When I was in England this past summer, a good friend and I took the train to the quaint town of Canterbury for a short day’s excursion. While we moseyed along the ancient cobblestone streets, we found ourselves drawn to one of the thousand Oxfam second-hand bookshops sprinkled around the country. Not only do I love a good bookshop to while away a rainy day, my friend and I were there for a particular purpose, too. She and her boyfriend had created a game in which the rules were simple: one had to find a “weird” or “unusual” book (it didn’t have to be secondhand, but vintage self-helps and children’s books are always good places to start!) and give it to the other to read. The book that my friend had just acquired was a children’s book entitled: “My Big Sister Does Drugs.” Case in point.
I always thought this was a hilariously fun idea, but never really followed through with it. But apparently, my friend is not the first to have had this idea of coveting the weird, the unusual, and the downright horrible gems of the literary world.
Meet the folks of Awful Library Books, a website mediated by two Michigander public librarians who have made it their life goal to hunt down the worst, sexist, racist, scary, suggestive, satanic, appalling, and questionable books that somehow ACTUALLY EXIST in this world. They accept submissions from people all over the world who have joined the fun and sent in their findings.
Some examples:
Not only is this website a treasure trove for vast emotional responses and historical and cultural discoveries, the entertainment comes from the blurbs that site owners, Holly and Mary, write up about each book. Each book is also categorized, so like YouTube, ‘related titles you may be interested in mocking’ appear before you and supply you with endless hours of curious enjoyment. (Is it bad to say enjoyment? Awe, maybe? Shock? You decide!)
So what’s the point of this website? Well, firstly, it’s a collection, just like a library itself. But it’s also a time capsule – to remind us of past prejudices and cultures, and recommend that we try our best not to replicate them! This blog is a project of entertainment and education. It’s an ongoing work of preservation, just like any digital archive. Its goal is to cultivate a community of nostalgics and bibliophiles, who think that all books are worth taking a look at, even if you might not want to read their story. Sometimes, the worst books are, ironically, the ones that begin the most important conversations of current events, issues, and ethics!
Remember: Some pretty astonishing things are out there, if you keep your eyes open! And for all you writers out there, like me, who wish to be published one day, this site, Awful Library Books, at least gives you some hope!!
P.S. Submit your own Awful Library Book findings at http://awfullibrarybooks.net/submissions/.
