Awful Library Books

  • … living in a van, down by the river

    … living in a van, down by the river

    How to Live in Your Van and Love It Poteet 1976 ​Submitter: Fun SNL shout-out aside, this book is now useless and has been for many years. It is primarily a directory of equipment and where to find it.  And that isn’t a bad scan at the end there –…

  • At the Butt End of a Rainbow

    At the Butt End of a Rainbow

    At the Butt End of a Rainbow and Other Irish Tales Livesey 1970 ​Submitter: Oh fine, inevitable commenters. Rant about the literary and cultural value of the contents (which I didn’t bother to scan because … really) and the shallowness of judging a book by its cover (and title). But…

  • Lisa’s Parents Fight

    Lisa’s Parents Fight

    Lisa’s Parents Fight Sanford 1989 Looking for a cute bedtime story for the kids? Here you go! You might recognize the author: one of our favorites and creator of this site’s best post to date: Satan for Kids (and the companion follow up post, Satan for Kids part 2). In…

  • Plastic Pipe Furniture

    Plastic Pipe Furniture

    Making Plastic Pipe Furniture Alth 1981 ​Submitter: This book has finally stopped checking out at our library so I can gladly weed it. This furniture probably IS cheap and easy to make (make your own plastic dining room table and chairs!), but I have to disagree with the author’s assertion…

  • This is your face doing isometrics

    This is your face doing isometrics

    Isometrics: the Static Way to Physical Fitness Obeck 1966 ​Submitter: My staff was weeding the good ‘ole 613s and came across this beauty from 1966.  This book is awful because, well, it’s an outdated health book from 1966 and the photographs are terrible, not to mention comical. ​Holly:​ The pictures…

  • Macrame Forever!

    Macrame Forever!

    Practical Macrame Andes 1971 Submitter: I work in a public library, and I have to say that I’d never heard of macrame prior to retrieving this book for a patron. I asked my mother, who graduated from college in the late ’70s, and she remembered it vaguely. The book itself…