Swedish Death Cleaning Archives - Awful Library Books

The Air Officer’s Guide

The Air Officer’s Guide
The Military Service Publishing Co.
1957

My dad was a ROTC during college and grad school, around 1958 to 1964 or so. This was one of those items from my mom that was in a pile of other stuff. Why it is in my personal library is a mystery. Part of this is my mother can’t abide throwing things out. I have a feeling there is “Mary is a librarian, she would probably want this” assumption. I’m not so sure my sisters have similar random books in their library.

The Bad Seed – Friday Fiction

The Bad Seed
March
1954

Another Swedish Death Cleaning find

I have been doing well with this, although since I returned to work full time, I haven’t had as much time to keep going. However, I pulled out a box of stuff that my mother had given me and this book was in there. It is falling apart. Some of the pages crumbled as I opened the book. Definite weeder.

Catcher in the Rye turns to dust.

July 17, 2020 Mary Kelly Friday Fiction, Swedish Death Cleaning 17 comments

Catcher in the Rye
Salinger
Mass Market Publication 1964
Original copyright 1951

Another Swedish Death Cleaning find…

No, I do not think for one second that Catcher in the Rye is awful. (Please don’t take the name of this website literally.) Personal aside, this book isn’t one of my favorites, my initial reading as a teenager was the 1970s version of “meh”. I re-read it as an adult in my 30s, as a project to re-read classics from high school and college. Unlike other classic titles, my opinion didn’t change too much.

That said, this book is part of my Swedish death cleaning project and it is my husband’s book. Actually, his older sister had her name in the book and I believe he “borrowed” it when he was in high school. Whoops.

Despite any personal feelings about Catcher in the Rye, it went on my weed list because it fell completely apart when I pulled it out. Many of the pages crumbled right in my hands. I am willing to bet that we haven’t touched this book since we shelved it in our current home.

College Memories

June 22, 2020 Mary Kelly But it's Historical!, Swedish Death Cleaning 6 comments

The Western Experience to 1715
Chambers, Grew, Herlihy, Rabb, Woloch
1974

Another Swedish Death Cleaning Find…

This time we have a college history textbook. The only reason I know it was a textbook from college was the used book price from IUB also known as the Illini Union Bookstore. (Both my husband and I graduated from Illinois way back in 1982.) My husband recognized this book as his text from his Intro to Classical Civilization class. Professor Richard Scanlan’s class was arguably the most popular class at the university during our tenure. My husband, an engineering student and a guy who would take math classes for fun, absolutely loved this class. I am quite sure that is why this book is still sitting on our shelf. Scanlan died in 2009.

The book itself is nothing particularly special. The content probably can be found in many more current published books. Although we get to make our own rules with a personal library, this sentimental feeling about particular titles or even editions, can also plague librarians trying to weed a collection. It is easy to get caught up in what the book means to us personally. No one is immune to this.

Bitter Chicken Soup

June 3, 2020 Mary Kelly Feelings and Self Help, Swedish Death Cleaning 11 comments

Chicken Soup for the Soul
101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit
Canfield and Hansen
1993

Another title from Mary’s Swedish Death Cleaning Project

Why on earth I have this book is completely beyond me. As a librarian, this book and its 10 million incarnations, were everywhere. I developed a deep and abiding hate for this series. I remember the first couple that showed up. Not my jam, but patrons liked these books. Okay. I can appreciate this. I even had someone who wanted me to order every single one because they wanted to read them all. In order.

Geo-Whiz

May 22, 2020 Mary Kelly Spanning the Globe, Swedish Death Cleaning 7 comments

Geo-Whiz
National Geographic Society
Tejada
1988

Another choice from my Swedish Death Cleaning Project.

I am assuming by the publication date this was a book given to one or both of my kids. Both of my kids were science nerds, so it does make sense that we might have something like this. We were library users so we really didn’t buy books for the kids that often.

Since my kids are now 28 and 30, I doubt they want to hang on to this. Frankly, we still have so much of their stuff, it will have to be a part 2 (of many parts) of my death cleaning project. Even though it is in good shape, I am going to give it the big heave ho. What I am NOT going to do is donate to my local public library.

Library Death Cleaning

May 4, 2020 Mary Kelly Practical Librarian, Swedish Death Cleaning 10 comments

Since I am working from home right now, I have set up shop in what we call “the library.” Most of the stuff in this room are books, pictures, and some miscellany from family. This room is more for reading and not working. However, I wanted to keep library work separate from my other stuff, so I used this room so I could spread out.

We have a LOT of books in this room. Most of the time, I don’t pay attention since I mostly read library books. I can’t remember the last time I looked at titles in here. Combine this with the fact that I turned 60 last month, and we have known people that have been sick – and in some cases died – from COVID-19, I had a literal Swedish Death Cleaning moment. I am not planning to die soon, but I have decided that it’s time to get rid of our detritus throughout the house, starting with this room.