# What's the strangest book you own? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347 "2003-03-22T12:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/61 "2003-03-23T19:42:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terrifel \* > **…The hell?! My copy says the _Codex_ was by Luigi Serafini–hence, “Seraphinianus,” or so I thought. Have I been whooshed?** Oops, my mistake. Ricci is prominently mentioned as the editor and copyright holder, but it is the Codex of Luigi Serafini. No whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/62 "2003-03-23T21:19:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blackeyes \* > \*\*_The Complete Time Traveller: The Tourist’s Guide to the Fourth Dimension_ \*\* :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: By any chance, did you buy this in the last few days? Say, from me? On Amazon? You’re that Blackeyes? FRAK! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/63 "2003-03-24T04:58:39Z")
**Tangent** –Are you aware that [_Griffin & Sabine_](http://www.nickbantock.com/Gryphon/Griffin_and_Sabine.html) is part of a series…a total of six books, five of which have already been published. I love them and highly recommend them. I also own the parody **Sheldon & Mrs. Levine: An Excruciatingly Painful Correspondence** by Sam Bobrick and **Calamity & Belle: Cowgirl Correspondence** by Calamity Wronsky (searching for it on Amazon, I also see that there’s a sequel, yee-haw!). Anyway, while those are fine nominations for my list, I’d have to say [**A Child’s Machiavelli: A Primer on Power**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0670880213/qid=1048481146/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-3344964-3405568?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is at the top. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/64 "2003-03-24T05:28:39Z")
Lets see, I haveNecromonicon, in originial Arabic, an English translation of the Unausprechlichen Kulten, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, and a couple other books that can destroy a man’s sanity just by reading them. 🙂 Seriously, I actually have a hard copy version of the Eye of Argon [http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/SF-Archives/Misc/Eye\_Of\_The\_Argon](http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/SF-Archives/Misc/Eye_Of_The_Argon) that my uncle found for me somewhere. Scary. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/65 "2003-03-24T11:09:26Z")
I’ve probably dinged a few FBI warning bells with my book purchases. **Contingency Cannibalism: Superhardcore Survivalism’s Dirty Little Secret** (with recipes) **Rack, Rope and Red Hot Pincers** history of torture. **The Big Book of Execution** **Handbook of Improvised Munitions, vol. 1&2** **Night Movements** , a Japanese military text from the 1920’s on fighting in the dark. **Be Your Own Undertaker** **Ain’t Nobody’s Business if You Do** on consensual crimes. **Malleus Malificarum** **Compendium Malificarum** **Factories of Death** **Hidden Horrors** **Unit 731: Testimony** (this and the previous two are on Japanese war crimes) **Mein Kampf** **Encyclopedia of Sects, Cults and Alternative Religions** and on True Crime: **Black Collar Criminals Lawless Lawmen Holy Homicide Still at Large Encyclopedia of Serial Killers** Believe it or not, I’m actually a rather well-adjusted person. Mask of sanity, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/66 "2003-03-24T12:13:24Z")
I’ve got quite a few of the books listed above, or read them. Possibly the weirdest book in my collection is **End Product: The Last Taboo**. I forget the author’s name. This is a lengthy book devoted to the subject of poop and excretion, heavily footnoted. Mine is the only copy I’ve ever seen. Since I picked it up at a used book store, I’ve seen other books on the topic, but none so scholarly and well-documented. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/67 "2003-03-24T13:17:29Z")
I can’t believe I’m posting this but… …I have a coloring book called “What does he call his member?” It talks about the traits of different men based on what they call their penis (dick, schlong, penis, prick, etc). I bought it for a dollar. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/68 "2003-03-24T13:37:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by moi \* > **Tangent–Are you aware that [_Griffin & Sabine_](http://www.nickbantock.com/Gryphon/Griffin_and_Sabine.html) is part of a series…a total of six books, five of which have already been published. I love them and highly recommend them.** :eek: I had no idea! I am definitely going to seek out the others–thanks for the info! ---
**Author:** ![Humble\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/47e85d/32.png) [@Humble\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Humble_Servant)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/69 "2003-03-24T16:23:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > **Just remembered that I have a children’s book about the life of King Arthur, as told by his dog, but I haven’t read it yet.** If you have the chance, post the title of this one, pretty please? Thanks. (I’m wondering which variation of the dog’s name they choose–Cavall, Cabal, Caefall, etc.) My “weird” contribution is not weird by content, but by shape/size and use. I have a copy of a Nazi spy thriller by Helen MacInnes, **While Still We Live** , which was judged properly patriotic and distributed by the military for use by US soldiers in WWII. It is the right size and shape to be shoved into a back pocket, and it is broader than it is tall. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/70 "2003-03-24T16:29:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Humble Servant \* > \*\* > My “weird” contribution is not weird by content, but by shape/size and use. I have a copy of a Nazi spy thriller by Helen MacInnes, **While Still We Live** , which was judged properly patriotic and distributed by the military for use by US soldiers in WWII. It is the right size and shape to be shoved into a back pocket, and it is broader than it is tall. \*\* I have a few military format books from WW2. Including a biography of Nikola Tesla. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/71 "2003-03-24T18:01:10Z")
These are called Armed Services editions. They were published in incredible numbers starting in 1943. (They were also done for the Korean war, though not in such numbers.) About 125,000,000 copies of 1300 titles were published. Most never made it home, so they are a bit scarce today though not enough so to be worth big bucks. The most valuable one I know of is George Lowther’s 1940s Superman novel, _The Adventures of Superman_. There’s one for $950 listed on [bookfinder.com](http://bookfinder.com). They came in two basic sizes, 5 1/2" x 3 7/8" and 6 1/2" x 4 1/2". A few came out in the digest paperback size (about the size of a Reader’s Digest). These are truly rare, especially the ones from Korea. ---
**Author:** ![murky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@murky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/murky)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/72 "2003-03-24T18:51:57Z")
don’t know the title but it’s a handbook on phrenology. Picked it up from a flea market. I already have a phrenology bust with all the areas marked. Not so much for belief as for kitsch factor. Good times though. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/73 "2003-03-24T21:10:53Z")
Hands down, [_The Policeman’s Beard is Half Constructed,_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0446380512/qid=1048539931/sr=1-12/ref=sr_1_12/102-3969865-0201737?v=glance&s=books) a collection of short essays and writings by an artificial intelligence named RACTER. > [@](#): > > _RACTER writes:_ > Bill sings to Sarah. Sarah sings to Bill. Perhaps they will do other dangerous things together. They may eat lamb or stroke each other. They may chant of their difficulties and their happiness. They have love but they also have typewriters. That is interesting. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/74 "2003-03-24T22:04:21Z")
> [@](#): > > ## Originally posted by Humble Servant: quote: > > ## Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine Just remembered that I have a children’s book about the life of King Arthur, as told by his dog, but I haven’t read it yet. > > If you have the chance, post the title of this one, pretty please? Thanks. (I’m wondering which variation of the dog’s name they choose–Cavall, Cabal, Caefall, etc.) It’s called _The Dragon Stone: A Tale of Arthur, Merlin, and Cabal_. The author is John Conlee, one of my old college professors (which is how I came by the book in the first place). ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/75 "2003-03-25T00:17:11Z")
Ally Sheedy’s book o’ poetry, Yesterday I Saw the Sun. Picked it up for a dollar at the used bookstore. I can’t put my hands on it right now, but I have a little booklet from the late 1950s or early 1960s for secretaries on the importance of keeping orderly files at the office. The main reason for this, the booklet teaches us, is that if nuclear war occurs, it’s going to be very important for all files to be neat and easy to use. I think this was distributed to government offices since I found it when doing some housecleaning at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in Austin. The illustrations are amusing too. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/76 "2003-03-25T00:23:03Z")
Ally Sheedy’s book o’ poetry, Yesterday I Saw the Sun. Picked it up for a dollar at the used bookstore. I can’t put my hands on it right now, but I have a little booklet from the late 1950s or early 1960s for secretaries on the importance of keeping orderly files at the office. The main reason for this, the booklet teaches us, is that if nuclear war occurs, it’s going to be very important for all files to be neat and easy to use. I think this was distributed to government offices since I found it when doing some housecleaning at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in Austin. The illustrations are amusing too._Yesterday I Saw the Sun_ ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/77 "2003-03-25T00:23:38Z")
Ally Sheedy’s book o’ poetry, _Yesterday I Saw the Sun_. Picked it up for a dollar at the used bookstore. I can’t put my hands on it right now, but I have a little booklet from the late 1950s or early 1960s for secretaries on the importance of keeping orderly files at the office. The main reason for this, the booklet teaches us, is that if nuclear war occurs, it’s going to be very important for all files to be neat and easy to use. I think this was distributed to government offices since I found it when doing some housecleaning at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in Austin. The illustrations are amusing too. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/78 "2003-03-25T00:29:36Z")
Ok, shoot me. I triple posted. Sorry! Someday I’ll figure this thing out… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/79 "2003-03-25T00:39:03Z")
I have a Texas history textbook from the 1890’s. I have a German-American cookbook from the 1880’s (recipes in both English [Roman alphabet] and German [Fraktur script]). I also have this really kooky book entitled _Secret Doors of the Earth_ by Jacques Bergier. It was written in the '70s and chronicles a lot of alleged paranormal occurences, all with some perplexing thesis about portals. ---
**Author:** ![Tblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tblue)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347/80 "2003-03-25T00:51:45Z")
Its translation is _“Japanese Samurai Warrior Gods”_ - and it is a pictorial book of lithographs, from earlier prints and illustrations, published in Japan in 1935 - possibly as a piece of morale boosting propaganda. A nice chronological history of Japanese mythos and emperorism from the year ?? to the 1600’s. The next oddest title I can think of, is \*“Cats are not Peas” (the author owned a male calico, and when someone pointed out unusual that was - she started investigating why. Nice little book, that. :)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-book-you-own/163347.md?page=5)