Bookish Things July 2017

As part of reengaging with blogging I took a look at the last few monthly recap posts I did and realized just how full they were! From the general recap to the books and bookish things and culture corner to whatever happened to be on my mind, they were becoming unwieldy.

I haven’t decided the fate of Culture Corner (which I haven’t really done in a while other than in the general recap), but I did decide I would break out my cool Bookish Things I came across on the internet into it’s own post. I feel like a lot of people already do this, but we each have our own perspective. I dare you to find another list that includes vintage gay porn novels and a Jane Austen family quiz! I’m still not 100% how this is going to work out, but for now check out these fascinating tid-bits I’ve stumbled across on the interwebs. I’ve put a little outtake immediately after each piece.

“Produced quickly and cheaply by sketchy imprints that were often opened just for the purpose of releasing a few titles then dissolved even before authorities to catch up with them, these books were not easy to come by even in their heyday. In the days before triple-X cornucopia of the internet, porn consumption was hampered by both the inconvenience of finding materials through brick and mortar stores that catered to your specific tastes (largely only available in urban areas, such as New York or San Francisco) and the risk of receiving it through the mail, which was actually illegal until the Supreme Court’s landmark Miller vs. California decision of 1973. So, just getting one’s hands on a copy of something like The Queer Frenzy meant assuming the possibility of some level of exposure.” – How One Publisher is Rescuing 1970s Gay Porn Paperbacks

I’m still debating on ordering one! [I did—I got Bert Shrader’s A Gay Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum!]

I didn’t do as well as I should have, damn you over-thinking! I’m still riding the high of all the Austen articles and books being released in 2017 for the 200th anniversary of her death. I’m even plotting (not too hard, have another wedding) to return to the UK  now the new £10 (NPR.org link) with Miss Jane Austen on it is available!

There’s not a call out for this one, but the University of St. Andrew’s Library Special Collection’s blog, Echoes from the Vault, is one of my favorite. It has the coolest archives and it’s just one of many that I follow.

“If the painting is of the Brontës, it will be only the second known group portrait of the literary sisters in existence, according to the BBC. The other is in the National Portrait Gallery in London.” – Discovered by Mistake, a Rare Portrait of the Brontë Sisters

Oh hey Brontës you know I love you right? I even made a point to visit your other portrait(s) when I was in London this summer. I’ll get to your place eventually.

For beach reading, how about a novel that happens to contain some financial nuggets in it? https://t.co/230XKe1Qt4

— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) July 15, 2017

With my new focus (obsession) on personal finance, the NYTimes nailed it for me in their “Your Money” newsletter, “A number of novels with personal finance themes are coming out this summer. Let’s look at three of them containing lessons on managing money.”

Men are apparently adopting ambiguous pen names to sell psychological thrillers to women https://t.co/Us2IH4jN3Z pic.twitter.com/fTzr5Gro4g

— Jezebel (@Jezebel) July 17, 2017

Oh how the times have changed! I think author names are fascinating, especially those of hella famous authors like Joanne Rowling, a.k.a. J.K. Rowling, a.k.a. Robert Galbraith, or what about the Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë, a.k.a. Ellis, Currier and Acton Bell, and then just all the people who make up their names (The Guardian), funny how much of a commodity a name is these days. Then again, this apparently comes from my being evil incarnate (a.k.a. a white cis-man). White men have dominated society/history/everything for so long those of us who just happened to be them are being told to STFU and sit down (BookRiot – my words) and to get over ourselves every hour of every day. I’m not going to lie, it makes wanting to stay in this space of books and writing very unappetizing.

Yes please! Not going to lie though, I spent a minute or two looking through EVERY photo trying to figure out how the books stay on the shelf. [It’s a small bar/string about 1/4 of the way up the book on the shelf.]

What have you seen this month in awesome bookish things? Any social media accounts of cool bookstores/libraries/collectors I should follow?