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As a fan of trivial knowledge, and a great admirer of Schott's previous books, I was eager to read this new volume of "uncommon knowledge, vital minutiae, and indispensable irrelevance." These books are not designed to be read for hours at a time, but are quite enjoyable in short bursts.
A random sampling of some interesting sections:
- Occupations of note (A Knockknobbler is a dog catcher) - Bortle Scale (An astronomer's scale of sky darkness) - All of Alfred Hitchcock's movie cameos - Color markings for underground utilities
...and numerous others. (Be sure to not miss the "Authorial Miscellany" on the last page!)
While I found this newest edition to be fun, it seemed to hold my interest a bit less than previous versions. A number of entries were simply quotes or aphorisms ("A sound faith is the best divinity; a good conscience the best law; and temperance the best physic" - Anon.), or other facts that just don't seem relevant to modern time (or even students of history). Maybe Schott is starting to run low on miscellany?
In summary, I would recommend that readers start by sampling his earlier works, and then come to this one if they're longing for more.
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I already owned a copy of Ben Schott's 2002 book "Schott's Original Miscellany". It lives next to the seat in the smallest room in my house, and over almost two years I have been SLOWLY savoring every page. It was a small, handsome book of about 150 pages, each of which was a trivia lover's delight and often inspired me to go on the Internet and learn more about a subject, e.g., the odds of drawing the top 9 hands in poker, or the names of all the people pictured on the album cover for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (both on the same page)! Unfortunately, at about 3/4 of the way through it I found myself reading more and more slowly, so as not to bring the discoveries to an end.
Imagine my delight then when I learned that Mr. Schott had published a 2011 sequel, Schott's Quintessential Miscellany! Also about 150 pages, PLUS this time a nice little violet ribbon attachment to mark your place should one deem such structured behavior to be necessary for the enjoyment of what basically amounts to merry chaos. My favorite entry (so far) from the new volume is a list of 50 words beginning with "sn" that have to do with the nose (sniff, snout, snuff, snot, snore, etc., etc.)
Who knew?
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Here are things you didn't know, and didn't know how interesting they can be. All in nicely numbered lists. Far more fascinating than the catalogue of incompetence and hatreds we deal with every day/
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