Ben Schott, trivia king
It's the season of lists: the bookshops are suddenly awash with compendiums, diaries, almanacs, yearbooks and annuals . . . and compendiums . . . and almanacs . . . and yearbooks.
Ben Schott is the compiler we most envy, however, since his books have made him a very rich man indeed. When Schott's Original Miscellany hit the shelves in 2002, we were, it transpired, crying out for a book of random trivia and lists, one that detailed the odd deaths of Burmese kings (Nandabayin laughed to death) or how to wrap a sari. It spawned far too many imitations, none of which was put together with anywhere near as much care as Schott put into his.
The trivia king researched and designed the book, and didn't just Google the answers either. His three miscellanies have sold more than 2 million copies, and now he's making them an annual event.
Schott's Almanac 2006 is his pithy review of the year 2005, including such timely trivia as the Live8 line-up and Hello! magazine covers of 2005, as well as some general knowledge ("Some notes on etiquette"). Unfortunately, it's concerned with British facts so, while you're waiting for someone such as Damian Corless to get an Irish version out, get Peter Murtagh's Irish Times Book of the Year 2005.