My brother, who claims never to have read a book in high school, read nothing but the Guinness Book of World Records when we were young. This was back when it was a hefty paperback with tiny print.
The books today are large, colorful-- and fall apart the minute that you touch them. I have books from the early 1990s that are still in good shape, but 2009 is in little pieces. They are not cheap, either, with a price of almost $25.00 through Follett. The people at Guinness World Records really should feel horrible about this. Sure, they sell a lot of these through Scholastic book fairs, but aren't these volumes supposed to be used to settle bar bets? How long would these hold up there? 
At any rate, boys seem to LOVE this sort of book, so when the budget allows, I do try to buy these. It doesn't seem to matter how old the volumes are; the 1993 edition circulates every bit as well as the 2011 one.
And students, "Guinness" is not pronounced like "genius". It's pronounced "GIN- ness" with a "g" like in "gun". And in our library, they are located right under the television. When they aren't all checked out.
My 2010 edition has fallen apart at least 3 times this past year. At least they offer library binding, unlike DK. I am really mad at DK right now.
ReplyDeleteSo true; you can never have enough of these popular books.
ReplyDeleteThe tape I am using to keep the text block attached to the covers of my 2009 edition is closer to duct tape than hinge tape. I agree: shameful quality.
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