This is a meme of books I find at my bookstore. They may be ones that I haven't heard of before but look interesting to me or just any book that stands out. Last weekend, my husband had put aside a number of books that have outdated and otherwise odd covers and titles. I thought some of them were quite telling of the time they were published. I'm sure there's a name for these types of paperbacks. Maybe pulp fiction?
Pictured here are two Erle Stanley Gardner books. The first is called The Case of the Backward Mule and is subtitled 'Killer or not - she had it coming!' The cover depicts a well-dressed man hitting an equally well-dressed woman. It was published in 1946 and then were a few re-printings. I guess this cover and topic was perfectly acceptable as entertainment in 1946? The second book is The Case of the Negligent Nymph (which is a Perry Mason Mystery) and the cover shows a woman, who I suppose would be the nymph in question, hanging off the end of a canoe. I would imagine how and why she got there would be the question a reader would find out the answer to if they read the book. The third book in the photo, Woman in the Window by Jack Moore (publication date 1965), shows a scantily clad woman enticing a man who is poking his head out between window bars in the impossibly close building next door to hers. So it looks like he's in a jail cell. Right. The fourth book is titled Modern Casanova's Handbook and is written by H. T. Elmo. I don't find the author's name all that sexy, do you? This book is supposed to be a humorous look at men's attempts to get the woman of their dreams into bed. Some of the chapters in the book are:
How to be Sexcessful!
Tales of a Gay Lothario!
What's Your Boudoir Problem?
Sexcapades!
Advice to the Love Worn!
In truth, the book is comprised of a list of quotes, jokes and advice. It was published in 1955.
Are books like this still published (well, in an updated format)? Maybe, maybe not. I imagine it depends on whether there's a market for them. Perhaps, though, I wouldn't recognize them in their present form.
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