self-help Archives - Awful Library Books

God’s Handiwork

February 27, 2023 Holly Department of God, Feelings and Self Help 16 comments

If I’m God’s Handiwork, Would Someone Please Explain These Thighs!: Discovering Your Unique Destiny
Lechner
2002

Submitter: I work at a public library in a small city in NC. We found this book from 2002 during a recent sweep. I think it’s a good example for your blog because of the outdated humor both in the title and within the work, as well as the outdated design of the cover and call outs within. The book never had particularly good circulation numbers and probably should have been weeded a decade ago.

Holly: I know it doesn’t seem like that long ago, but 2002 was 21 years ago. Let it gooooo!

Beat the Blahs

July 18, 2018 Mary Kelly Department of God 8 comments

How To Beat The Blahs
Prater
1977

So, the Blahs are hovering around and making you sad, bored, unloved, inferior, etc. My teen brain remembers that word being used to mostly refer to boredom. This isn’t the first time the “Blahs” have appeared on ALB. We featured a self help book that suggested things like having an affair or adopting a child as a solution. In another book we featured, “Blahs” was used as another term for depression. Again, the advice was pretty unhelpful and all these ladies needed to do was to suck it up. Today’s post addresses the Christian with the blahs. Short answer is God still loves and cares about you. As a Christian devotional, this isn’t a bad book. It is more a gentle reminder of gratitude and grace. Honestly, this book could work in 2018 with a different title and some updating.

Brainwashing for fun and profit!

January 9, 2018 Mary Kelly Unexplained and Just Plain Crazy 17 comments

Brainwashing is a Cinch! Maratta 1966 Of course I am interested in any book that would allow me to bend people to my will. (The longer I am in this profession, I realize that I really want to be a

Christian Advice for the Overworked

June 5, 2017 Mary Kelly Department of God, Working 9-5 7 comments

Work With Less Energy Grant ~1955 Are you overworked? Can’t meet those deadlines? Forget your calendar and to-do list! God wants you to take a moment and look around. Rev. Grant came to an epiphany one day after watching people

Your Secret Powers as a Woman

June 3, 2014 Mary Kelly Feelings and Self Help, Ladies only! 40 comments

Your Power as a Woman How to Develop and Use It Archer 1957 Direct from the late 1950s, this book is the answer to all your questions! You can be happy with a few simple “fixes”. In the 4th picture

Take My Wife, Please!

December 17, 2013 Mary Kelly Feelings and Self Help 15 comments

How to live a Neurotic Wife Baker 1970 If you think times haven’t changed, this book might make you feel otherwise. The humor is so old school, I keep hearing Henny Youngman saying “take my wife, please.” Reading this you

Relax!

March 18, 2013 Holly Feelings and Self Help 15 comments

Sense Relaxation: Blow Your Mind Gunther 1968 Submitter: I work in a small academic library, and I weeded [this] on my first pass through our medical collection. Self-described as “a book of experiments in being alive,” the book invites readers

Obey your man and God will love you more!

March 12, 2013 Mary Kelly Department of God 19 comments

Beautiful for Thee
Outstanding Messages given at Sword of Jubilees for Women
Sword of Lord Publishers
1978

Ladies! Here is your inspiration to be the very best woman you can be! Dressing nicely and keeping your house clean will make your man, and God, love you all the more. Stay away from those sad feminists! They are going to be distracting you with all that talk of “doing your own thing” and equal rights. Remember, Jesus loves ladies that know “their place.”

Mary