Book Your Holidays: A Holiday Gift Guide (Part 3)

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

Trivia Gift Books by various authors
c.2025, various authors $12.99 – $35.00 various page counts

Your mind is on the holidays.

There’s so much to do, so much to remember, so many people to think about that your brain is packed. So why not slip into a book that’s browse-able and easy to slip out of? Try one of these great (and oh-so-fun!) books to enjoy…

If you’re an animal lover, you’re also going to love reading “Trash Animals: The Animal Weirdos We Secretly Love” by Rachel Federman, illustrated by Clare Faulkner (Harper Collins, $12.99).

You’ve seen them on social media. You may have even seen them in person, so what do you know about the annoying, but admittedly cute, animals that live in our world? Creatures like bats, badgers, squirrels, skunks, snakes, pigeons, and possums are profiled in this book and the articles about them are long and short. Take a quiz about them. Read about what they eat, so you know how to feed them, if you want to. Find out what movies have featured them, and join a fan club for your favorites. Dip in here, learn a little there, this is that kind of book.

For the word lover, “The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia: An A-Z of Linguistic Curiosities” by Joshua Blackburn (Avid Reader Press, $28.99) is just the thing to satisfy your word-nerd tendencies. Learn some comic book sound effects. Find out the exact classifications in the Dewey Decimal System. Learn pager code, and send a secret message. See how race horses are named. And – you’re gonna love this! – find a list of dictionaries that you’re going to need on your shelf, ASAP.

This book practically screams to be browsed by linguists, crossword lovers, Wordle fans, and anyone who loves words and language.

Remember the Schott’s books, back in the day? Well, they’re back! If you loved them then, you’ll enjoy “Schott’s Significa: A Miscellany of Secret Languages” by Ben Schott (Workman, $35.00).

This linguistically-focused book is different from the Blackburn book, in that Schott takes a different tactic. Subjects are broader and categorized differently, there are more illustrations (in color!) and because the book itself is larger, there’s more information; just know that larger means heavier. A lot heavier, if you tend to read in bed or on the fly.

“Schott’s Significa” seems to have more about Great Britain than the above one. Alas, you can’t tuck Schott’s book in your pocket, like you can the Blackburn book, but they make excellent companions to one another and you know you can’t resist having both.

Okay, so you need more trivia. You don’t want to be without something to do, no matter where you are, and this kind of book is perfect for your busy life. So head to your favorite library or bookstore and ask for the trivia books because there are lots of them and your librarian or bookseller can help you find the one that suits your interest, your kid’s interest, or whatever will tickle the fancy of the person on your gift list.

And then go ahead, Smartypants, and Season’s Readings!