Word request: section of a book dealing with odd miscellaneous topics

Question

I vaguely remember that there's a term for a section of a book which deals in odd miscellaneous topics -- not exactly the same as "appendix". Any suggestions?

The words I can think of are all dancing around this idea: "arcana", "apocrypha", "errata".

Answer 1

Coleopterist for some reason neglected to mention addenda, the plural form of addendum. An addendum is “Something to be added; especially text added as an appendix or supplement to a document”.

A miscellanea is “A miscellaneous collection of different things; a miscellany”; a miscellany is “A collection of writings on various subjects or topics; an anthology”.

The term apocrypha, rather than suggesting miscellaneous, indicates “of doubtful authorship or authority”, and its etymology is from Latin apocryphus “apocryphal”, from Ancient Greek ἀπόκρυφος (apocruphos, “hidden, obscure”).

Esoterica is indeed a well-known term, but usually refers to “things that are esoteric; things that are impractical or specialised”, moreso than “odd miscellaneous topics”. Wiktionary uses a quote from a 2002 Time-magazine article ( Luke Helder's Bad Trip) to illustrate:

Helder was also a visionary given to muddled, passionate harangues on immortality, astral projection and other esoterica.

Answer 2

A glossary is sometimes used to explain terms, words or phrases used in the book that may need further explanation:

From Oxford English Dictionary:

glossary, n.1

A collection of glosses; a list with explanations of abstruse, antiquated, dialectal, or technical terms; a partial dictionary.