Superbly Awful Library Books: mega-gallery of terrible (but awesome) book covers

boing
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this reminds me of the terrible real estate agent photography website in its ability to give such joy by inadvertence.

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I didn’t notice that. Neato. Probably just an effect of JPEG compression on a fine texture…

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“Tissue Cleansing Through Bowel Management”?

I thought it was obvious: When you need to poop. Do it. Your tissues aren’t going to get any “cleaner” by pooping more or differently, because they’re “self cleansing”. If they weren’t, you’d be dead by now.

Glad that quackery met with the circular file.

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Two books on the snakes of Ontario?
I’m surprised that there are more than two types of snakes up there…

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They ignored the DAW edition of The Lion Game by James Schmitz?

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Hey, there are dozens of different snakes in Ontario. But as I look out on the crusty monolith of snow this fine new year’s eve, I get where you’re coming from. Where do they all go?

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Probably my favorite from my own shelves would have to be “All About Mealworms”, but, alas, I no longer have it.

Honorable mention for my favorite programming book!

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It isn’t always obvious: what do I need to eat so I can get good nutrition without getting intestinal pain and/or severe constipation and/or severe diarrhea? But intestinal issues, ibs, malabsorption, etc. are more likely to result in a deficiency of certain nutrients than a build-up of toxins. For example, fructose malabsorption is correlates with a reduced level of tryptophan and is suspected to increase the chances of a deficiency.

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My Dad worked ( in a very minor capacity) on a project to get James Schmitz’s books back into print

i suppose I should honor his memory by reading the stories…

The issue with bad library books shouldn’t be the cover art, nor even the subject matter. It should be that they are so little used by library patrons that they don’t justify even the sliver of shelf space. Older Computer books that focus on obsolete languages and systems (Let’s Learn Java 1.2 for the Enterprise!) are prime examples, as most are quite thick.

The biology coloring book may have been a good way to learn anatomy in the days before widespread use of tablets, but using the book necessitates damaging it. So it doesn’t really belong in a library collection, unless the library has a large curricula and textbook collection.

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