Sure, we’ll be reviewing sex books this year, but here we will discuss a few that look interesting that we have not gotten our hands on yet.
Some of the books to read in 2018 you might not technically read- they are audio books. What the audio book company Audible realized is that audio books differ from printed in books in that it can be difficult to go straight to the specific part you want to listen- especially if it is the “good part.” You can even choose just how steamy a “good part” you are looking for.
To accomplish this, they had to develop some very sophisticated technology. The good parts in women’s romance can be a bit on the subtle side. To tackle it, they use data mining and machine learning to figure out exactly what individual customers are looking for. This technology is only available for a small percentage of their library at this time.
This was all premiered in November with the launch of their Audible Romance Package. It is available for $14.95/month ($6.95/month for Audible and Kindle Unlimited members). The first month is free for new Romance Package subscribers.
Famed adult performer and director Joanna Angel moves into the author category in February with Night Shift: A Choose Your Own Erotic Fantasy from Cleis Press. On the cutting edge since the beginning of her career, it should come as no surprise that she is now exploring interactive fiction. It is getting very good early reviews. From the publisher:
After graduating college, Taryn finds herself lost and uncertain of what to do next. With a self-imposed friendless and sexless life, Taryn unexpectedly winds up working the graveyard shift at Dreamz, a sex shop in Pasco County, Florida. Tucked into a seedy strip mall on the side of a highway, hilarious and erotic surprises lurk around every neon-lit corner.
Your mission: In a sketchy and sexy world filled with tissues, gallons of lube, sex toys, tiger print, and swinger parties, help Taryn choose her way as she learns what happens in this small, unexpectedly kinky town. From butt plugs to cross-dressing truckers to being held-up at gunpoint over dildos, experience this fun and sexy journey along with Taryn, as she goes from shy and sweet to skilled and empowered—but how she gets there is up to you!
Also just out from Cleis Press are two anthologies- Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 3 edited by multiple award winning Rachel Kramer Bussel, and Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year Volume 2 edited by Sachi Green. I know my wife would not mind another of their collections of Best Bisexual Women’s Erotica, but these two should cover the desires of most female readers.
Published last month from Cleis Press is porn star Asa Akira’s Asarotica. Already an established author with Insatiable and Dirty Thirty, she is the editor of this compilation of twenty-two erotic stories written by adult stars such as Joanna Angel, Kayden Kross, and Nina Hartley, and Asa Akira has a contribution of her own. This is an opportunity to explore what adult performers find erotic.
Just out this month from Taschen is David LaChapelle: Lost + Found, Part I. This 278 page photo book was ten years in the making. Every page is a full bleed and there is a separate booklet to explain the photos. The examples I have seen are quite beautiful.
Some of the models include Pamela Anderson, Julian Assange, Isabella Blow, David Bowie, Naomi Campbell, Hillary Clinton, Frances Bean Cobain, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga. Sharon Gault, Daphne Guinness, Whitney Houston, Kris Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Bruce Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Dwayne Johnson, Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Eartha Kitt, David LaChapelle, Amanda Lepore, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Sergei Polunin, Keith Richards, Rihanna, Chris Rock, Amber Rose, Britney Spears, Uma Thurman, Andy Warhol, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Amy Winehouse.
As familiar as these celebrities might be, LaChapelle presents them in a new way. The photos are amazing, and if you are a fan of photography, you will want to check this out.
The good news is that Good News, Part II from David LaChapelle is also just out. It is the second part of Lost + Found Part I, and completes his five book narrative that spans his entire photographic career. They describe it as an illuminated manuscript for our time. It is not as focused on celebrities but still offers the unique approach to photography that makes LaChappelle so distinctive. Just check out the sample pics on the Amazon site and you’ll see what I mean.
Coming in Spring is a reprint of the long out of print 1919 The Art of Aubrey Beardsley. We have a large digital collection of Beardsley’s work, and images from it will eventually be available in our CenterSEE Illustrator’s Collection as part of our Sexual Heritage Preservation Project, but that is probably two years away. Here is what the publisher says about him:
“English illustrator and author Aubrey Beardsley (1872–98) was a leading figure of the Aesthetic Movement and the most controversial artist of the 1890s. His delicate yet bold drawings in black ink of grotesque, sensual and erotic subjects transformed the art of illustration but also scandalized Victorian society with their dark and often perverse imagery. Prolific until his death from tuberculosis at the age of 25, he produced an enormous body of work that symbolized the decadence of the period and had a substantial and lasting effect on the Art Nouveau and poster movements.”
His work is extremely erotic, some of it even quite shocking by today’s standards, let alone those of the Victorian era. If you remember the erotic thriller Crimes of Passion starring Kathleen Turner, the walls of her character’s apartment were decorated with prints by Beardsley. They were of male nudes, but you did not see them in the theatrical release because the MPAA insisted they be cut to get an R rating. They were restored along with 12 minutes of film in the video release Director’s Cut. This was the film where I realized what a really terrific actor Annie Potts is. She turns in an amazing performance, and she continues turning in solid performances as Meemaw on the CBS series Young Sheldon. I don’t know what prints were on the walls, but below are illustrations he did for Lysistrata that would have given 1984 era American movie censors a heart attack. They also objected to the Japanese prints on display in the film, which also tend to depict large penises.
