Subtitled “A Brief History of the Aphorism,” this 2005 book by James Geary caught my eye because its cover art says “Guessing is more fun than knowing.” This speaks to my belief about magic, puzzles, and Google, so I bought a copy thinking it might be a nice collection of small insights.

And it sort of was, but it turns out the word “history” in the title is significant. The book begins with the author describing his lifelong obsession with aphorisms, which I completely appreciate and admire. I smiled in recognition when he described how the “Quotable Quotes” section of his parent’s Reader’s Digest fed his appetite.

Geary observes that the best aphorisms are slightly oracular, which is an insight I hadn’t considered before. He also writes that they are not the warm and fuzzy phrases found in greeting cards. “They are much more brusque, confrontational, and acerbic.” In my favorite section of the book, he lays out the Five Laws of Aphorisms, which further refined my appreciation of the form.

He also describes visiting the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in San Francisco. That’s one of my favorite shops in the city, but I didn’t know that one could have cookies made with your very own fortunes! An option I must explore further. (If you’ve ever dined with me at a Chinese restaurant, you have no doubt endured my rant about lame fortunes in the cookies.)

Once I finished the first section of the book, my enjoyment of it took on a downward trend. Geary organizes it by the authors of aphorisms, and for my taste, includes too much history of each individual. The first one is Jesus, followed by others such as Baltasar Gracian, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Twain, and many more.

On the plus side, he provides many great examples. Some of my favorite include:

• There are certain mistakes we enjoy so much we are always willing to repeat them.
• Short prayers penetrate heaven.
• One can only become a philosopher, not be one. As soon as one thinks one is a philosopher, one stops becoming one.
• God builds the temple in the heart on the ruins of churches and religions.
• It is difficult to begin without borrowing.

So, while I enjoyed spending time with this book, if you’re the type who wants to know about the person behind the insights, you’ll like it even more than I did. I bought my copy from the Amazon.