As a completely unexpected and wonderful surprise, Mrs. Leaux recently bought me a Nook ("a kept man" she said, shaking her head as we left Barnes & Noble- but hey- as long as the swag is this nice I suppose I can put up with that sort of comment). The Nook works largely on the same instant gratification principal as devices like the iPod. Users can access a massive online library, and when a specific title catches your eye, click- it’s yours. In order to help lure newbies, there are a number of titles available for free. Granted, your not going to find any bestsellers in this category, but come on…can anyone really resist a free Nook book with a title like Bubba and the Dead Woman?
“Bubba is a good old boy with lots of problems. His ex-fiancée is deader than a door nail and everyone thinks he dun did it. His house is haunted. His mother is running an illegal gambling ring. His dog likes to bite people too much. And he's got to find out who really did it before the sheriff throws him in jail...again."
Don’t even try and tell me that doesn’t sound awesome.
Encouraged by this early find, I continued perusing by category, then filtering by price, which I have to admit is easier than walking up and down the isles with my head cocked at a 45 degree angle so I can read the spines. of books I'll never pick up. Not long after I found Bubba, I came across another interesting title: Not Just an Orgy. One can only guess at the context:
“Hey, hon, what’s going on this weekend?”
“Nothing much. I think the Harrises are hosting another orgy, but that’s about it.”
“Well...hold on a sec. It’s not just an orgy, you know. There’s a lot more to it than that.”
Encouraged by this early find, I continued perusing by category, then filtering by price, which I have to admit is easier than walking up and down the isles with my head cocked at a 45 degree angle so I can read the spines. of books I'll never pick up. Not long after I found Bubba, I came across another interesting title: Not Just an Orgy. One can only guess at the context:
“Hey, hon, what’s going on this weekend?”
“Nothing much. I think the Harrises are hosting another orgy, but that’s about it.”
“Well...hold on a sec. It’s not just an orgy, you know. There’s a lot more to it than that.”
Anyway, it would appear from the sheer number of, um, descriptive titles that lit-porn is quite the popular genre: The Best Roomate (a bit vague, but the cover hints at what makes her “the best”)… Fingering Rachel (for the crime, of course) ...My Trailer Trash Girlfriend and Her Family (presumably a tale of seething class conflict)...and that timeless American classic, I Can’t Help It That I’m A Slut (which we can only assume chronicles our heroine’s fight against the oppressive social stigma brought on by her slutty-ness). All of these seemed fairly upbeat and chipper compared to some of the more lurid looking entries, of which thankfully there were few (I mean, Malcolm and the Rent Boy..!? Really? WTF?).
In all fairness, there’s a lot of great non-porny material available in the Nook store, and I’ve just begun to skim the surface. Although I fell strongly that there’s still value to be had in actually holding a tome in your hands and turning pages (coffee table books, for example, do not translate well to the Nook), I’m really kind of taken with the idea that I can store my own personal library online, rather than taking up space I don’t have with books I’ll probably never read again but can’t seem to let go of. At the moment, I’m thoroughly enjoying my first download, Sex on the Moon- which is not about people having sex on the moon, so get your mind out of the gutter.
I love my nook, but I haven't even looked at the porn side yet. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how much you read there is more left to explore.
ReplyDeleteI'm really digging the Nook so far; it's a great little device. I'm a bargain bin shopper when it comes to books anyway, and the wife had already noted that there were some rather spicy titles among the free books but I had a good laugh looking through them.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Be sure to look up my Nook books--Sharon Day. I'm going to put out an anthology this fall of dark sex stories told by the male POV--sex in a graveyard, with a ghost, with a clown. Yeah, fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the world of trashy pulps has gone digital. Your Nook sounds like an awesome machine and I'm glad you're enjoying it. As for me, I still prefer the hunt: stalking through the musty aisles of used bookstores and flea markets in pursuit of a juicy pulpish tome. On the other hand, your description of some of those delightfully trashy titles does make a Nook sound awfully tempting....
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