# Unusual book on your shelf **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 1999, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046 "1999-09-05T05:22:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![torq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@torq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torq)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/61 "1999-09-07T19:50:00Z")
The (one of the… there may be more than one) sequel to Dream Park is “California Voodoo Game”. ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/62 "1999-09-07T20:30:00Z")
funneefarmer: I’ve always loaned that book out to others, and kept really close tabs on it since it’s not published anymore, but I finally lost track of it. Fortunately, I had a friend find it in the Gotham Bookstore, and I proceeded to read it cover to cover in about three hours. Friends and I use it as a guide to this day. “What the fug you t’ink dis is? A fuggin’ Haagen Dazs?” Waste Flick Lives! ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/63 "1999-09-07T20:52:00Z")
How 'bout “The Standard Handbook of Fastening and Joining?” Pretty dull, but at least it puts me to sleep at night. Paying $50 for it is one of the dangers of joining an engineer’s book club. I also have, and have read, the entire “Dune” series. In a much lighter vein, I have all of the “Bill, The Galactic Hero” books. My favorite is probably, “Bill and the Planet of 10,000 bars.” Pretty campy. * * * **Abstainer:** _a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure._ **- Ambrose Bierce** ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/64 "1999-09-07T20:56:00Z")
BION, I have the 1995 edition of the Sprint/United telephone book for Gettysburg, Pa. The Bluejackets’ Manual (21st Edition) COMNAVAIRLANTINST 5720 ---
**Author:** ![OldBroad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@OldBroad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldBroad)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/65 "1999-09-07T21:14:00Z")
Don’t have the Feynmann lectures but DO have both “Genius” and “Surely You’re Joking, Dr. Feynmann” (Had a crush on Feynmann back in the '50s (him and Leonard Bernstein)) ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/66 "1999-09-07T21:27:00Z")
I have a book of poetry by Robert W. Service. (Our parents taught us the poem “The Spell of the Yukon” when we were kids.) ---
**Author:** ![Sassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/67 "1999-09-07T22:20:00Z")
I have two of the Philo Vance books (can’t remember the authors name), several Charlie Chan (Earl Derr Biggers) and a vast collection of the Saint, mostly in hardcover. First editions of some old Nero Wolfe, but I can’t recall the titles now – I have everything in print, I think. Trying to visualize my shelves… * * * The reason gentlemen prefer blondes is that there are not enough redheads to go around. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/68 "1999-09-07T22:46:00Z")
DIVEMASTER – I have _Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds_ too. Also … _The Book of Werewolves_, by Sabine Baring-Gould. _Fue ayer y no me acuerdo_, by Jaime Bayly. (All about drugs and gay sex in Peru. Don’t think it’s ever been translated into English.) _The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner_, by James Hogg. \*The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte \*, by Daphne du Maurier. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/69 "1999-09-07T23:08:00Z")
I had no idea so many people on this site had such excellent taste in literature! * * * We have met the enemy, and He is Us.–Walt Kelly ---
**Author:** ![Narile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@Narile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Narile)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/70 "1999-09-08T00:12:00Z")
Got 13 Clocks, Devils dictionary. My special one is my script of ‘Severed Dreams’ signed by JMS, Biggs, and Tallman. Favorite ep. Also, ‘Tonight the Dragons are singing’ wierd little book. (Of course, if it has Dragons, I’m interested. 🙂 ) * * * \>\>Being Chaotic Evil means never having to say your sorry…unless the other guy is bigger than you.\<\< —The dragon observes ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/71 "1999-09-08T03:39:00Z")
funneefarmer - by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (I could see two books on the subject having a similar same name. What else they gonna call it?) keystream - There’s a sequel? Let me know if you come up with the title. Here’s some more: _Talion: Revenant_, Michael Stackpole _Street Magic_. Michael Reaves _Cold Iron_, Melisa Michaels _Lost in Translation_, Margaret Ball _The Unofficial US Census_, Tom Heyman _Midshipman’s Hope_, David Feintuch _Conceiving the Heavens_, Melissa Scott _All You Can Do is All You Can Do, but all you can do is enough!_, A.L. Williams (I don’t even remember where or why I got this one.) ---
**Author:** ![Bluepony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Bluepony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluepony)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/72 "1999-09-08T04:32:00Z")
Radar Ralf— Quite a few of us that study the martial arts have Sun Tzu’s \* The Art Of War \* and Musashi’s \* A Book Of Five Rings \*. They are excellent books. I keep an excerpt from Musashi’s book taped to the inside of my clipboard. Wise words for a cop on the street to live by… 1. Do not think dishonestly. 2. The Way is in training. 3. Become acquainted with every art. 4. Know the Ways of all professions. 5. Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters. 6. Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for everything. 7. Perceive those things which cannot be seen. 8. Pay attention, even to trifles. 9. Do nothing which is of no use. * * * “…send lawyers, guns, and money…” ``` Warren Zevon ``` ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/73 "1999-09-08T04:46:00Z")
> [@](#): > > The (one of the… there may be more than one) sequel to Dream Park is “California Voodoo Game”. I think they were thinking of _The Barsoon Project_ or something close to it. As another addition, I offer up the anthology _Alien Sex_. That one always gets a few looks. I also have a three volume set of the _Summa Theologica_ by St. Thomas Aquinas. * * * “I guess it is possible for one person to make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/74 "1999-09-08T04:46:00Z")
Ok, after rooting through the various piles of books I’ve got squirelled away in various parts of my room, I’ve found a few more possibles. _I Robot The Illustrated Screenplay._ Harlan Ellison’s unfilmed treatment of Assimov’s robot stories. Illustrated by Mark Zug. _Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials_ by Wayne Douglas Barlowe, Ian Summers, and Beth Meacham. I got both of these through the Science Fiction Book Club. * * * ‘They couldn’t hit an Elephant from this dist…!’ Last words of General John Sedgwick ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy\_Greg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Cowboy\_Greg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy_Greg)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/75 "1999-09-08T05:48:00Z")
EnigmaOne, I’ll see you your Street Survival, and raise ya “The Tactical Edge”, the sequel to it. Was seriously considering the LAPD at one time… And besides all the Dream Park books, which just happens to be one of my favorite series (so far it’s Dream Park, The Barsoom Project, and California Voodoo Game, for those of you keeping score at home), one of the more unusual tomes on my shelf would have to be The Complete Venus Equilateral. Love that golden age SF with the rivets… 🙂 * * * Someday we’ll look back on this, laugh nervously, and change the subject… ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/76 "1999-09-08T06:56:00Z")
Jophiel, I have Alien Sex. (Little green women! 😉 ) Another couple of novels-into-movies: - The Manchurian Candidate, Richard Condon. (Did I mention this before, or was it that movie thread?) - The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk. And a rather odd one from the thirties: - Rain in the Doorway, Thorne Smith. Author of Topper, and many more, see [http://members.tripod.com/~JCHOMA/THORNE.html](http://members.tripod.com/~JCHOMA/THORNE.html) . * * * Bob the Random Expert “If we don’t have the answer, we’ll make one up.” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/77 "1999-09-08T08:13:00Z")
a few more: [ul]The Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay Vampires, Burial and Death The Ancient Engineers by L. S. de Camp The City on the Edge of Forever (Harlan Ellison’s original screenplay plus his **incredible** commentary[/ul] some others previously mentioned I also have: [ul]Bored of the Rings Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynmann What Do You Care What Other People Think?[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/78 "1999-09-08T13:00:00Z")
Anybody else got _ **A Theological Interpretation of the 39 Articles** _? It’s actually more interesting than it sounds! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/79 "1999-09-08T13:02:00Z")
Jophiel…Barsoo **m** , man! Did Edgar Rice Burroughs live in vain?? ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046/80 "1999-09-08T13:12:00Z")
A couple more: “A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Civilization” (I think this is the correct subtitle). I wonder if this is the same book Fretful Porpentine mentioned??? “One-Night Stands with American History” * * * Souvenieeeeers, nov-elties, par-ty tricks [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-book-on-your-shelf/8046.md?page=5)