Bizarre Books: A Compendium of Classic Oddities by Russell Ash and Brian Lake (Harper Perennial, $14.95 paperback, 09789780061346651/0061346659, October 2007)

Russell Ash and Brian Lake have spent decades compiling book titles for their ultimate fantasy retirement project, The Complete Bizarre Books. In the meantime, we will have to make do with Bizarre Books, a collection of real titles, "published with the serious intention of informing, not amusing." In this they have signally failed. From the frontispiece illustration of Fish Who Answer the Telephone to Thrilling Experiences of the First British Woman Relieved by Lord Roberts, there is something for every taste, with books arranged roughly by subject. Authors and subjects are perfectly matched in one chapter: Leslie Lines who wrote Solid Geometry or Anna Mews who wrote Care for Your Kitten. From The Art of Faking Exhibition Poultry to Why Bring That Up? A Guide to and from Seasickness to Becoming a Sensuous Catechist, you'll laugh, you'll look at your bookshelves in a different way and you'll get some great ideas for a display table.

Scouts in Bondage, and Other Violations of Literary Propriety by Michael Bell ($15, S&S, 9781416549239/1416549234, October 2007)

One of the books Ash and Lake include is Scouts in Bondage, "And what a stirring series of adventures and mysterious experiences they all had . . . " The authors might want to contact Michael Bell, whose book is titled Scouts in Bondage, the same book but missing the dust jacket. Lest you think the two books cover the same ground, however, Wilhelmina Stitch in the first book is the author of Silken Threads, and in this compilation she is featured as writing Homespun, so there is plenty of whimsy and wonder to go around. Bell includes many double-entendre titles, like How Nell Scored, but most of the titles are charming (Pamela Pounce, A Tale of Tempestuous Petticoats) or sometimes puzzling (Tossa--is this a Britishism that I am missing?). In any case, the covers are all in full color, and Scouts in Bondage is perfect for someone who loves books.

The Sexual Guide to Written Intercourse, Fulfilling Grammar, and Seductive Usage by Arnold Rabin (Consortium Publishing, available from B&T, $24.99 paperback, 9780940139640/0940139642)

People who appreciate books also (we hope) appreciate good writing, which customarily involves knowing the difference between lie and lay. Grammar and usage aficionados will find much to enjoy in Arnold Rabin's quirky book about writing and language. Rabin is, among other professions, a playwright, novelist and English professor, and he brings passion and humor to the quest for effective communication.

At first amused by the idea that sex, writing and the principles covering good writing are interconnected and that sexual analogies metaphorically illuminate the same, he says he kept hearing these overtones as he repeated to his classes "that language is a means of communication, writing requires stimulation, composing is physical process, ideas must have a gestation period." Thus a book was born in the hope that he could make matters "deemed by many as remote and inaccessible, more manageable," and convince beginning writers that writing, like sex, is "best approached when you are not uptight about it."

The basics of grammar and usage are presented wittily and clearly, with the proviso that rules can get in the way. You can't make love by only following the rules nor can you be inhibited by fear of making a grammatical error. "Who cares about the English teacher's caution not to begin a sentence with 'and' as one reads the resounding opening lines of Genesis." Yes, indeed.--Marilyn Dahl