Riddledom: 101 riddles and their stories

(Paperback)

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Why are ladies like arrows

When is a bird not a bird

What do you call a nun with a washing machine on her head

Welcome to the weird new word adventure from David Astle, plunging into the realm of riddles, chasing down and prising open 101 curious questions from around the planet. A mindtrip across time and place, Riddledom uncovers relics from over 50 cultures, delving into language and deception, sampling Pompeii walls and Dothraki warriors. Readers can unravel each mini-chapter, wrestling with riddles from Wonderland or Zanzibar, Oedipus Rex or Harry Potter. Come meet French acrobats, coffee slaves, lusty maids and many more along the way. Riddledom is your chance to roam Tasmania and Mongolia, Fiji and Peru, seeking riddles on clay tablets and Popsicle sticks.

As David opens Riddledom: 'If you think riddles are solely the stuff of schoolyards and Christmas crackers, you're about to have your head refurbished.'

Author Bio

David Astle has written two novels, plus five non-fiction works: Cluetopia, Puzzled, One Down, One Missing, Offbeat Australia and Riddledom. Between books, he drives the world to delight and despair as Friday's crossword setter, DA, appearing in both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Actor Geoffrey Rush, in fact, describes David as 'the Sergeant Pepper of cryptic crosswords - a complete mind fuck'. Which is possibly a compliment. David was the former dictionary bloke on SBS's Letters and Numbers, while his feature stories have tackled luck, lying, drowning and fridge magnets, to name a few topics. His short stories have won several awards, including a trip to Beijing via Dublin as part of the James Joyce Suspended Sentence Prize in 2001.