It is that time of year when we share the best of 2011. These top posts are the ones that got us the most comments or just happen to tickle us the most. By all means please share your favorites with us.
Make a resolution for 2012 to weed and maintain your collections and of course share the crazy stuff with us at submit(at)awfullibrarybooks.net
Happy Holidays and Peace for 2012
Mary and Holly
PS. If you want to compare to last year’s “winners,” click here to read the best of 2010.
How to Be Outrageously Successful with the Opposite Sex
Hartunian
1991
Introducing Issues With (Opposing Viewpoints)
Gangs
Barbour, ed.
2006
Rock’s Hidden Persuader: The Truth About Backmasking
Peters, Peters, and Merrill
1985
Kids Clothes by Meredith Gladstone: A Sewing Book
Gladstone
1976
How to Good-bye Depression: If you constrict anus 100 times everyday. Malarkey? Or Effective Way?
Nishigaki
2000
Be Bold with Bananas
Banana Control Board
1970
Wait for it, because the best picture is this one:
Macrame Accessories: Patterns and Ideas for Knotting
Meilach
1977
Touched
The Jerry Sandusky Story
From the most unfortunate title for a memoir category.
Why Cats Paint
Why Cats Paint: a theory of feline aesthetics
Busch and Silver
1994
What are librarians without our feline friends?
Effective way? Malarkey! I’m going to be depressed untill we goodbye that book by weeding 100 times.
I just tried out some of the Russian phrases on my Russian-born brother-in-law. He understood some of what I said. Not that that means the book is at all useful.
“Russian Phrase Book” was definitely in my top two this year, but my number one did not make the cut. What about “Horny”? Did it not make the cut because it wasn’t actually weeded from the collection? https://awfullibrarybooks.net/?p=11155
Actually forgot about that one….another excellent choice.
Yes! The Russian Phrase Book was definitely one of my favorites!!
Macrame Accessories was my choice at the time, and I think it has held up well as a jaw-dropper. Still love Why Cats Paint, too.
I think I missed the Russian phrasebook the first time around. Whoa, asking people who should be LIQUIDATED? Better make sure you know what you’re really saying–a slip of the tongue could be very dangerous!
You do realise that the book ‘Why Cats Paint’ is in fact a satire, and is part of a set of three that also consists of Dancing With Cats and Why Paint Cats?
The three books were intended to mock both those who take themselves and ‘art’ too seriously, and those who endow animals with human qualities.
Actually “Why Cats Paint” is hilarious – a very witty satire, I have a copy and wouldn’t part with it.
Add me to the fans of “Why Cats Paint.” I loved it — bought it for my sister. I thought it was hilarious. Unless it’s just not circulating, I can’t see why on earth you’d weed it.
Another fan of “Why Cats Paint” here – it’s a lovely satire. Like Anita I have a copy and wouldn’t part with it for anything.
As for “Be bold with bananas” – as a New Zealander I cringe to learn that it originated from New Zealand. That being said, I would love to own a copy to add to my vintage cookbook collection.
I secretly want the banana book!
We “Why cats paint” fans are rising up here. I am a New Zealander, but bought this book in McMaster University’s bookshop (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) just because I liked the look of it. Having later discovered that it was created by two of my fellow NZers, I was overjoyed! I can now see lots of NZ-ness in the photos. It’s a fab book. I treasure my copy and have bought two others to give to cat-loving friends as gifts. Mary and Holly – are you sure you didn’t mean to put this on the ‘best of’ list?