We’re Bringing Sexy Back

With a rough tongue : femmes write porn edited by Amber Dawn and Trish Kelly.

There is a certain ick factor to borrowing erotica from a public library I know, but I’ve seen the stats on copies of 50 Shades so I gather it isn’t a complete deal-breaker for everyone. And if it is a deal-breaker for you, you may just want to buy this one; it’s that good. First, I’d like to confess my undying love for Amber Dawn. She is an amazing queer, feminist, Canadian author. Her book, How poetry saved my life : a hustler's memoir, rocked my world when it was published a few years ago. Dawn didn’t just co-compile this great collection but lent her stellar writing skills to the project as well. Yes, “femmes write porn,” but they don’t leave out a butch perspective. And as someone who doesn’t identify as either butch or femme, I found the challenging of traditional gender roles throughout the collection, to be quite inclusive overall.

Containing outstanding authors, Nalo Hopkinson, Anna Camilleri, and Zoe Whittall, to name just a few, this book of erotica comes with serious literary merit. I was shocked at how many stories were sexy, smart, engaging, and subversive. I’m a non-linear person in general so when I get a book of short stories I love to skip around. After the first three stories I read were fantastic I thought I must have just serendipitously selected the best/only good stories in the book as I’ve come to be skeptical that there isn’t much queer erotica out there worth reading. I continued my pessimistic search and with each new story assumed this was the one that would let me down, but instead, each story stood up to my scrutiny. Cover to cover this book is worth the read, regardless of your gender identity or sexual preference.

There is another queer erotica collection in our catalogue, Fist of the spider woman : tales of fear &; queer desire which is less good in my opinion, and yes my girl is also the editor. However, if you enjoy being creeped out and/or confronting, reappropriating, and reclaiming past sexual trauma this one might work for ya. In some ways it reminded me of watching old Hammer Films, with an unsettling mix of confusion, amusement, and sexuality, you’re left not quite knowing how to feel.

Trash by Dorothy Allison (another great feminist author) has some erotic gems in it as well, and like Rough Tongue it comes with proven literary excellence. “Her thighs,” and “Demon lover” are some of my personal faves from this collection. And for the love of old school lesbianism, portrayed as forbidden love, please check out the classic lesbian pulp novel , if you haven’t yet.
Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon

In Memoriam - Bertrice Small

Bertrice Small, author of historical and erotic romance fiction, has died at the age of 77. She began writing at 40 years of age, with her first novel The Kadin, and went on to publish in excess of 50 more books. She won numerous awards for her writing, including in 2004 a Lifetime Achievement award from Romantic Times magazine.

Bertrice Small will be remembered for her entertaining and steamy stories. Her heroes were handsome and appealing, but it was her heroines who really shone. They were not only beautiful, but strong-willed and capable. Her stories were set from the 14th to the 17th centuries, largely in England, Scotland and Italy. Her novels were always rooted in historical fact and alive with rich details and for many, their first introduction to bold and erotic fiction.

Romantic Times remembers Small:

Bertrice published her first novel,The Kadin in 1978, and went on to write more than 50 romances. Fans flocked to her passionate, exciting stories, and many count her beloved raven-haired, hot-tempered Skye O'Malley as an all-time favorite heroine. Bertrice not only hit the bestselling lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today and more, but she helped found this genre that we love so much, by writing exciting, edgy stories, at a time when no one else was doing so.

Her final novel Lucianna was published in 2003.

"In this sweeping new series of Renaissance Italy, Bertrice Small does it again with all the passion and historical splendor that has captured the imagination of her legion of fans…. After her two elder sisters become the scandals of Florence, Lucianna Pietro d’Angelo is in the difficult position of finding a wealthy man who will have her for his wife. She has little choice but to accept the proposal of an aging bookseller—a not entirely disagreeable union in which Lucianna comforts the dear man in his final years. When he passes away, she inherits his shop and, with it, a sizable fortune. Lucianna is content with comfortable widowhood—until Robert Minton, Earl of Lisle, visits her bookshop. The Englishman is not only dashing and handsome—he’s a trusted courtier of Henry VII. The Pietro d’Angelos cannot deny the spark of attraction between their daughter and the earl, so they scheme to send her to London. There, Lucianna steps out of the shadow of her quiet Florentine life, pursuing a love of which she never dreamed and rising in London society all the way to court of the new Tudor king." publisher

Stories to Make You Blush

Tremble: erotic tales of the mystical and sinister (M)
by Tobsha Learner

"Erotica for the modern woman: nine tales of the dangerous and divine. Prepare to stimulate your senses and explore the deepest longings of the human heart. In Tremble, Tobsha Learner, the author of the international bestseller Quiver, depicts the pleasures of new and rediscovered love, lust, and obsession in a world where passion and magic are interwoven-and where boundaries are pushed beyond expectation. In a Welsh village, a young woman's sensuality is awakened by an outrageous inheritance; a drought-stricken Oklahoma town is offered salvation by a travelling rainmaker; a Sydney record producer struggles to satisfy his wife and his mistress-until one of them takes matters into her own hands'"" - publisher

Best Women's Erotica 2013 (M)
edited by Violet Blue

"Violet Blue is a self-made wunderkind who is now one of our chief pundits on sex education, porn for women, as well as technology. Courted by OWN and appearing in many major magazines and periodicals around the world, everyone wants to know what Violet Blue has to say about sexuality today. Blue also curates one of the most respected and top selling erotica series for women 'Best Women's Erotica,' which keeps getting better and better every year thanks to her sharp editorial eye. Blue is not just a pundit on sexuality but also an agent of change and raises the bar ever higher, ensuring that 'Best Women's Erotica 2013' is even fresher, edgier and deliciously sexy than ever." - publisher

Dare to be Dirty (M)
by Savanna Fox

"The more they read, the more they learn. And the more they learn, the more the women in the Dirty Girls Book Club want to experience it for themselves... Confirmed city girl Kim Chang loves the book club's foray into erotic fiction, but she's not sold on their latest choice of cowboy erotica. An art student whose future lies back in Hong Kong, Kim has never thought of dusty chaps and Stetsons as sexy. But she's in for a surprise when the club takes a trip to the rodeo. It's so raw and physical, and those strong, masculine men atop bucking broncs arouse in her some serious lust..." - publisher.

Take Me There: trans and genderqueer erotica (M)
edited by Tristan Taormino

"An erotica collection unlike any other that celebrates the pleasure, heat, and diversity of transgender and genderqueer sexualities. The power of seeing and being seen is a central theme in the anthology; it's not simply about passing or not passing (an idea often explored with transgender characters), but about being acknowledged and desired in a sexual context." -publisher


Bites of Passion: an anthology of vampire erotica (M)
edited by Cecilia Tan

"There is no more sensous figure in dark fantasy than the vampire. "Bites of passion" presents many incarnations of the ancient myth. Eight top authors explore themes of immortal love, the lust for blood (and other things), and the eternal struggle between light and dark." - publisher

Best Served Cold - 5 Tales of Revenge

The Red Diary (M)
by Toni Blake

"When Nick Armstrong finds the red diary, he's shocked... and aroused. Here, in intimate detail, prim and proper Lauren Ash records her most secret fantasies. He knows he should never read it again, but the temptation is too hard to resist. Never before has he come across anything so private-or so sensual. Never before has he found such a potent weapon for righting an old wrong. His strategy: seduce her, make her fall in love, then break her heart. He'll be her dream lover in the flesh, weaving an erotic spell to free the passionate woman inside her. But Lauren is casting her own tantalizing magic, forcing him to let go of the past and surrender to her, body and soul." - publisher

The Return: a novel (M)
by Michael Gruber

"The real Richard Marder would shock his acquaintances, if they ever met him. Even his wife, long dead, didn’t know the real man behind the calm, cultured mask he presents to the world. Only an old army buddy from Vietnam, Patrick Skelly, knows what Marder is capable of. Then a shattering piece of news awakens Marder’s buried desire for vengeance, and with nothing left to lose, he sets off to punish the people whose actions, years earlier, changed his life. Uninvited, Skelly shows up and together the two of them raise the stakes far beyond anything Marder could have envisioned.... Michael Gruber has once more proven that he is “a gifted and natural storyteller” (Chicago Tribune) and shows why he has been called “the Stephen King of crime writing” (The Denver Post).

Moon Underfoot (M)
by Bobby Cole

Eighteen months ago, stockbroker Jake Crosby and his daughter Katy narrowly survived a living nightmare at a remote Alabama hunting camp. To save Katy, Jake killed two men--men who were friends and business associates of notorious outlaw and drug-runner Ethan "Moon Pie" Daniels. That night, Moon Pie made a blood promise of revenge. And in Moon Pie's dark world of violence, such promises are always kept. Jake Crosby doesn't regret what he did that night; he knows it was kill or be killed. But he can't shake the feeling that the horror isn't over, that Katy and his wife, Morgan, aren't yet safe--and that retribution is coming. All he knows for sure is that he will do anything--everything--to protect his family. That's a vow the dangerous Moon Pie will put to the ultimate test on a cold, moonless night deep in the heart of a river swamp"

Vicious Circle (M)
by Wilbur Smith

"A heart-racing story of family secrets, greed, and revenge. Hector Cross left behind a career of high risks and warfare when he married his beloved Hazel Bannock. But after his new life is tragically upended, he recognizes the ruthless hand of an old enemy behind the attack. Determined to fight back, Hector draws together a team of his most loyal friends and fellow warriors to hunt down those who pursue him and his loved ones. For he and Hazel have a child, a precious daughter, whom he will go to the ends of the earth to protect... "- publisher.

Ancillary Justice (M)
by Ann Leckie

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose--to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch.

Sex Lives

Heat up the last days of a cold winter with these "sexy" non-fiction titles:

Full Service : my adventures in Hollywood and the secret sex lives of the stars (M)
by Scotty Bowers

"Newly discharged from the Marines after World War II, Scotty Bowers arrived in Hollywood in 1946. Young, charismatic, and strikingly handsome, he quickly caught the eye of many of the town’s stars and starlets. He began sleeping with some himself, and connecting others with his coterie of young, attractive, and sexually free-spirited friends. His own lovers included Edith Piaf, Spencer Tracy, Vivien Leigh, Cary Grant, and the abdicated King of England Edward VIII, and he arranged tricks or otherwise crossed paths with Tennessee Williams, Charles Laughton, Vincent Price, Katharine Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Errol Flynn, Gloria Swanson, Noël Coward, Mae West, James Dean, Rock Hudson and J. Edgar Hoover, to name but a few." - Publisher

Confessions of a Naughty Mommy : how I found my lost libido (M)
by Heidi Raykeil

"Confessions of a Naughty Mommy is a funny, honest, and sexy account of Raykeil’s search for her missing libido—lost in action after she gave birth to her daughter. She takes readers along on her journey from mystified and frustrated new mom through the bumpy awkwardness of reigniting the home fires during naptime and date night to a newfound discovery and appreciation of sex after baby. With humor, grit, and style, she shares what has worked for her and her husband, as they balance their dual roles of parents and lovers." - Publisher

Life as I Blow It : tales of love, life & sex-- not necessarily in that order (M)
by Sarah Colonna

"From her formative years in small-town Arkansas to a later career of dates, drinks, and questionable day jobs, comedian Colonna attempts to reconcile her responsible side with her fun-loving side. Sometimes this pans out, and sometimes she finds herself in Mexico handing out her phone number to anyone who calls her pretty. She moves to Los Angeles to pursue acting, but for years is forced to hone her bartending skills; she wants a serious boyfriend, but won’t give up nights at the bar with her friends. She tries to behave like an adult, but can’t seem to stop acting like a frat boy. In the end, she discovers that there doesn’t have to be just one or the other. And if there’s one thing Colonna has learned from her many missteps, it’s that hindsight is always 100 proof." - Publisher

A Round-heeled Woman : my late-life adventures in sex and romance (M)
by Jane Juska

“Round-heeled” is an old-fashioned label for a woman who is promiscuous—someone who nowadays might be called “easy.” It’s a surprising way for a cultured English teacher with a passion for the novels of Anthony Trollope to describe herself, but then that’s just the first of many surprises to be found in this poignant, funny, utterly unique memoir.
Jane Juska is a smart, energetic divorcée who decided she’d been celibate too long, and placed the following personal ad in her favorite newspaper, The New York Review of Books: Before I turn 67—next March—I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like. If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me. " - Publisher

Sex with Kings : 500 years of adultery, power, rivalry, and revenge (M) 
by Eleanor Herman

Sex with the Queen : 900 years of vile kings, virile lovers, and passionate politics (M)
by Eleanor Herman

Behind the palace doors : five centuries of sex, adventure, vice, treachery, and folly from royal Britain (M)
by Michael Farquhar

Trend Alert: Mash-ups get spiced-up

Do you remember a few years ago, a trend hit publishing where classic novels were rewritten to capitalize on the popularity of the paranormal in fiction? It was a trend that brought us titles like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (M) (subtitled "the classic Regency romance, now with ultraviolent zombie mayhem") and Android Karenina (M), a version of Tolstoy's "classic love story set in a dystopian world of robots, cyborgs, and interstellar space travel". Or, more recently, The Meowmorphosis (M) in which "One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that he had been changed into an adorable kitten". (Actually I'm surprised that one wasn't more popular!)

These books—sometimes called mashups—were in many peoples' eyes a fun way to bring classic literature into the modern mainstream. They were a craze for a year or so, and then began to fall from the limelight. But now it appears they are back, this time fusing with a new fiction trend : the rise in interest in erotic romance following, you guessed it, Fifty Shades of Grey. Get ready for erotic mash-ups of your favourite classics.

Dear reader, I present to you Jane Eyrotica (M) by Charlotte Bronte and Karena Rose, in which the young Jane Eyre discovers "upon accepting a governess position at Thornfield Hall, a world of passion, desire, and sex explodes before her naive eyes in the form of the brooding, dashing master of the house: Mr. Rochester," and, coincidentally, Jane Eyre Laid Bare (M) by Charlotte Bronte and Eve Sinclair, which (unsurprisingly) has a similar plot description and promises "only one thing is certain. Jane Eyre may have arrived at Thornfield an unfulfilled and tentative woman, but she will leave a very different person..."
 

Although Jane Eyre may have seemed the perfect place to start with these mash-ups, it won't be where it finishes: Fifty Shades of Mr Darcy (M) by William Codpiece Thwackery has just been released (although it calls itself a parody) and Fifty Shades of Dorian Gray (M) by Oscar Wilde and Nicole Audrey Spector is due in January. I suspect this is just the beginning. Reaction to the books seems to be a mixed: like the paranormal mash-ups there are many who are eager to see this latest incarnation of the old classics and there are those who are find this treatment of great novels an insult. You'll have to decide which camp you fall into.

Summer of Series

This was the summer of series for me. So much so that when the request for a blog post about what I was going to read this summer, I even missed that request.! I have figured out that during this summer I have read over 6500 pages in series alone! (Don't worry, I did read in the sunshine for a lot of them). That does not include the 3 or 4 books I read that are not part of a series. I know that I read a lot but even I am amazed at the amount. But some series are like popcorn, no matter how big, once you have had one piece, you want to go on and on. So even though I have mentioned a few of these books in previous blogs, I feel they are worth repeating.

The series that consumed most my time and interest is Song of Ice and Fire (M) by George R R Martin. I have written about Martin in a previous blog so I won't re-explain here. Most people refer to this series as Game of Thrones, which is the title of the first novel and the television show.

For those who are unaware, there are also graphic novels based on this series; one of which is a prequel to the books. Usually I read a book and then it appears on television or at the movie theatres. In this case, it was the opposite. A friend recommended the new HBO series Game of Thrones to me. It was love at first watch. Reading the five existing books has occupied most of my summer, whether reading or listening to them (as I was so enraptured with them that I requested all formats available, so that I would not have to wait so long.) Reader beware, these are long books! But the story is so suspenseful and the characters so realistic, with all their wonders and flaw's, that the pages fly by. One moment you like a character and then they do something so horrible and unexpected, you hate them. And then the same character you can suddenly feel sorry for in the next book. Martin is known to kill off major characters and even bring some “back to life”. That is what has kept me reading and I am anxiously waiting for books six and seven, which still are not written.

The other books that I read all three books of this summer is the Fifty Shades Trilogy (M) by E.L. James. I have also written about in a previous blog. This is the breakout novel of the summer, with the library having over 900 holds on the first novel at one time. I read these novels out of curiosity's sake. And anyone who knows me would be surprised that I picked them up and continued to read all three. It is no secret that I am not a fan of romance novels. I like my novels to be more “realistic” or at least funny. In an informal pole of readers I have asked you either really love the novels or couldn't stand the “horrible writing and repetition of the author. There have been readers who have counted how many times the author use the words “biting her lower lips”, being told to eat and her inner goddess talking to her and “holy crap” is used 23 times in the first three chapters! I can't say I enjoyed the novels but they have over $145 million in sales of the U.S. alone.....

The Sookie Stackhouse Series (M) by Charmaine Harris was originally known as The Southern Vampire series. This is one of those series that I had read before it was picked up by HBO to make True Blood. Sookie Stackhouse was created by Harris when she decided to “shake up her writing style by trying something new”. Sookie is a telepathic waitress working at Merlott'e Bar andGrill in Bontemp, Louisiana. All her life she has been viewed as odd but it is not until later in the series that reader discovers how odd. Sookie is part fae. This is what attracts her to vampires. Harris does not just stop with fairies and vampires, she has included wereanimals (which include panthers,wolves and tigers), shapeshifters, maenads, witches and a host of other supernatural creatures.

The latest in this series is Deadlocked. Sookie has discovered a magical fairy love object that was given to her grandmother. The Cluviel Dor grants the possessor one wish. Sookie struggles to decide what to do with this gift. Should she wish her powers away and be “normal” . But there are other creatures who wish to have the item. And as usual when it comes to Sookie's life there are all sort of complications being created each of the supernatural communities.

The novel I Micheal Bennet is part of (what else) the Michael Bennett Suspense Series (M) by James Patterson. Truthfully I am getting a little tired of the Patterson formula writing. While reading about Michael Bennett, I found that except for a few scenes here and there, I could have been reading an Alex Cross novel. Just exchange the grandmother for Alex for the grandfather of Michael. Admittedly Alex has more children than Michael and they are in different cities. But there is definitely a formula in place for Patterson. How could there not be when he has written 71 novels in 33 years. He has had 19 #1 New York Times Best Sellers and has outsold Stephen King, John Grisham and Dan Brown combined!

The next books on my list for series are the All Souls Trilogy (M) by Deborah E A Harkness and The Hunger Games (M) by Suzanne Collins. When I read the The Discovery of Witches by Harkness I was blown away, immediately was looking for another book. I was thrilled to discover that it was part of a trilogy. Book two in the series was released this summer, Shadow of Night.

I recently watched the film adaptation of The Hunger Games with my son (who has read the novel). He pointed out all of what was missing from the original story. So I guess I will have to go back and read the series.

Even though summer maybe coming to an end, my thirst for series reading will never be quenched!

Flying off the shelves:what to read while you wait

In yesterday's post we highlighted the 10 books in the library system that have the most holds: today I'll offer some readalike suggestions for books to read while you're waiting for those ten. It seems like every day there is a new story in the news about the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy: whether it's who will direct or star in the now planned film adaptation, or how its popularity is bringing erotica in the mainstream of reading. Romance novels have always been a big part of library collections, and in recent years that has also meant erotica.

While you're waiting on your hold for 50 Shades of Grey, you might check out the Channel Series (M) by well known romance author Bertrice Small which revolves around a television channel for women that allows them to fulfil their fantasies. Wifey (M) by Judy Blume is about a thirty something woman who becomes bored of her suburban lifestyle and decides to explore her sexual identity. We recently had a post that included past classics of the erotica genre that has other great suggestions.

And while Fifty Shades of Grey is decidedly for the adult market, the other trilogy on our top ten holds list— The Hunger Games trilogy—was originally written for teens, but has crossed over to the adult reading market in a big way. Adults and teens alike may enjoy either Enclave (M) by Ann Aguirre or Blood Red Road (M) by Moira Young, both novels that like The Hunger Games feature a young female protagonist battling for her life in a near-future dystopia.

Veronica Roth's Divergent Series (M) is also getting a lot of attention these days for fans of The Hunger Games looking for something else (you'll have to place a hold on those ones too though—although the wait list is shorter). If dystopian fiction is your interest, check out this past post from the Reader on that very subject.And the remaining books on our list? Here's a few more suggestions:

While you wait for Unwritten Laws by Greg Iles, the obvious choice might be earlier titles in the Penn Cage series, but if you're a big fan you've probably already read those, so why not consider The Ranger (M) by Ace Atkins? Like the Iles books The Ranger is a fast-paced thriller set in Mississippi that features a recently returned army vet investigating the death of his uncle, the former county sheriff. Iles' Mississippi setting and legal thriller genre, leads to a perhaps too-obvious leap to John Grisham (which also have similar pacing but not the violent action) but do you also know Blood on the Leaves (M) by Jeff Stetson? The pacing is less break-neck, but the book still provides plenty of legal thrills while asking big questions about race and racism in the South.

While you wait for Why Men Lie by Linden MacIntyre, earlier titles in the series are again an obvious suggestion—The Bishop's Man and The Long Stretch. If you've not yet read No Great Mischief (M) by Alistair MacLeod now might be the time: both books follow modern day families with Cape Breton connections. Though Why Men Lie is connected to MacIntyre's previous novels, readers looking for a continuation of the storyline examined in the Bishop's Man may be disappointed. In a book trailer MacIntyre describes Why Men Lie as a book about "men, as they are understood by a middle aged woman".

Another book that focuses on relationships in middle age (and that also features a male author writing from the perspective of a woman) is Valeria's Last Stand (M) by Marc Fitten. The Lemon Table (M) , a series of short stories by Julian Barnes also examines similar themes.

The last two titles on the list 11th Hour by James Patterson and What Doesn't Kill You by Iris Johansen are both linked to established series. Patterson fans may want to go back to earlier titles in the Women's Murder Club series or try Leslie Glass's April Woo (M) or Clyde Phillips' Jane Candiotti (M) series: both fast-paced mystery/suspense sequences featuring female protagonists. Johansen's new book focuses on a character first introduced in an earlier volume of her Eve Duncan series. Johansen fans may also appreciate the series just noted for Patterson readers.

Are you waiting for any of these titles? Or maybe you've already read one. What other books would you suggest for fans? Tell us in the comments below!