The Joy of Dullness 2

The second and possibly the final part. Sadly some of these are not as dull as could be hoped, and I feel bad about that. However some are just plain odd or at least intriguing. A few are from the Summers collection and two (the plane and the office ones) are from the monumental Awful Library Books site, which has 100s of examples, some mind alteringly dull and bland.




Something that has briefly crossed my mind on long haul flights in moments of near desperation.



Written in 1993. Dullish title but the author was a child prodigy.



The kind of book that makes me glad I don't work in an office. The workers at the keyboard are a bizarre, slightly frightening image.



Very dull but probably quite saleable. The dental mason on the left looks like the kind of guy who prefers to work without anaesthetics.



Odd title-- basically it refers to legal cases in a 'nutshell.' Blurb says 'they include a number of features such as boxed "think points" to make them easy to use and retain the information. Nutcases are an essential revision aid...' Probably not P.C. anymore.



About 1914. Beware of the flying piano.



Written in pidgin English and coming out of Southern Africa in the early 1950s. Hints include 'moving as cleverly as a monkey' when you see a nice girl, speaking like a 'honey-tongued orator' (or like a nightingale). Girls will pretend indifference 'like a traffic police on duty..' Early in the genre of books on how to pick up girls and now somewhat superseded.



No laughing matter here. V sign from Churchill, Tartan from Harrods.



Handbook used by the British aristocracy.




The book that launched Subway.



Potential bestseller.




Dull, sad with some bathos and pathos.




Part of a small body of books on potatoes and possibly not as dull as it looks.