Quirky Books: Treasure-troves of trivia

Connoisseurs of the Christmas gift book market — we are a select group, with little otherwise to occupy our time — will have noticed a couple of significant absences from this year’s line-up. There is no Blue Peter Annual, for the first time since 1964, when even Christopher Trace was still a young man. More tellingly, Schott’s Almanac appears to have ceased publication after six years of, one assumes, gradually declining sales. It was beautifully designed, lovingly compiled, funny and unpredictable, and I shall miss it. No doubt Ben Schott is now holed up in his gothic tower, surrounded by pieces of paper with bizarre facts written on them, wondering what on earth he should do next.

But if he needs any consolation (other than the vast sums of money he has made) he should take a look at this year’s batch of quirky Christmas books. Although there is a lot of rubbish around, as there always is, there are also a few titles that, within the bounds of their modest ambitions, are really quite stunning, and most of them owe at least a small debt to Mr Schott’s pioneering work.