How could a trying-to-be-tongue-in-cheek humor book making fun of ’80s L.L. Bean catalogs end up being so not funny?

And it’s supposed to be funny.

It definitely hits the style of the L.L. Bean catalogs, which do sometimes tend to go off on a tangent about special virtues of Chamois Cloth or something and get pretty silly.

I remember seeing so many of these types of parody books – has the internet really spoiled me that much, is just lost on me now? If I had a chance to re-read the Preppy Handbook today, would I think it’s just as dumb? (Does anyone remember “Save an alligator, kill a preppy”?)

I picked this up at a sale the last time we went out. It must have been some sort of hit, since this is the second one in the series. I might have loved this book in the ’80s and I can understand why it’s cherished by some people … but maybe humor doesn’t always stand the test of time.