The London Companion

Fans of "Schott's Original Miscellany" will relish this book, which contains a host of trivia about London in a similar format to that original. Do you want to know which pubs are haunted? The original names and dates of establishment of various tube stations? Where Marx and Gandhi lived while in town? What are the most unusual items ever left behind on a bus or subway? (The list includes a vasectomy kit and two human skulls.) Then this is the book for you. It may be crass and perhaps even un-British to say so, but its wit and brevity make it perfect for your loo bookshelf, if you see what I mean.