie! I'm sure this is not your fault.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Science is a book written by a YouTube creator named Charlie McDonnell. The book is based on a series he's done by the same name, and similar to the book, he covers different topics and makes them entertaining. The book brings a bunch of topics together, like the universe, the earth, the human body, and the elements, to name a few. It is fun, like the title suggests! It's colorful and accompanied by illustrations that usually tie into jokes. However, I do think you have to like science in the first place to truly enjoy it. It's quite wordy, which is reasonable because science is so detailed, but I wouldn't suggest it if you are completely disinterested in science and are trying to get into it.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hands down the absolute BEST science book I have ever read. I learned amazingly interesting new/old things that I actually feel I will RETAIN, because Charlie was able to explain it in a descriptive (but not overwhelming), visually stimulating (silly comics and drawings), funny (jokes everywhere), and relate-able (pop-culture references up the wazoo) fashion. It made me fall in love with space. It made me be more mindful of how my body works and functions, and it made me genuinely interested in science as a whole.

Thank you for this Charlie. I really, desperately hope you write another book. Man, what I would give to sit down and have a cup of coffee and mind-blowing conversation with you!

[Hannah⚡️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, this book was a lot of fun to read and I learned some stuff about science! It definitely lives up to the title!

But for real, I really did enjoy this book. Besides Vlogbrothers, Charlie is the first YouTuber I remember watching over 10 years ago (god I’m old). So it’s really cool and wonderful and happy to see Charlie go from a YouTuber to writing a book like this over the years. I loved the way Charlie wrote the book-it really is fun science. It’s educational but he presents the information in a way that’s super engaging and easy to read. And I love all the different drawings and doodles, the different font sizes and styles, the fun comments and editor’s notes throughout. Those all made it feel more readable and fun and less like a boring science book. Because science IS fun!

[Gian Quinones-Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie McDonnell is a youtuber but don't let that fool you. This book is a science pact piece of literature. He shows us that you don't have to be a scientist to understand and communicate science. He takes us on a guide from the beginning of the universe to the nucleus of the atoms that make up all living things. Charlie's humor usually translates to grins and an occasional lol but he makes science entertainment and shows us that reality is a lot more interesting and humbling than we give credit. I believe this is a gateway book into any people that are just getting into it or are just curious. Pick this book up it will indeed change your life!

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie does a wonderful job of what he sets out to do: He communicates a wide-range of scientific knowledge, taking us from the Big Bang to Quantum Mechanics via Evolution and Human Biology, in a clear, informed manner with plenty of enthusiasm, illustrations and sentences ending in exclamation marks! A self-proclaimed science fan, Charlie states he hopes that he can inspire a love of science in others, and I would be surprised if he doesn't because the book lives up to its title. :)

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Science... an introduction into many areas of science, including planets and humans. Information is presented in a fun way, although it does just brush the surface of most topics, it does delve a little deeper in some area. Very easy to understand each topic. I enjoyed the casual humor and explanations of typically difficult to grasp concepts. Great for adults, may not be as relevant for students who need to learn facts for class.

[Clara-Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book! The most interesting facts of almost every bit of science I can think of. Beautiful written with a huge load of humor which made the book a pleasant read even if you're not a science nerd. I learned so much from this book. There are also many sweet illustrations and a great variety in typography. A treasure for a Designer like me!
I would always recommend it to anyone!

[Storm Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always struggled in most areas of science, but this book simplified most of the concepts I found difficult to understand. It also made those concepts less boring, making me want to learn about them more! I recommend reading this book slowly to absorb more information. Overall, it was a really fun and educational read!

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was an amazing book which has taught me science while I was having fun reading it, such that I've finished it in quite a short amount of time. Charlie is funny but can stick with the science teaching thing that I found amazing. I will surely recommend it to everyone I know.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really is a fun take on science. Silly but informative. It was nice to brush up on basics but also learn a few things. Charlie was one of the first YouTubers I started watching. I think it's cool he took a series of videos on his channel and made it into a more in depth book.

[Noina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great. Although the physical copy must make it easier to understand certain things thanks to the apparently numerous illustrations, Charlie McDonnell did an amazing job at narrating this. It was funny and very instructive.

[Keely · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I'm not really in the age range this book is targeted towards, but I enjoyed learning the very basics (and I mean v v basic) of science. It refreshed my memory on a lot of things from school. The editors comments were a bit cringe, but I guess some kids/teenagers might enjoy that part.