- Title: Schott’s Original Miscellany
- Author: Ben Schott
- Year Published: 2003 (Bloomsbury)
- Year Purchased: 2004/2005
- Source: Bas Bleu
- About: If I decided to write a reference book, it would be in this mould: eccentric, far-reaching and a treat to read. The entries are ridiculously fun yet still informative (as, of course, all such books should be): Eponymous Foods, Hampton Court Maze, Public School Slang, The Language of Flowers, Churchill & Rhetoric, Proverbially You Can’t, Super Bowl Singers, George Washington’s Rules and The Bond Films are just a few. It is a little treasure of a volume, and one that suits those of us for whom so-called useless knowledge is one of life’s great enjoyments.
- Motivation: We all know that I LOVE reference books. Of any kind. I also hanker after eclectic knowledge because, well, why not?
- Times Read: Cover-to-cover:1/As reference tool: countless
- Random Excerpt/Page 5: “An encyclopedia? A dictionary? An almanac? An anthology? A lexicon? A treasury? A commonplace? An amphigouri? A vade-mecum? Well…yes. Schott’s Original Miscellany is all of these and, of course, more.”
- Happiness Scale: 10++
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.
Not just a blog, a philosophy
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 
This sounds great. I’ve always loved bizarre reference books, I’ll definitely look for this one.
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It’s wonderful and addicting; it is definitely worth tracking down a copy!
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I really like how you write a review – I’d never consider reading this book and probably woudn’t even know it existed if you didn’t review it – it sounds like a fun read!
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Aw, thank you! Because they are for my Project 366, they are way shorter than the reviews I write in “real life”. I’ve worried about how well this formula works, so it is nice to know that they translate to readers! And Schott’s is such a great book; it is fun and addictive. It is slim and comes with a cute little ribbon bookmark. The writer/compiler even designed the book!
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