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++UPDATED 04/25/08++
Please Report bad books to: berek@tds.net
Important note: I have archived pre 2004 reports here
Success stories, information about the site and insults handed to Librarians by publishers are here
**Please include TITLE, PUBLISHER and STATE/PROVINCE/COUNTRY of reporting library
The Publishers Hall of Shame is a collaborative list of new books purchased by public, school and academic Libraries in the United States that have fallen apart almost immediately upon release into circulation. It is my intent to collect data from as many libraries as are willing to create something tangible to show the publishing industry. Paying between $20-$30 for a book that is poorly manufactured is unacceptable and borders on fraud.
"And we all know what's going to fly before the publishing industry takes us seriously...Unless we do something assertive."
**37 States Currently Reporting: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin++Countries reporting-Australia, Canada (British Columbia, Ontario & Manitoba )**
2004-08 Submissions
TITLE~PUBLISHER~REPORTING LIBRARY
|
The Big Bad Wolf (3 reports) |
Little, Brown |
Manhattan (MT) Community Library Bowling Green (KY) Public Library 04-20-04 Fauquier County (VA) Public Library **6 copies** 06-09-04 |
|
Mr. Maybe |
Broadway Books |
Rappahannock High School-Warsaw, VA |
|
Split Second |
Warner Books |
Rochester Hills (MI) Public Library 03-04-04 |
|
Beekeeper's Pupil |
Headline Books |
Missoula (MT) Public Library 03-10-04 |
|
Die Laughing |
St. Martins Press |
Missoula (MT) Public Library 03-10-04 |
|
One Pill Makes You Smaller |
Farrar, Straus, Giroux |
Missoula (MT) Public Library 03=10-04 |
|
Air Battle Force |
Morrow |
Missoula (MT) Public Library 03-10-04 |
|
Lunch at the Piccadilly |
Algonquin Books |
Missoula (MT) Public Library 03-10-04 |
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Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs. (multiple copies |
National Geographic Society |
Lake County (IN) Public Library 03-12-04 |
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The Abracadabra Kid: |
Greenwillow Books |
Freeport (ME) Middle School Library 03-29-04 |
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Midnight Blue |
Bloomsbury |
Freeport (ME) Middle School Library 03-29-04 |
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Beginner books from Random House. I ordered a whole set of Dr. Seuss titles from Demco and five have fallen apart after 2 or 3 circulations. |
Random House |
Hugh Mercer School, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 04-02-04 |
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Achoo! Bang! Crash! : the noisy alphabet |
Roaring Brook Press |
Austin (TX) Public Library, North Village Branch. 04/06/04 |
|
Second Time Around (6 copies) |
Simon & Schuster |
Farmington Community Library, Farmington Hills, MI 04/07/04, South Garland (TX) Library-08-28-04 |
|
Skin Deep: tattoos, the disappearing West, very bad men, and my deep love for them all |
Harcourt |
Newport (OR) Public Library04-08-04 |
|
A Hole In Texas |
Little, Brown |
Iola (KS) Public Library 04-08-04 |
|
Vegetal Como Eres (Spanish language version of the children's book How Are You Peeling?) |
Scholastic |
Austin (TX) Public Library, North Village Branch. 04/13/04 |
|
The Touch |
Simon & Schuster |
Bowling Green (KY) Public Library 04-20-04 |
|
Close Your Eyes |
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (imprint – Frances Foster Books). |
Reported by an Indiana library wishing to remain anonymous 4-21-04 |
|
Sins of Omission (2 copies at least) |
Ballantine Books |
Phoenix (AZ) Library system-05-07-04 |
|
Death Gets a Time-Out |
Berkley |
Missoula (MT) Public Library-05-13-04 |
|
So Many Books, So Little Time |
Putnam |
Missoula (MT) Public Library-05-13-04 |
|
Trading Up |
Hyperion |
Missoula (MT) Public Library-05-13-04 |
|
Best Enemies |
St. Martin's |
Missoula (MT) Public Library-05-13-04 |
|
Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs |
National Geographic |
Lake County Public Library, Merrillville, IN-05-21-04 |
|
Sense Pass King (see note below) |
Holiday House |
Randolph (VT) Elementary School-06-07-04 |
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The Last Juror |
Doubleday |
Cape Girardeau (MO) Public Library 07-07-04 |
|
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures **Missing 30 Pages from Index in V.3** |
Routledge |
New Mexico State University Library 08/03/04 |
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In the moon of red ponies |
Simon & Schuster |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 08-04-04 |
|
Absolute Friends |
Little, Brown |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 08-11-04 |
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Emma's Secret |
St. Martin's Press |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 08-11-04 |
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Plan of Attack |
Simon & Schuster |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 08-11-04 |
|
A Death in Vienna |
G.P. Putnam |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 08-11-04 |
|
Hummingbird Wizard |
Tom Doherty |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 08-11-04 |
|
From Rage to Reason |
Kensington Publishing |
Maine State Library 08-17-04 |
|
Historia Viva: Memorias |
Planeta |
Deltona Regional Library, Volusia County (FL) Public Library System 08-17-04 |
|
Sullivan's Law |
Kensington Books |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 09-10-04 |
|
The Perfect Wife |
Simon & Schuster |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 09-10-04 |
|
Memorial Day |
Atria Books |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 09-13-04 |
|
Bet Me |
St. Martin's Press |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 09-13-04 |
|
Burglar on the prowl |
William Morrow |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City , AL 09-13-04 |
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Daughter of the Forest |
TOR |
Bowling Green (KY) Public Library 09-16-04 |
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The Tin Collectors |
St.Martin's Press |
Johnstown Public Library in Fulton County New York 09-20-04 |
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American Soldier |
Regan Books |
Millinocket (ME) Memorial Library 10-21-04 |
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Daughter of the Forest (NOTE) This is the third replacement copy I have purchased for my library shelves; the binding comes unglued after as few as three readings. The book is the first of the Sevenwaters Trilogy, or I would not even bother reordering it.. |
TOR |
Cape Girardeau (MO) Public Library 11/02/04 |
|
Vertical Coffin |
St. Martin's Press |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City AL 11-17-04 |
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White Hot |
Simon & Schuster |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City AL 11-17-04 |
|
Three weeks with my brother |
Warner Books |
Adelia M. Russell Library, Alexander City AL 11-19-04 |
Hour Game Warner Books Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library 02-03-05 Hair Trix for Cool Chix: the Real Girl's Guide to Great
Hair Watson-Guptill Publications Phoenix Public Library-Juniper Branch 08-24-05 The Historian (large print edition) Little Brown Phoenix Public Library 08-24-05 The Historian Little, Brown Gilford (NH) Public Library 09-08-05 Lifeguard (7 copies) Little Brown Quincy (IL) Public Library 09-14-05 Night Fall (15 copies) Warner Books South Huntington Library, Huntington Station, NY
09-14-05 Twelfth Card (3
libraries) Simon & Schuster Waterville (ME) Public Library 09-12-05, Boothbay Harbor
Memorial Library 09-22-05, Naples (ME) Library 02/14/06 LBD : it's a girl thing G.P. Putnam's Sons Massabesic High School Library 09-12-05 Polio: An American Story Oxford U. Press Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library 09-22-05 4th of July (Multiple Copies,
Multiple Libraries) Little, Brown Toledo-Lucas (OH) County Public Library 09-22-05, Naples,
(ME) Public Library 02/14/06 No Place Like Home (Multiple
Copies) Simon & Schuster Toledo-Lucas (OH) County Public Library 09-22-05 Unexpected Blessings (Multiple
Copies) Random House Toledo-Lucas (OH) County Public Library 09-22-05 Back to the Bedroom (Multiple
Copies) Harper Torch Toledo-Lucas (OH) County Public Library 09-22-05 With No One as Witness (submitter's comments-Two of our
copies are currently out of commission because the book
block of 630 pages was only held to the binding by the end
pages! This is a $27 book held together with a spot of glue
and a prayer.) HarperCollins Hockessin (DE) Public Library 10-31-05 Dance of Death Warner Books Johnstown Public Library Fulton Co. New York 11-3-05 The Man Behind the Microchip Oxford University Press Bremen (ME) Library 12-24-05 Straight into darkness Warner Books Bremen (ME) Library 12-24-05 Knife of Dreams: 2 copies, broken at pp. 30-31 TOR Grand Rapids (MI) Public Library 01/19/2006 The Lincoln Lawyer Little, Brown Orange City (FL) Library 02/19/06 The Cat Dancers St. Martin's Press Naples (ME) Public Library 02/14/06 Rebels of Ireland: the Dublin saga (2) Doubleday Pomona (CA) Public Library 08/04/06, Katz Library at the
University of Maine-Augusta 9/19/2006 Judge & Jury (here we go again; another James
Patterson fall-apart book from Little Brown) Little Brown Gale Library-Newton, NH 08/14/06 Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England-at
least 3 copies Little, Brown Niles (IL) Public Library District 09/18/2006 The Naked Mole-rat Letters Holiday House Hartland (ME) Public Library Oliva Saves the Circus (2 copies) Athenum Pine Point School Library, Stonington, CT 10/20/06 The Eternal Flame Philomel Books Mission Viejo Library, CA 02/22/07 Glass Houses St Martins Minotaur West Asheville Library, Asheville NC 6/29/07 Top Ten of Everything 2008 Produced for Hamlyn by Palazzo Editions Perry Junior High Library, New Connors, NY Knife of dreams by Robert Jordan-2 copies TOR Bowling Green (KY) Public Library Song Yet Sung NOTE: This was bound with pages 185-248 completely
missing, and 2 sets of pages 249-312 (which I'm not even
sure is two complete signatures.) Riverhead (imprint of Penguin) West Asheville (NC) Library-04/23/08
*World Almanac replaced the first copy which fell apart on
first use.However the second looks just as bad. 02/01/08