Bathroom Book of Northern California Trivia: Weird, Wacky, and Wild.

These three “bathroom books” are among the first published volumes in a trivia series on U.S. states published by Blue Bike Books. Following in the tradition of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader and Blue Bike’s own Canadian Trivia series, each volume focuses on the fun facts, strange happenings, and historical anecdotes of a single U.S. state (or region, as in the case of Northern California). The trivia in each volume is organized in a balance between series consistency and regional interest; major sections on “Education,” “Climate and Weather,” and “Politics” appear in all volumes, while sub-sections present more local flair. “Our Flying Friends,” for example, talks about the one million seabirds that call coastal Oregon their home, while “Women Who Rattled Washington” describes the achievements of women in early Washington politics. Each volume also devotes considerable space to major cities falling within their region. The Northern California book also doubles as a San Francisco trivia book, but not at the expense of cutting out other interesting topics such as redwood trees or Apple computers.

The strength of these books is their range of topics, which present readers with an almost overwhelming selection of statistics and one-paragraph summaries. The authors themselves are residents of their respective states (with the exception of Lisa Wojna) and their passion for their home shows through in the research they have done. The writing is fun and readable, supplemented with caricatures of famous politicians, musicians, and historical figures. There is enough general appeal for repeated browsing, and the casual reader will find it entertaining enough to occasionally spend a few minutes absorbing some quick facts. Travelers may also be interested in these books for identifying interesting travel destinations (of which there are plenty!). However, the books are probably most interesting to other long-time residents of the same region, who would probably be surprised to learn about some of the more off-the-wall and obscure facts about their home state.

Unfortunately, these books do not include indexes, so in some cases it is difficult to relocate a particular interesting fact. Also, because these are intended as disposable reading materials, they are printed on standard paperback stock that will not stand up to heavy use (especially in the bathroom!). However, they are surprisingly well bound, and those who intend to use them outside of toilet reading may get a long life out of them. Blue Bike Books is publishing some of their newer titles without the “bathroom book” moniker, so perhaps that will encourage even more widespread use (which the series deserves). These books are recommended for a general readership of all ages.