My Dummies of choice are the wonderful “…for Dummies” books. You know the ones I mean. Those instantly recognizable black-and-yellow paperback books with the picture of the guy (who I imagine looks like something Picasso might have created during a rare brush with reality) that’s pointing or holding some sort of essential tool. Why he chooses to point is something I’ve never figured out. Is he having an ah-ha moment? Is he subtly making fun of the reader by “pointing” him/her out as a dummy? Either way, I must admit I am amused by the fact that it’s a man featured on the cover of these books.
When a patron comes into the library looking for a basic book about a subject, I usually point to the Dummies book if we have one. I always preface such a move by saying “Now I’m not insulting your intelligence. (Whatever) for Dummies is usually a good place to start.” The vast majority of patrons usually end up taking the Dummies book (and sometimes the Complete Idiot’s Guide to (whatever) as well) with a relieved smile.
While I’m on the subject, let me just say I am not as big a fan of the Idiot books. They’re both great resources, and I’ve read my share of both. It’s not the way they treat the subject matter, or their writing style. They do a good job. It’s mostly that I object to being called an idiot. Yes, I know they aren’t really calling me an idiot anymore than the Dummies books are really calling me a dummy. To me, “idiot” sounds somewhat mean-spirited, whereas “dummy” is at least a little kinder. When given a choice between the two, I guess I’d rather be a Dummy than an Idiot.
With hundreds of titles to choose from, you can cure your dummy-ness in everything from Access 2003 All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies to Zune for Dummies. The Dummies books are undoubtedly wonderful resources…but some of their titles can be a tad misleading. If one didn’t know any better, one might think at first glance that Boxers for Dummies was a book about underpants. And for the record, Snort for Dummies doesn’t have anything whatsoever to do with bodily noises.
On the other hand, however, sometimes they are exactly what they sound like. Elvis for Dummies anyone? How about Sex for Dummies? Picture Puzzles for Dummies,Stretching for Dummies, Vampire (the requiem) for Dummies, the list goes on and on.
Which, of course, means that I have found a plethora of Dummies books to assuage my own lack of random knowledge. If you, too, want to even out the gaps in your education, then I suggest you check out the Dummies' website and get yourself some info, Dummy-style.
Dummies of the world, unite!
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