“First, we had to ask ourselves: What is a list? The Random House Dictionary defines a list as a series of names or other items written or printed together in a meaningful grouping so as to constitute a record.’ A list, we found is more, much more.” (xv)
The Book of Lists, originally published in 1977 and co-authored by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace, is a miscellany of trivia and facts that resemble fiction. The book introduces and applauds the novelty of the reader with an Oscar Wilde’s quote, “the only sin is to be bored.” Wallace insists that “it is an equal sin to be boring.” A sin for which, as Wallace continues, the “Book of Lists readers are quite unblemished by: for we place high value on curiosity.” (xiii)
The variety of lists range from 30 famous left-handed people such as Carl Philipp Emanual Bach and Alphonse Bertillon, 20 largest lakes including Malawi and Superior, 20 endangered species from donkeys to bears, 20 wonderful collective nouns for animals like the classic murder of crows or the lesser known clowder of cats, 13 longest words in the English language from 27 letters to 3,600 letters, and 12 epitaphs that never were including George Bernard Shaw’s quote “I knew if I stayed around long enough, something like this would happen.”
Stay tuned, Chelsea Fox