Life, Death, Love, and Marriage Archives

Housewife Value

May 16, 2022 Mary Kelly Life, Death, Love, and Marriage 4 comments

What is a Wife Worth?
Minton
1983

This book represents an important development in the world of divorce law. The author, Michael Minton argued the economic value of homemaking in the late 1970s. Minton, an attorney from Chicago, argued that stay at home wives were entitled to assets from the marriage. He argued that there was economic value in homemaking. Prior to this time, a high earning husband can walk away with all the marital assets leaving a wife with nothing. Minton represented a former wife of a Sears Roebuck executive and obtained a settlement arguing that she contributed economically to their 39 year marriage and deserved appropriate compensation.

Time to freak with your geek!

March 15, 2022 Mary Kelly Ha Ha Ha?, Life, Death, Love, and Marriage 6 comments

The Geek’s Guide to Dating
Smith
2013

I am just going to assume that librarians fall into the definition of “geek”. This little book uses a gaming metaphor for the entire book while dispensing some relationship advice. It is cute and more about the metaphor than any meaningful special advice for those with a geeky outlook on life.

This is also sitting in the 800s rather than 646.77 or any other Dewey. So even though it is dating/relationships, it is really a humor book. It went out a bunch of times when it was new, but has been languishing in the collection for the last couple of years. I also want to point out that as technology has evolved, I would imagine so has the technology based humor.

Boys are important people!

January 6, 2022 Mary Kelly Life, Death, Love, and Marriage, Talkin 'Bout My Generation 9 comments

How To Talk To Boys
and Other Important People
Winters
1983

Girls, here is your chance to get a boy to like you. Are you shy? This book has all the right things to say, so you can get the boyfriend of your dreams!

This book was a bit much for 1983. I am not sure that today’s teens would find anything remotely useful in this book. I doubt this advice worked in 1983 either. This book gives advice on what to say, with some help from Barbara Walters! There is advice on how to be a good listener (aka shut up and let the boy talk). Good grooming is essential. In other words, looks count.

find the man of your dreams using the internet cover

Dating when the bar is low

September 17, 2021 Mary Kelly Bleeding Edge, Life, Death, Love, and Marriage 8 comments

How to get the man of your dreams using the Internet
Chance
2005

Ladies! Here is your chance to find the man of your dreams using the Internet. We have had a lot of dating books on our website over the years. By the time this book was published, many online dating sites were still in their early days. Very little is offered about finding the right type of service, although the author said that a good quality in a service is a chat room.

The advice is thin, even for the early days of Internet dating. Some of the other books we have featured on our site about Internet dating have more depth than this book.

Groom Info

September 13, 2021 Mary Kelly Life, Death, Love, and Marriage 9 comments

Groom to Groom
A Complete Wedding Guide for the Groom
Piljac
1983

For all the guys getting married, here is your how-to manual. I didn’t see a whole lot of “groom specific” information. It actually reads like any other bridal/wedding planning book, except much more condensed. Think of this book as the minimum amount of knowledge required to have a wedding and reception.

Props to this book for also addressing potential issues for couples such as budgets and marriage readiness. I actually think this might be a good candidate for an update, but they should change the title and get some serious book design. (Check out the discussion of bridal gown prices in the 4th image.)

The Art of Loving

January 19, 2021 Holly Life, Death, Love, and Marriage 6 comments

The Art of Loving
Fromm
1974

Submitter: This book was submitted into our library as a donation. Due to its age it won’t be joining the collection. First published in 1954 and later again in 1974 (this is that edition) it’s your standard love and romance psychology book. However, there are plenty of newer books on this topic and ones that deal with a more diverse set of couples.

The Dating Game for Christian Teens

July 9, 2020 Mary Kelly Department of God, Life, Death, Love, and Marriage 5 comments

The Dating Game
Miles
1975

If you are old enough you probably looking at the cover and expecting the book to be about the actual Dating Game. Similar font and general look. However, this Dating Game is directed at young people. Although the author is self-professed biblical fundamentalist, it isn’t as bad as some books in this category.

If this was 1975, and you were looking for a Christian teen dating book, this would probably be fine. Themes and topic aside, these materials age because the references and examples. Today’s teens (and their parents) probably wouldn’t understand or relate to any of the references. By the mid 1970s the Dating Game tv show was more or less relegated to re-runs and was kind of outdated reference for a teen book in 1975.

Teen Dating in the 1980s

May 26, 2020 Mary Kelly Life, Death, Love, and Marriage, Talkin 'Bout My Generation 4 comments

Teen Dating
Stewart
1984

Aside from the crunchy brown paper, and a girl sporting a Cosby sweater, this isn’t too bad on the teen dating advice front. Yes it is outdated, but the advice is pretty generic. Look for qualities that are about friendship, be respectful, etc. A lot of the book is devoted to understanding social situations. There are tips on throwing a party, entertaining a date, going to prom, and other group activities as well.

However, it is glaringly out of date in terms of technology and social norms. I also think it is important to reiterate how important cover art is to getting someone to actually pick up the book. Fast forward 10 or so years, and the book looks dated. After 30 years, it is a book suitable for this blog.