Book Authors Thread, -Stephen King, etc

From the March 12, 2009 issue of Popbitch:

I don't understand the joke. Why is she called Howard?

The weird thing is... it's not actually a joke. Look on her Wikipedia page, and you'll see that it says her birth name is actually Howard Allen O'Brien. She adopted the name "Anne" as a girl in Catholic school because she was self-conscious about her unusual name.

Another 10 Insanely Titled Books

A few samples on that page include (these are from actual books):

What's Your Poo Telling You?

What's Your Poo Telling You?
"All the greatest hits are here: The Log Jam, The Glass Shard, The Deja Poo, The Hanging Chad... the list goes on. A floater? It's probably due to a buildup of gas. Now think back on last night's dinner, a burrito perhaps? Yep, also here."

How to Good-bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? or Effective Way?

"I think constricting anus 100 times and denting navel 100 times in succession everyday is effective to good-bye depression and take back youth. You can do so at a boring meeting or in a subway.

I have known 70-year-old man who has practiced it for 20 years. As a result, he has good complexion and has grown 20 years younger. His eyes sparkle. He is full of vigor, happiness and joy. He has neither complained nor born a grudge under any circumstance. Furthermore, he can make love three times in succession without drawing out."

Greek Rural Postmen and their Cancellation Numbers

The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America

Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them

Page contains strong language:
10 Great Books For (Traumatizing) Children

A sample of book titles from the page:

I Wish Daddy Didn’t Drink So Much

The House That Crack Built

Book Spoiler site

'Smell of Old Books' Offers Clues to Help Preserve Them

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2009) — Scientists may not be able to tell a good book by its cover, but they now can tell the condition of an old book by its smell.

In a report in ACS' Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal, they describe development of a new test that can measure the degradation of old books and precious historical documents based on their smell.

The nondestructive "sniff" test could help libraries and museums preserve a range of prized paper-based objects, some of which are degrading rapidly due to advancing age, the scientists say.

Matija Strlic and colleagues note in the new study that the familiar musty smell of an old book, as readers leaf through the pages, is the result of hundreds of so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released into the air from the paper.

Those substances hold clues to the paper's condition, they say. Conventional methods for analyzing library and archival materials involve removing samples of the document and then testing them with traditional laboratory equipment.

But this approach destroys part of the document.

The new technique, called "material degradomics," analyzes the gases emitted by old books and documents without altering the documents themselves.

They used it to "sniff" 72 historical papers from the 19th and 20th centuries, including papers containing rosin (pine tar) and wood fiber, which are the most rapidly degrading paper types in old books.

The scientists identified 15 VOCs that seem good candidates as markers to track the degradation of paper in order to optimize their preservation. The method also could help preserve other historic artifacts, they add.

Stereotyping People by Their Favorite Author

Not saying if I agree or disagree with the list, I found it entertaining was all.

Excerpt:

J.K. Rowling
Smart geeks.

Michael Crichton
Doctors who went to third-tier medical schools.

John Grisham
Doctors who went to medical schools in the Dominican Republic.

Dan Brown
People who used to get lost in supermarkets when they were kids.

William Faulkner
People who are good at crosswords.

Sylvia Plath
Girls who keep journals (too easy).

George Orwell
Conspiracy theorists (too easy).

O. Henry
Men who have names like Earl or Cliff and were really close with their paternal grandfather.

Ray Bradbury
People who own golf head covers.

Joseph Heller
People who love buying drinks for their friends. See also, people who cringe when they see their bar tab.

Weird Book Room

Welcome to AbeBooks' Weird Book Room - heralded by The Times, The Guardian, New York Times, and Canada's Globe and Mail as the finest source of everything that's bizarre, odd and downright weird in books. We now have 101 crazy and strange titles about every oddball aspect of life you could possibly imagine and a few things you couldn't possibly imagine. We invite you to not only revel in our collection of literary oddities but to also send us your suggestions.

Thanks to everyone who has submitted weird books!

Please visit the above page to check out scans of the book covers.

Here are some of the book titles:

The Haunted Vagina
[author] Carlton Mellick III

The English: Are They Human?
[author] G.J. Renier

[I love the book cover for this one:]
Soldier Bear
[author]Geoffrey Morgan and W.A. Lasocki

50 Ways to Use Feminine Hygiene Products in a Manly Manner
[author] B. Koz

The Deer-smellers of Haunted Mountain
[author] John Joseph Meyer

The Beverly Hillbillies Bible Study
[author] Stephen Skelton

Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation
[authors] Elissa Stein and Susan Kim

Was Karl Marx a Satanist?
[author] Richard Wurmbrand

How You Can Bowl Better Using Self-Hypnosis

Why Do I Vomit?
[author] Angela Royston

Toilet Paper Origami
[author] Linda Wright

Dead Pet: Send Your Best Little Buddy Off in Style
[authors] Andrew Kirk, Jane Moseley

-there are many other funny, strange books on that page

The Baby-Sitters Club Book Series To Be Revived For New Decade

Scholastic bringing back 'Baby-sitters Club' books

Scholastic breathes new life into The Baby-Sitter's Club