The Almanac of the infamous, The Incredible and the Ignored is a fun book filled with unusual but factual tales that reminds me of the Ripleys Believe it or Not books I devoured as a child.  Violini, however, takes on a different tact with her book and takes the almanac from a simple collection of unusual facts to a text that can be integrated into one’s daily life.

The almanac is calendar based and there is an entry for every day of the year.  The stories are brief, fascinating and engaging.  Each entry contains a famous quote, a secret power suggestion and a suggestion on how to optimize the knowledge gained from studying the article.

For example, the entry for January 1st contains a brief article on the Crystal Skull.  The secret power for this day suggests using crystals for mental and physical healing.  The Optimize section suggests spending time studying and practicing with crystals.

This is a really fun book. I’ve read it several times and every time I go through the pages I learn something different. The articles engage the intellect as well as stimulates the imagination. The suggestions made were fun and interesting to do, and with the least amount of time and effort.  If you’re into unusual tales, this book is for you.

Highly recommended.

~review by Patricia Snodgrass

Author: Juanita Rose Violine
Weiser/Red Wheel, 2009
pp. 293, $19.95