This book was a good start on the history of the riddle, and I definitely learned a few new things about how riddling has developed and changed over the centuries. Also, reading some of the riddles to my coworkers kept us entertained during our return to working, so that was also a plus!

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Quarto Publishing Group – Wellfleet Press in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic walkthrough of riddling history! I have been a lifelong fan of riddles. The Riddler from Batman is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, and when I was a child I had a book about dragons which had a whole section dedicated to riddles. I couldn't have been more excited when I saw this book available to request, although I was a little skeptical it had anything to offer a devout riddle fan. I couldn't have been more wrong!

This book is split up into sections, loosely arranged in chronological order and walking the reader through the oldest riddles all the way to modern day more jokey ones. I found all of the sections well-written and very informative. There are riddles within each section and then a set of riddles to solve yourself after each section, with the answers at the back. In general, these were fun but they did vary in difficulty greatly. I appreciate it's hard to control for that sort of thing but the riddles from the first two chapters were near impossible, whilst later ones verged on too easy. Sometimes the hints were too direct as well which is why I can't give this book a full 5 stars. However, the informative sections were great. I particularly enjoyed the literary riddles chapter, and the section dedicated to the Riddler (which was a fantastic surprise).

Overall, this book was insightful and easy to read. I loved learning more about riddles and their place in history, and I had fun trying to solve the riddles throughout. This book would make a fantastic present and it's the perfect kind of read to dip in and out of. I highly recommend it to all fans of riddles.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is a beautiful magical book - there are amazing illustrations and pictures, and even more amazing riddles, plus it's full of not only history, but bits and bobs from different domains like philosophy. It's a very very interesting book!

I was expecting a fun riddle book with a bit of history on how the riddle was created. Unfortunately this book has a whole lot of history with riddles interspersed in between and a selection of riddles at the end of each chapter. The history became overwhelming for me, it was interesting but it couldn't hold my attention and I ended up mainly focusing on the riddles. Many of the riddles are impossible to know the answers whilst others potentially have multiple answers. All of the answers were at the back of the book.
Overall this book could interest hard-core riddle fans but for the casual riddle solver the content can become overwhelming.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Quartro Publishing/Wellfleet Press for this ARC copy.

This book combines a history of riddles with plenty of examples. The hisorical data is thorough and the riddle charming. Happily for all of us, answers are provded in the back of the book.

First, the good: this is an interesting book, with riddles going back to Babylonian and Sanskrit sources. It follows the development of different riddle forms in oral and literary traditions, including enigmas, rebuses, and nonsense riddles. It is a very good overview, and has a number of riddles for the reader to solve themselves.

The bad: overall I was disappointed. The riddles range from very simple to completely unsolvable, with no rhyme or reason. There are many more riddles in the last two chapters, which makes it seem like mere padding. The author is a professor of linguistic anthropology and semiotics and definitely knows his subject, but the writing style is scholarly to the point of distraction. I found myself re-reading a number of paragraphs to grasp the meaning.

It is a good book, but I don't feel it's for a casual reader. It is better suited for scholars.

I read this book as a temporary ARC via NetGalley.

I actually loved this book. This book is about the history of the riddle, and how it evolved over time. I did not expect to like this book this much. It was very informative, and covered a lot of different types of riddles. And also had a lot of references to pop-culture like Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland, which I liked.
It also features a ton of riddles themselves. I am honestly horrible when it comes to riddles, and I can't solve them whatsoever. Only when I see the answer do I get it. But it was fun to try. I do highly suggest this book to anyone who likes things that are remotely connected to riddles.

3 out of 5 🌟Get ready for an in-depth history of riddles

This book was different from what I thought. I was looking for some fun, quick read about the famous riddles and the history behind them but I wasn't prepared for the rather elaborated analysis of riddles for the given time period. For me 'The Curious History of the Riddle' was just tedious, I guess I don't like enigmas enough.

What I did like about this publication are clear and accessible chapters, the book is divided by the eras from ancient puzzles to pop-cultural references, plus an extra chapter about visual riddles (probably my favorite). Text is broken into smaller chunks, with a lot of riddles in-between, quotes, and images that make reading more pleasant. At the end of each chapter, it's just a bunch of riddles related to the section, and - most importantly - a full list of answers at the end.

Overall, 'The Curious History of the Riddles' is a work for hardcore enigma's fans, who don't mind digging a little deeper into lavish history records.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.*

Fascinating! Riddles throughout the ages should entice all ages. I only wish the sections were quite so textbooky.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an Advanced Reading Copy.

I like riddles even though I am kind of lousy at solving them. Riddles invite us to start guessing no matter how hard they are, and then we are eager to try them on someone else when we get the answer. They have a long history, which this book presents.

Covering riddles from ancient times to current pop culture, The Curious History of the Riddle shows where they came from and how people are drawn to them. Each chapter includes riddles, some of which can be tricky. Answers to each riddle are included at the end of the book.

This book is an interesting read. I did not realize how much history is packed into something that seems so simple. Besides learning how riddles have fit into cultures, I also have a new pool of them to try on other people.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

After managing to download the book, I was surprised about the content of the book. Really well thought out and interesting. Had my mind boggled from start to finish.

I love riddles and hadn’t realised how much history was behind the “making” of riddles.
This book was a very interesting read. It was fun to have not only knowledge about the history of riddles, but also riddles you can solve yourself.
Accompanied with illustrations and clear historical facts, it is a good book to have in your bookshelf and help you impress your friends with witty riddles.