Guest Blogger, LG: Hump Day Humor

It’s amusing how certain words have evolved over time in our dialect—as has our collective sense of humor. Remember when “gay” used to mean happy? It’s not used that way much anymore, and when it is you can be sure it’ll elicit a few snickers in a crowd.

My art history teacher once caught my attention while I was spacing out during a seminar freshman year of college by saying a peasant in an old painting was carrying a “faggot” on his back. She actually meant he was hauling a large bunch of twigs. And I still giggle childishly whenever someone talks about a “bung hole” in a wine cask.

Yes, let it be said that my preferred brand of humor—typically terribly inappropriate—appeals more to 12-year-old boys than the average 25-year-old female. I can’t even create a character named Paul in my novel without at least one friend joking that I named him that because it rhymes with “ball.”

Even my university had issues: It was an all-women college and yet it was founded by a man named Cocke, and our dining hall was called The Moody Center. What the heck?

Now, knowing all of this about me, you can imagine how The Huffington Post’s slide show entitled “The 11 Funniest Unintentionally-Sexual Books of All Time” has tickled my proverbial funny bone. I mean…appeals to the 12-year-old boy inside me. Oh God… what I mean to say is: Who wouldn’t laugh at a book called Scouts in Bondage or The Day Amanda Came? And really – what is The Pocket Book of Boners about?

I have to say, Games You Can Play with Your Pussy is my favorite. I wonder if my cat would approve…

What are some of your favorite antiquated now-dirty or modernly humorous words, phrases, or even book titles?

"Books on shirts. Shirts on a mission."

There's a fantastic new clothing line struting its stuff in the literary world this year--Out of Print Clothing. Though it was established in 1984, the creative and charitable company that prints out-of-print book covers on comfy fitted tee shirts is just now getting noticed.

Their shirts are more than just a perfect addition to any book-lover's closet, however. The company is trying to change the world, according to the Out of Print Clothing mission statement posted on their website:

Books on shirts. Shirts on a mission.

Out of Print celebrates the world’s great stories through fashion. Our shirts feature iconic and often out of print book covers. Some are classics, some are just curious enough to make great t-shirts, but all are striking works of art.

We work closely with artists, authors and publishers to license the content that ends up in our collections. Each shirt is treated to feel soft and worn like a well-read book.

In addition to spreading the joy of reading through our tees, we acknowledge that many parts of the world don't have access to books at all. We are working to change that. For each shirt we sell, one book is donated to a community in need through our partner Books For Africa.

How we read is changing as we move further into the digital age. It's unclear what the role of the book cover will be in this new era, but we feel it's more important than ever to reflect on our own individual experiences with great literary art before it's forever changed.

What’s your story? Wear it proud.

Among some of the titles Out Of Print has already transferred to tees are The Catcher in the Rye, On the Road, Invisible Man, Brave New World, 1984, Of Mice and Men, Lolita, A Streetcar Named Desire, Moby Dick, and Farenheit 451. Check out their website for a complete listing of tees.

I am absolutely loving this company! I can't wait till they issue some of my personal favorites--A Farewell to Arms and The Bell Jar among them. And man, what a great way to find new markets for the Classics!

Thanks to Rebecca for bringing this awesome endeavor to my attention!

Go Ahead. Judge Those Books.

We've all heard the old idiom, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Some of us may even use it ourselves. It's a fantastic little phrase that expresses the reality that things aren't always as they appear, that looks aren't everying. But while I fully support this sentiment in the figuartive sense, when it comes down to a physical book, I can't disagree more.

A book's cover is perhaps its most important marketing tool. It's the reason a consumer picks up a book in the first place. In a room full of hardcovers, trade paperbacks, mass markets, box sets, etc. etc. we only have our eyes to guide us. If it doesn't catch our attention, we aren't picking it up. And if we aren't pricking it up, we aren't reading the cover copy and finding out what the book is about. And then we certainly aren't buying it. The same goes for book buyers, the bigwigs who decide what books the store will even sell. If they don't find a cover appealing--or at least anticipate the public finding it appealing--no way is it going into a store's inventory. Publishers have even been known to change cover art because an important buyer didn't like it. This is serious business.

But what about when a book is so well-known that most people already know what it's about? No one's eye needs catching, they just want the content. Like the Classics, for example.

Most house that publish classics do so en masse. They have a specific classics line full of books with simple, formulaic covers. These covers are more iconic than anything, trying to the get the consumer to buy the same Bloomsbury Classics edition over the Folgers Encriched Classics. Likely they're being forced to buy them anyway by a college or high school, so they are going to buy it one way or the other. The time has past for publishers to try to hook new consumers on these books. Or so we thought.

Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions has recently taken three classic novels, all of which could be construed as chick lit on some level, and redesigned them, giving each title a fresh, new, surrealist look. The books are even being described as "beach reads." Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and The Scarlet Letter would not be my personal idea of a beach read, but this new art just might draw in a new audience. Last year, Penguin did something along the same lines, using a cartoonist to draw up some new covers for classic novels like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Lady Chatterly's Lover, and Frankenstein.

HarperPerrenial Classic Stories also updated its look to grab a new audience. Using brighter, bolder colors and a pop-up type photo of the author (I'm guessing?) give the books a much more modern, though kind of oddball and slightly creepy, feel.

Whether these tactics will work or not is hard to say. But it's clearly working for UK publisher Waterstone with their release of a re-vamped Wuthering Heights. The new edition has been designed to resemble Stephanie Meyers's Twilight series--it even displays a burst reading "Bella and Edward's favorite book--and as a result, WH has hit UK bestseller lists.

Shocking, but true. So, as you can see, the judging continues in full force. Kind of as it should.