Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: oddities

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  Freaks: We Who are Not as Others

  by Daniel Pratt Mannix

  Another long out of print classic book based on Mannix's personal acquaintance with sideshow stars such as the Alligator Man and the Monkey Woman, etc. Read all about the notorious love affairs of midgets; the amazing story of the elephant boy; the unusual amours of Jolly Daisy; the fat woman; the famous pinhead who inspired Verdi's "Rigoletto"; the tragedy of Betty Lou Williams and her parasitic twin; the black... (more)
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  A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities

  by Jan Bondeson

  In this book of amazing oddities, Jan Bondeson explores unexpected, gruesome, and bizarre aspects of the history of medicine. He regales us with stories of spontaneous human combustion; vicious tribes of tailed men; the Two-Headed Boy of Bengal; Mary Toft, who allegedly gave birth to seventeen rabbits; and Julia Pastrana, exhibited around the world as the Ape Woman. Bondeson combines an historian's skill in... (more)
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  Lonely Planet Micronations (Lonely Planet Travel Guides)

  by John Ryan

  Bored of visiting the same UN-recognised countries? Ready to explore somewhere unique and perhaps a little wacky? want to add some really rare stamps to your passport? Then let Lonely Planet's guide to home made nations take you to a bunch of places you've never heard of. Micronations takes a curious look at some of the most curious places on the planet. Designed to generate interest in the strange... (more)
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  Admit It, You're Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies, and Irrational Behavior

  by Judy Reiser

  Kids say the darndest things? Adults DO them!!! Author Judy Reiser offers up more hilarious eccentricities exhibited (and confessed to) by otherwise normal people. Everyone has at least one particular oddity in his or her daily way of life. The trick is to get them to admit to it. These side-splitting actions are categorized from hilarious bathroom behavior to funny money and clothing habits to eating and sleeping... (more)
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  And I Thought I Was Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies and Meshugaas

  by Judy Reiser

  •Do you refuse to take the top newspaper on a stack (even if perfect)?•Insist that the toilet paper hang "over"?•Wait for the phone to ring at least twice before answering?•Keep returning to the refrigerator hoping that something new to eat has materialized?Outrageous, outlandish and downright ridiculous eccentricitiesexhibited (and confessed to) by otherwise normal people. From... (more)
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  Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women

  by Ricky Jay

  A cult classic and a work of remarkable scholarship restored to print. Ricky Jay is one of the world's great sleight-of-hand artists. He is also a most unusual and talented scholar, specializing in the bizarre, exotic, and fantastic side of the human species. The youngest magician to have appeared on television, Jay has become well known for his astonishing stage show as well as for his cameos in such movies... (more)
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  The Wordy Shipmates

  by Sarah Vowell

  The Wordy Shipmates is New York Times –bestselling author Sarah Vowell’s exploration of the Puritans and their journey to America to become the people of John Winthrop’s “city upon a hill”—a shining example, a “city that cannot be hid.” To this day, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Vowell investigates what that means— and what it should mean. What was this great political enterprise all about? Who... (more)
• Mad Science Book: 100 Amazing Experiments from the History of ScienceReto U. Schneider

  

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  Mad Science Book: 100 Amazing Experiments from the History of Science

  by Reto U. Schneider

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  Medical Curiosities : A Miscellany of Medical Oddities, Horrors and Humors

  by R. M. Youngson

  This remarkable collection of true medical stories contains more than 200 varied accounts, illuminated by Dr. Youngson's lifetime experience in clinical medicine. Sometimes plausible, occasionally incredible, these stories include life-saving therapies involving bacon, toads, and other strange items; the often extreme limitations of medical science and training; myriad weird symptoms, and more.
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  Jay's Journal of Anomalies

  by Ricky Jay

  One of the New York Times 's "Notable Books" and a Los Angeles Times "Best Book of the Year": Ricky Jay's brilliant excursion into the history of bizarre entertainments. "Ingesters of stones, stoats, and swords have long compelled my attention. Signor Hervio Nano, the fantastic homunculus, defied conventional taxonomy. The well-trained flea has shown sufficient rationality to drive a chariot, impersonate... (more)
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  The Perks of Being a Wallflower

  by Stephen Chbosky

  Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters... (more)