It’s banned book week and I thought I’d celebrate with a list of my five favorite smut collections! If you’re a big fan of the first amendment, I suggest you check out my list and then check out the ALA website to learn more about the ridiculous books that are challenged in our public libraries year after year.
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With A Rough Tongue: This is my favorite collection of erotica of all time. The stories challenge gender and lesbian sexuality in a way that’s totally engaging and super duper sexy. Plus, it’s from Canada – and you know I love me some Canada. |
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X – The Erotic Treasury: If you’re looking for a gift for your favorite perv, you can’t go wrong with this gorgeous collection edited by the amazing Susie Bight, it even comes with a protective slip case. Besides looking great, it includes stories by some of my favorite authors including Carol Queen and Bright herself. |
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I is for Indecent: I’ve enjoyed each of the Erotic Alphabet collections that I’ve read, but this one really stands out for me because I found it really challenging. There were things in here that really pushed the boundaries for me and I loved it. Not every story did it for me, but as promised, this one will offend and titillate. Not a bad combination in my opinion. |
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Homosex: This Simon Sheppard collection is packed full of hot gay erotica and I think that’s great. However, what makes this one of my favorites is the fact that Sheppard has managed to tell a history of gay men in America through these sexy stories. |
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Burning AngelHow could I make this list without including this amazing photo collection of the Burning Angel girls. There are no annoying words to get in the way of your enjoyment, just 365 pages of tattooed girls. Joanna Angel and the crew are fantastic eye candy and fans should really own this book. |
Learn more about Banned Book Week over at the ALA website.
-The Porn Librarian
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Picture via The Chicago Queer Books Meetup
While The Porn Librarian may be the obvious pick when it comes to readers here are HMFH, all of us smut peddlin’ gals are actually avid readers.
I learned about masturbation from a Betty Dodson book. When I was younger, I found it in my house and just had to see what exactly “the joy of self love” was. Life pretty much changed after that.
But who learns about jerkin’ off from reading a book?! Bookworms, that’s who! People that immerse themselves in page upon page of words – be they narrative, non-fiction or just plain nuts. Books have always had an effect on me. Whether it was finding out info I didn’t know, or just escaping to a different life, I really relied on books to get me where I needed to go. Hell, I still do.
This morning when I saw Sinclair Sexsmith’s awesome post on Carnal Nation about how queer books saved his life, I just knew I had to write about how queer books have affected my own life and which ones have a particular place in my heart.
While I will readily admit that I had a very easy coming out experience compared to some of the nightmares I’ve been told, I think most people that come out as queer are looking for allies and safe spaces where they can be themselves with no disapproving stares or fear. And I think that sometimes it feels safer to find that in a story than in the real world, especially if you are without support.
I would be remise to start my list with any book other than Leslie Feinberg’s “Stone Butch Blues” – a fictional memoir that chronicles the life of Jess Goldberg, from confused child, to butch, to trans man and everything in between. I may not have identified with Jess’ gender identity questions, but hir honest, raw emotion and determination to be true to hirself kept me glued to the book. Really, it was the first look I had at trans/gender-queer identity other than the friend that originally lent me the book.
I was so connected to “Stone Butch Blues” that I wrote my undergrad thesis for Women’s Studies on it – Any Way You Want It, That’s The Way You Need It: Gender Identity and the Journey Home in Leslie Feinberg’s ‘Stone Butch Blues.’ That’s right… I quoted Journey in the title. FTW! While I knew I wasn’t the only one that was affected so profoundly by this book, when I told The Porn Librarian about this blog post early today, she asked me to mention “Stone Butch Blues” as topping her list. Great perverts think alike.
Back when I was in college, I shared a little sublet with a bunch of folks that had friends coming in and out of it all the time. My next absolute favorite queer book was left behind by a roommate’s friend that I was sleeping with at the time. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe she had just bought the book and accidently left it at the house; and I, of course didn’t end up reading it till years later, though it really would have been the perfect book to read at that time. I’m talking about Michelle Tea’s “Valencia” – a dykey memoir of Tea’s first few years living in San Francisco.
Chock full of raunchy sex, whirlwind queer romances and lots of angst and drama, “Valencia” quickly spurred a longtime love for Michelle Tea, as well as a longing for a romantized version of queer urban life that I can more or less say that I eventually grew into at some point. Reading”Valencia” made me feel like it was ok to write self indulgent, dirty stories that ended with girls fucking in the bathroom at the bar. And I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s all I ask of a book.
About a million queer books have influenced my homo development over the years, but as I don’t want to write a novel myself, so I’ll just give them little shouts out now that I’ve swooned over my top two favies. To start, I was never really one to love classics. I’ve never read anything by Jeanette Winterson and only one book by Rita Mae Brown, but I do have a total soft spot in my heart for anything young adult – especially young adult coming out books. I love em! Over the years I seem to have amassed myself a little collection which includes radical queer baby dyke manifestos like “Sister Safety Pin” and “Punk Like Me” in it, as well as standards such as “Annie On My Mind.” And we can’t forget about comics by Ariel Schrag, about her high school experience and falling in love with girls all over the place. I really wish I read then when I was in school myself. Sigh. All of these books have created the person that I am today and each and every one of them has a catalogued space in my brain.
Sinclair Sexsmith said in best at the end of his essay:
I have queer books to thank for that, for teaching me my story could and should be told, that my desires are worth the fight and the struggle and the work, that there are people like me out there, and that we make beautiful, beautiful sense of our complicated worlds.
So, thank you books, not necessarily for saving my life, but for definitely making it more interesting.
xoxo
-J.D. Bauchery
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I was first introduced to Paul Krassner’s writing through his column on AVN.com. I was immediately struck by how funny and honest he was and found myself looking forward to his next piece. After doing a little research, I discovered that he has a long history of awesomeness and began seeking out more of Krassner’s social and political commentary. He’s one of those people who has the balls to say what we’re all thinking and then take it one step further.
When I got my hands on a copy of In Praise of Indeceny, a collection of essays and interviews by Krassner, I was totally excited and dove right in. After devouring it in a couple of sittings, the only bad thing I have to say is that there wasn’t enough! For a guy who has been writing since long before I was born, I’d love to see a more comprehensive collection.
If you don’t know Krassner’s work, this is a great introduction. It contains 25 great pieces starting with and interview by Susie Bright and ending with a piece on women and porn that contains quotes from Tristan Taormino, Candida Royalle and Carol Queen. Packed in the middle are rants about pubic hair, the taste of cum and Snoop Dogg. It’s smart, funny and bound to make you think – what more could you ask for?
One word of warning for fans, I had previously read a number of the included pieces, so if you’re looking for new content, this is not the book for you. If you’re interested in owning a great collection of writing from the only person in the world ever to win awards from both Playboy and the Feminist Party Media Workshop, don’t hesitate to pick up a copy. I spent an afternoon on the beach laughing out loud and engaging my friends in debate regarding his ideas and definitely recommend it.
Add In Praise of Indecency to your collection today!
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Knowing that editor Rachel Kramer Bussel has a thing for spanking, I was really excited about this book when I got my copy in the mail. I love being transported to a sexual realm that I’m unfamiliar with through erotica, and just knew she’d be the perfect guide.
In the 22 stories of Spanked, the reader is welcomed into a world where bad girls are bent over knees and punished, men revel as they find themselves paddled extensively and bare asses are beat red. I was pleased to see a number of the usual suspects had contributed including Alison Tyler, Simon Sheppard and Bussel herself.
Of course, I was introduced to a couple of writers I don’t recall reading before, including Rick Roberts. His opening piece Spanking You was the perfect way to draw readers into the anthology. It’s a bit of an intro to spanking for newbies like me, told through a relationship the narrator is looking back on. Whether he’s explaining his personal technique or how a firm smack sends waves through a woman’s body, it’s erotic and enlightening!
I can’t speak for spanking enthusiasts, but I really enjoyed this collection. I felt like the editor took me by the hand and gently guided me into her world and by the end I felt right at home.
Add this excellent book to your collection!
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Before 1972, sex was all about science, no pleasure involved. Well, not really, but that’s what you might have thought had you checked out the local book store. Nary a book touched on the intimacies and intricacies of sex and sexuality until The Joy Of Sex hit the shelves that year. Revolutionary with it’s topics, attitudes and now iconic images, Joy touched on everything from bondage to sexual positions of all kinds. And, of course, it was written by a man, Alex Comfort.
Fastforward three decades, four updates, eight million copies sold and countless feminist critiques – The Joy Of Sex just got a 2008 makeover, written by a woman! Psychologist and sexpert Susan Quilliam took on the not-quite-as-revolutionary-but-still-very-important task of updating the new version to include contemporary issues such as phone sex, the internet, sex and preganacy and forty others - all written from a female point of view! Finally, a few more mentions about the clit! At least more than just the three measly references in the original.
Added Bonus: Also made over are the visuals, from the illustrated hippie drawings (pictured above) to modern nakeds getting busy.
Unfotch we in the U.S. have to wait until Jan. 2009 for it to reach local bookshelves. Guess you’ll just need to keep watching porn. Tough break, I know.
This edition looks like it’s going to do wonders for this already awesome book. Sometimes things just need a woman’s touch. I know I never mind it…
(via The Frisky)
xoxo
-J.D. Bauchery
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I recently reviewed Tristan Taormino’s latest book Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships and was a little blown away. I’m still talking about it with anyone who’s willing to listen. Because it is super rad, I thought that I’d highlight an interesting interview I read on the Cleis Press site.
Here’s just one question, but I’m sure you’ll go looking for more once you get a taste!
Q: You take on a cherished cultural value—monogamy—in Opening Up. Why did you decide to write this book?
A: It’s clear to me that for a lot of people, monogamy is neither functional nor satisfying. We know that marriage rates are down and divorce statistics are pretty staggering. I look around and see magazine articles, books, talk show episodes, and workshops all about how to improve your relationship, how to spice up your sex life, or how to fix your marriage. Heck, my sex advice career is part of the “Love and Sex Self-Help Industrial Complex.” It just seems like there are a lot of unhappy people. In my own life, the people I know who have emotionally, sexually, and spiritually fulfilling relationships are mostly those who are in non-traditional partnerships. Some are polyamorous, some are nonmonogamous, some are “monogamous with benefits.” People who have open relationships develop specific skills that can help others in any kind of relationship, and yet their strategies and their success stories are usually not part of a widespread dialogue. While there have been several popular books about polyamory specifically, I wanted to explore lots of different options outside of monogamy. My goal is to provide practical advice about how to design the relationship that works for you. I also wanted to combine my own experience and advice with that of a diverse group of people, which is why I did original research for Opening Up.
Seriously, imagine a whole book this awesome. I love learning!
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