Unreal Investigates Awful Library Books

By Unreal Thu., Aug. 20 2009 at 3:15 PM

Categories: Books, Unreal

Awful Library Books

Unreal recently came across an absolutely wonderful blog called Awful Library Books. Founded by two Michigan librarians named Mary and Holly, the site is, in their words, "a collection of public library holdings that we find amusing and maybe questionable for public libraries trying to maintain a current and relevant collection."

Herewith Unreal's favorite awful titles:

Wax in Our World
Our Backward Children
My Cat's in Love or, How to Survive Your Feline's Sex Life, Pregnancy and Kittening
Teacher Spanks Johnny: A Handbook for Teachers
The Love Bugs: A Natural History of V.D.'s
What's Wrong With My Snake?
Do-It-Yourself Coffins
More Great Pantyhose Crafts
A Passion for Donkeys
Phunology (a true classic in the genre of parlor game instruction, dating from 1923)

In the interest of privacy, Mary and Holly don't publish where the awful library books were found. Unreal knows for sure, though, they didn't come from the St. Louis Public Library: A quick search of the catalog revealed that the SLPL has none of our favorite titles. You can, however, find Wax in Our World at the Ferguson Municipal Public Library and More Great Pantyhose Crafts in Valley Park.

The book on the site that has sparked the most commentary, though, is Crafts for Retarded: Through Their Hands They Shall Learn. Not only is the title grammatically and politically incorrect, inside it suggests that the "retarded" create tom-toms emblazoned with swastikas.