Good Housekeeping’s Guide for Young Homemakers
William Laas, ed.
1966
The forward of this book sort of says it all: “Homemaker–no other word in the language so precisely suggests what a young married woman is expected to do.” Actually this is an interesting book and kind of household ‘how-to’ encyclopedia. There are several pages on ironing and laundry. Caring for furs is another large article.
Big Book of Family Games
Meyer
1967
This book is just too sickeningly sweet to be real! It’s old and lame. Wrong? No. Just outdated. There are a few games in it that require “a lady’s hankie” (when was the last time you saw a “lady,” let alone one with a hankie?), a rotary dial telephone, or a 5 cent stamp. There are a lot of great family games books out there that are a lot more current and exciting, with more intriguing covers. People judge books by the cover? You bet they do!
Bert Bacharach’s Book For Men
Bert Bacharach
1953
Isn’t this a hoot? Thanks to anonymous submitter! This book is clearly before my time, so I was trying to figure out the meaning of “stag lines” for every occasion. (I have heard of stag films.) I am thinking this is a 50’s version of pickup lines or anecdotes–maybe to impress women? I also thought that maybe the author was composer Burt Bacharach. Not so ALB music fans. According to WorldCat, our man BERT is an author of all things hip and cool for the 1950’s and not a composer. Anyone with insider info on this title please enlighten us to the real meaning of stag lines.
Hanging Out: The Upside Down Exercise Book
Jay & Rappaport
1983
I’m not a doctor, and I’m not a trainer. Doing inversion exercises might just be the best thing ever. This book still has a ridiculous cover. You have to admit, it’s dated in a really funny way. If these exercises are still considered by health professionals to be beneficial, it’s time for a new book on the subject.
The Picture Life of O.J.Simpson
Jameson
1977
I bet there are few pictures missing from this picture biography of O.J.’s life. I wonder if today’s kids remember that he was a football player? Biography is tough nut for me. I personally object to anyone getting a biography before age of 50 since they really have a lot more life left! (Since I am pushing 50 myself, I might change that to 60.) Case in point, our friend O.J. Think he has had a few life changes since 1977?
I would love to hear from youth librarians about this one!
Dee Snider’s Teenage Survival Guide
Snider
1987
It’s confession time, ALB fans. I, Holly Hibner, am a closet metal head. Actually, not so closet. I have been to several heavy metal concerts and been known to “bang my head” while driving. Are you shocked? Just doing my part to break the librarian stereotype…
Ok, now that true confession time is over, let’s talk about this book. Dee Snider was the lead singer of Twisted Sister in the ’80s. This was a cool book in my day! It’s still a good book message-wise, but if you gave this book to a teenager today they would probably laugh hysterically and ask who the clown on the cover is. It’s definitely time for an upgrade!
Catholic Youth’s Guide to Life and Love
George A. Kelly
1960
I might be flirting with disaster to suggest this for inclusion in our little project. Today, I want to just throw caution to the wind! This little gem showed up by accident in our ILL bin. Of course everyone on staff LOVED this book and we passed it around all day! (I did have to define “petting” to some of our younger staff members!) For all of ALB fans that can remember the church before Vatican II or attended a Catholic school, you will love this book and the stroll down memory lane!
Rocket Power and Space Flight
Stine
1957
The flyleaf of this book starts out by saying that the book was the result of thousands of letters that the author received. He says, “Some of these letters have been from young men … the rocket engineers of tomorrow.” In 1957 it was inconceivable, I’m sure, that a woman would become a rocket engineer. The author talks to the “fellows” who wrote him letters and uses the pronoun “he” and “him” throughout the book. Reason #1 to weed it.
Also, it is a bit technical. It explains how rockets work and how they are tested. I’ll bet that’s a bit more complicated nowadays than this book indicates! Reason #2 to weed this: it’s waaaay out of date. This is twelve years before we ever went to the moon!
