There use to be this novelty/craft/niknak store in Irving called Zaks. It was like Michael’s but not as nice and cheaper items. My favorite part was there were these barrel bins in one section thathad little fun toys and goodies of all kinds. I remember Lisa Frank folders and coloring books and even some grown up books. It was here that I discovered the almanac. Trivia, information, miscellany... This fun book had everything in it! What constellation in in the sky on any given night, the history of ships, maps of the world, flags of every country….This was a wonder. And it had a nice leather bound cover with gold lettering! I had been obsessed with my older brother's World Book Encyclopedia and now this was even better. It satisfied so many things I wascurious about. I still get hungry for minutiae, but now I can just go look upany of this stuff on the internet. I still like to squash the soft bindings and smell the old pages... ( )