Chaos Reading discussion

Confession time! Admit it here in the safe, accepting confines of our Chaos family and you won't have to walk around with this secret burdening your soul...

Don't want people to see you like a certain author/trend?
Not sure how your co-workers/roommates/family might react?

What books are you (or have you) been embarrassed to read in public?

(This thread was actually inspired by the following book, whose title and cover are actually much more suggestive than the stories contained therein:
)

I read the book Deep Throat when I was a kid. LOL Hid it from my Mom!

Beth wrote: "I read the book Deep Throat when I was a kid. LOL Hid it from my Mom!"

I take it you didn't get caught, eh?!!
:D

Lost Girls - it's fascinating and flawed but don't read it on the bus

I read a review where a women was reading Flowers in the Attic on the bus...

I read part of Looking for Mr. Goodbar when I was 13. I too hid that....;)

I either avoided taking Do Me on the train or I made sure the cover wasn't visible... I can't remember. I remember being embarrassed/self-conscious reading Hogg: A Novel in public (not because anyone had any idea of what I was reading but because it was so graphic and violent, I felt like I shouldn't be in public with it). A professor once recommended Negrophobia to me--pretty sure I didn't go waving that one in anyone's face.

Marc wrote: "Confession time! Admit it here in the safe, accepting confines of our Chaos family and you won't have to walk around with this secret burdening your soul...

Don't want people to see you like a cer..."

Ah, Marc, my brother, you are feeling my pain!! Do ME of course, i will not take to school to read on break, what?? I think reading Lolita is a little embarrassing that way, and anything in the Henry Miller/ Anais Nin helix.

Beth wrote: "I read the book Deep Throat when I was a kid. LOL Hid it from my Mom!"

'Read' Deep Throat, interesting concept.....funny nonetheless ;)

It wasn't funny, it was porno! LOL There was a movie too.

Definitely looks an awful lot like gay BDSM erotica once you lose the translucent jacket. I tended to avoid reading it on the bus, much as I loved the read.

I also get a bit self conscious about any book with a hideous photo-collage of a moody model glaring at you. was one of the worst offenders, which is a real shame because the content was great.

I'm pretty sure I hid Doing It (the cover of the edition that I had was not the one on GR) from my parents as a young teenager.

Haha--Spanky is such an awesome title to go along with that cover!
There's a couple books still on my TBR shelf I probably wouldn't parade around due to their covers--this is the first that springs to mind:


This thread just reminded me of the video series:
Taking Fake Book Covers on the Subway

Glazed By The Gay Living Donuts

anything by Chuck Tingle.. buy the paperback and leave on the coffee table for when guests visit

Lol! I really wanted to get this Chuck Tingle tote bag, but then realized I would never have the nerve to actually take it anywhere:

id buy it for you!!!

I got in trouble for reading Porno (by Irvine Welsh) when I worked at an ice-cream stall in a shopping mall.

I'm currently reading a book about ISIS. It's pretty tricky sitting on the bus reading a book with ISIS in big letters on the cover.

Did it have one of the sex doll covers? I hope so! Can't see too many employers embracing that one in visible customer service roles...

I was just on the subway yesterday with The Plot Against America and had forgotten all about the swastika on the cover. Not a symbol I like to carry around.

It did, yes.

I wonder if putting a swastika or writing ISIS in huge letters affects the sales of these books, simply based on reading it in public. Probably doesn't affect it by much, but I wonder.

Also I just remembered, Daft Wee Stories by Limmy has a story that's upside down, so obviously you have to hold the book upside down to read it. I think the story is all about what people must be thinking about you.

This may be a little off topic, but will the TSA guidelines about books have any affect on your choice of book to take while travelling. I can see a book with a swastika or ISIS on the cover perhaps raising some TSA eyebrows.

Wait--what is this new TSA guidelines thing about books?!! I hadn't heard anything about this.

Hmm.. as for the impact on sales, I would think most people would be drawn to a cover that grabs attention like that without thinking about how it would look in public... I guess it depends on how often a person reads in public and whether they care or not. I can't say I've ever personally thought about how the book would look to other people when I was purchasing a book, but I have thought about whether I want to carry certain books into work with me.

Some of Christopher Moore's books have required explanation of the title or cover art.

Island of the Sequined Love Nun and The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror are two that come to mind as having drawn attention in the recent past.

Joseph wrote: "It did, yes.

I wonder if putting a swastika or writing ISIS in huge letters affects the sales of these books, simply based on reading it in public. Probably doesn't affect it by much, but I wonder..."

That's an interesting question. There were all sorts of WWII spy thrillers published from the 60's through the early 80's, it seemed like half of them featured a swastika on the cover. In those days, though, there would have been little doubt that the swastika represented the bad guys. With neo-nazis becoming loud and proud lately, I'd certainly think twice before being seen with one on a book cover these days.

The one time I didn't bring a book on public transport because of the cover was the original paperback of Neal Stephenson's The Big U .

Marc wrote: "Wait--what is this new TSA guidelines thing about books?!! I hadn't heard anything about this."

Here is this :
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2...


Then this:

https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2017/06/28/l...

Jennifer wrote: "Marc wrote: "Wait--what is this new TSA guidelines thing about books?!! I hadn't heard anything about this."

Here is this :
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2......"

Good lord, I though you were kidding!

Good ol' TSA, invading our privacy, abusing us for our ethnicity, and doing very little to make us safer. FFS.

Nope. I would not joke about that. I am that person that has 3 books on an airplane. :)

At least the TSA has stopped this pilot if I read the second link correctly. Sheesh!

-- yup. That one might raise an eyebrow or two, CD.

I was actually reading Hogg on the train once and although the cover gave nothing away, I was looking around almost positive everyone around me could intuit the depravity I was hiding.

I found this one in a thrift store but have yet to read it (publicly or otherwise):

Marc wrote: "Confession time! Admit it here in the safe, accepting confines of our Chaos family and you won't have to walk around with this secret burdening your soul...

Don't want people to see you like a cer..."

Marc wrote: "Confession time! Admit it here in the safe, accepting confines of our Chaos family and you won't have to walk around with this secret burdening your soul...

Don't want people to see you like a cer..."


For myself I remember feeling something delightfully vulgar ( I don’t get embarrassed by the content or myself ) found when walking down the street reading MIchael Giras ‘ The Consumer%’, as well as upon reading the novel ‘High Life’ by Matthew Stokoe

"Delightfully vulgar" -- what a wonderful description, Babaylon Mood Goddess 🌙!