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As kids, my sister and I pored over the original The Book of Lists, first published in 1977. Full of obscure, sometimes obscene, information, these lists never failed to fascinate, even if we didn’t always understand what we were reading. Now The Book has drafted CBC producer Ira Basen and host Jane Farrow to produce a Canadian edition. They, along with contributors including Margaret Atwood, Jan Wong, and Knowlton Nash, bring us such enlightening lists as “Four Canadian Sports Riots” and “Canadian References on The Simpsons,” along with trivia about Canadian places, politics, sports, arts, and history. They have both threaded Canadian content into existing lists and added new ones. The final effect is somewhat patchwork, but much more effective than other Canadianizations of similar books I’ve seen recently, and careful editing throughout has resulted in a clean, error-free text.

The Book of Lists is not a children’s book, but, as booksellers and librarians well know, kids also find such compendiums incredibly appealing. While some of the material falls into the “who cares?” category, the overall effect is addictive. The allure of the exotic and arcane that surrounds lists of circus freaks, bizarre deaths, and weird place names will keep readers up long past their bedtimes, and thus the book is perfect for the reluctant as well as sophisticated reader.

Be warned, though, that the text has a great deal of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll content (one list extols the virtues of 10 types of hashish). Consequently, I’d recommend The Book of Lists for older teens and up, knowing from experience that younger kids will likely sneak off with and enjoy it, too.