Comments on: Generic books (titled as such)

Question: Generic books (titled as such)

suki — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:53:44 -0800

Did the Generic Food people put out Generic Books?

I remember, during the 70's, the supermarkets in Maine (Shop-n-Save, now Hannaford's) carried low cost generic food (including generic beer - pleck).

I think I remember also seeing generic novels, with the same black print on a white background. They were titled simply, "Western" or "Romance."

Am I imagining these books? I doubt my 9 year old self would have been clever enough to come up with this concept (though my 9 year old self was a kook), and I have a fairly clear memory of flipping through some of them at the store.

Google has failed me, and the references I've found to the "generic" brand are only about the food and the beer.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:29:30 -0800

Those were real, but short-lived. Jove Books ran a series of "No Frills" titles back in 1981 (three years before Repo Man was released). The books were sold in a variety of locations, including Jewel-Osco stores.

By: mumkin

mumkin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:09:35 -0800

Cool. Romance Complete with Everything: A Kiss, A Promise, A Misunderstanding, Another Kiss, A Happy Ending.

By: rachelpapers

rachelpapers — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:51:12 -0800

We used to have one at home. Black and white cover. "Generic fiction," complete with net weight and everything.

By: Rash

Rash — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:37:09 -0800

I had Science Fiction, but never bothered reading it. Later, I tore off the cover and threw the rest away. Don't think it was No-Frills, the cover with green and black writing on white, with a little atom symbol. As I recall, they also had Western in the same little out-front display, at a little bookstore near LAX in the late 1980s.

By: suki

suki — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:23:49 -0800

Thank you! How cool to actually SEE one of the books! I really wondered about their existence.