Boring books

[Captain Crunch]

Or rather, good books about odd little subjects, a bit like the book equivalent of Boring Talks.

For example, this is great:



It's light but comprehensive.  It takes every design and tells you about the designer, when and how the design came in, the material and, if they can get it, what people thought of the design at the time.  It has nice little diversions about the moquette factory, how other countries cover their subway seats and any design competitions held.  Top quality pictures too.

Similarly I got this book on dugouts from the free shelf in Cannon Street station and it's got the same nice affectionate but comprehensive style to it:



I can't believe there's not more of this sort of thing out there, can anyone recommend any more?

[Sin Agog]

Am genuinely a fan of Jonathan Swift's The Benefit of Farting.

I read it after stumbling across the front cover with this absurdly specific title, and I wasn't disappointed.

[Retinend]

An old avatar of mine:


https://imgur.com/a/ATN4lzZ


https://imgur.com/a/VYaUJBc

[buttgammon]

This says more about me than those books, but none of them look boring to me (well, maybe the glass one but that's more personal taste than anything).

The other day, I was complaining to my doctoral supervisor about the fact that a lot of my writing seemed boring when I read it back (specifically a section of my thesis talking about time zones), and he convinced me that there can actually be merits to being boring sometimes.

[Chriddof]

This may slightly stretch the definition of boring for some, but I have this book (more of a glossy fanzine, really) on the subject of Cannon Cinemas in the 80s:

Cannon Cinemas: An Outline History

It goes into a lot of background detail about how the cinemas were operated, the strict no smoking policy which was unusual for the time, photos of various locations, etc. Nothing about Death Wish 3 or Superman IV, let alone Ninja III, but I found it all very interesting, being a general AV nut. The same bloke also wrote these on the same kind of subject, but with different companies:

Cinecenta Cinemas: An Outline History
MGM Cinemas: An Outline History

[Dewt]

[flotemysost]

I remember having a good old laugh at this when I saw it at a book event a few years ago:





And I've got a copy of this somewhere:

[Andy147]

Reminds me of the Fake Boring Books thread.

[studpuppet]

In the opposite direction I have one book called Private Pornography In The Third Reich that sounds like it's going to be equal parts interesting/horrifying/titillating, but in fact it's quite boring. I thought it was going to be some kind of exposé of the Nazi's private sexual proclivities versus their public moral/racial stance (albeit with a bit of grot thrown in).

But in actual fact it's just like a 1930s Reader's Wives section, that someone's found under granddad's bed. Hirsuteness abounds...

[jobotic]

[jobotic]

FFs Chatham's Concrete Ring is too big

[pigamus]

No offence to Kit Caless but surely the carpets do not belong to Spoon

[flotemysost]

No offence to Kit Caless but surely the carpets do not belong to Spoon

Looks like s/he couldn't Caless about grammar ahhh

[Brundle-Fly]

Clockwise? *closes book.

[Famous Mortimer]

I'm guessing with the John Hodgman foreword that it's a comedy book?

[Danger Man]

[img width=300]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91fmcWvWyYL.jpg[/img

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Or rather, good books about odd little subjects, a bit like the book equivalent of Boring Talks.

For example, this is great:



It's light but comprehensive.  It takes every design and tells you about the designer, when and how the design came in, the material and, if they can get it, what people thought of the design at the time.  It has nice little diversions about the moquette factory, how other countries cover their subway seats and any design competitions held.  Top quality pictures too.

Similarly I got this book on dugouts from the free shelf in Cannon Street station and it's got the same nice affectionate but comprehensive style to it:



I can't believe there's not more of this sort of thing out there, can anyone recommend any more?

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=35155.0

Bus seat upholstery, CaB Edition

[olliebean]

I'm guessing with the John Hodgman foreword that it's a comedy book?

If "flange turners" wasn't enough of a giveaway.

You can read the entire foreword in the Amazon preview, btw.

[Marner and Me]

Christ I'd rather read about Prefab Sprout.

[olliebean]

[Captain Crunch]

My Mum's got this, it comes with little square samples like a chippy sampler:

Spoon's Carpets

I love that, the Ilfracombe carpet should be in an art gallery.  It still mystifies me why there isn't a book or at least a website for the best Wetherspoons buildings.  Like a 'spoony Pevsner. 

I've been on her tour, she's mad as a snake.  At one point we were asked to balance on a wobbly dining chair to look into someone's back garden. 

I've got mixed feelings about the Shire books, they seem great at first but they tend to be a bit superficial, almost childish.  Expensive too.

Has anyone read Deep Sea and Foreign Going, the book about shipping containers?  It always gets good reviews. 

[studpuppet]

Has anyone read Deep Sea and Foreign Going, the book about shipping containers?  It always gets good reviews.

Yes, it's well worth it - I've also been onto the bridge of one of Maersk's biggest vessels while it was docked at Felixstowe, and it's awesome (used in the true sense of the word). If someone ever asks if you want to go on a port tour to somewhere like Felixstowe or London Gateway, bite their hand off for it.

[Captain Crunch]

I would love that.  I was lucky to get on a tour of the Bristol ports three years ago and saw the EUROPEAN JUICE TERMINAL!



I did have a ticket to do the same for Sunderland last year but couldn't make it, I was gutted. 

[Gurke and Hare]

I caught the ferry to Rotterdam a few years ago and saw this magnificent bastard near Harwich.

[Keebleman]

I caught the ferry to Rotterdam a few years ago and saw this magnificent bastard near Harwich.

Aw sweet, that tug's giving it a kiss!

[touchingcloth]

Literally

[Mr_Simnock]

I would love that book, wonder if it has anything on Fineprice too (St Clements Rd)?

[Polymorphia]

Surprisingly small book (84 pages excluding bibliography) covering industrialisation under Tsarist Russia, and it's very interesting to read the extent to which Russia had actually industrialised before 1914. Very light on any other details, but covers its topic succinctly and comprehensively

[PlanktonSideburns]

I caught the ferry to Rotterdam a few years ago and saw this magnificent bastard near Harwich.

love how the tugboats giving it a little peck on the cheek

[Huxleys Babkins]

I would love that book, wonder if it has anything on Fineprice too (St Clements Rd)?

You will love it. And so will your family.