DISCARD TIME! Your Cat...

    (Is it, though? Is it really?)

     You're ok, your cat's ok by Marcus Schneck & Jill Caravan. Sigh.     

I guess I should just be thankful that they used "you're" and "your" correctly, and also used an apostrophe correctly.

     I know this is probably (hopefully) supposed to be funny, especially with that "meaningful relationship" part. But it's really just, like, "Ugh..."

     Right?

     Anyway, it's old, nobody has checked it out in at least a decade, and it's on its way out the door.

     Good DAY, sir.

THE AGE OF THE PUSSYFOOT (weird but interesting old book cover)

THE AGE OF THE PUSSYFOOT by Frederik Pohl

     I'm not sure any more needs to be said about this. I weeded this from my high school library because unfortunately it has languished on the shelf for a long time. But I kept it for myself. I really do like the cover, despite the snicker-inducing title. And look at that geek chic author portrait! He is OWNING it.

VINTAGE BOOK FROM 1986 : "I Hate School"

I HATE SCHOOL : How to hang in & when to drop out by Claudine G. Wirths & Mary Bowman-Kruhm Illustrations by Patti Stren

     One of my fellow library technicians sent this to me. It was a result of one of her weeding frenzies, ditching obsolete materials. This is from 1986, and "school" was a pretty different animal then than it is now.
     I like how the subtitle, "How to hang in & when to drop out" indicates that dropping out might be a valid option for you. Maybe if you're, like, SUPER fucked-up, they advise you to go ahead and quietly drop out. Ride the rails as a hobo, maybe.
     Either my friend only sent me the dust jacket, or I lost the book itself, because all I have is this dust jacket and many questions about the dropping out option. Should I have dropped out? I really REALLY hated school. What if I chose poorly by deciding to "hang in?" Shit.
   

BAD BOOK COVERS

     My library is part of a school that is only 14 years old. But that doesn't mean I haven't found some pretty out-dated stuff now that I'm weeding the non-fiction. To my knowledge this is the first time this library has ever been weeded. I'm not a weeder by nature, I'm more of an archival-minded hoarder, but some of this stuff even I have to pitch.

Opportunities In Direct Marketing Careers Copyright 2000, VGM

      Dude. If the dork on the cover doesn't scare you off, then you're probably already on your way to a grim career in direct marketing.
     If they were publishing that book today, I would hope they'd at LEAST replace the bulky curly noodle-corded land line phone with an iPhone or something.

The Internet for Teachers and School Library Media Specialists Copyright 1996, Neal-Schuman NetGuide Series

     I love how Miami Vice that cover is. It looks more '86 than '96. And I was expecting to find all sorts of references in it to "The Information Superhighway," and other now-quaint terms. Which I did. But the MOST shocking thing to me was in a chapter written by a teacher on how he had set up a website for his school.
     He proudly shows an example of one of the webpages they set up for an individual student, with a PHOTO of the child, the child's full name, and all sorts of personal information, such as what the child likes to do, his family, their names, etc.
     Great way to provide plenty of tools for would-be child abductors! Good job, guys! I guess internet SAFETY has come a long way, although it seems like it should have been common sense, even back then, not to post all that personal info about children on a public forum.
     The boy whose webpage was printed as an example in this book probably got really sick of dodging strange men who knew his name, the names of his parents, and his favorite hobbies.
   

PEDAL YOUR WAY TO ADVENTURE

     I love charmingly dorky vintage book covers, so a friend gave me this book jacket when she weeded this one from her library. I love the tagline:

"Four girls pedal their way to mystery and adventure."

     I almost didn't notice the illustrator's unfortunate last name until my husband pointed it out. Tee-hee!

     You may snicker at some of my friend's other discards HERE.