The making of the Oxford English Dictionary was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone by refusing to come to Oxford to receive his congratulations. In the end, James Murray, the OED's editor, went to Crowthorne in Berkshire to meet him.

Nine-year-old Eliza Naumann feels like the dullest resident of her household, but she surprises herself and her family when she discovers an aptitude for spelling, winning her school and district competitions.

Explores the links between Hollywood and the fast food trade, and the tactics used to target ever younger consumers. This title is a meticulously researched account.

As an editor at Esquire , AJ Jacobs had built up knowledge of celebrity trivia - and the cure was going to take a long time. While others read a broadsheet at the weekend, or become casual newsnight enthusiasts, Jacobs elected to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica . Part assemblage of trivia, part journey through adulthood, this is fun to read.

Told through a series of letters, this is set on the fictional island of Nollop, home to the great Nevin Nollop, inventor of the pangram 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog'. The islanders erect a statue to their hero, but one day the letter 'z' falls from the inscription. To the despair of the residents, the council interprets the falling tile as Nollop's message from beyond the grave ..

The author is the sort of person who learned about sex from her father's copy of Fanny Hill , and who once found herself poring over a 1974 Toyota Corolla manual because it was the only thing in her apartment that she had not read at least twice. This title recounts her lifelong obsession with books.