If you happen to be blind enough that you rely on braille, chance are that the mainstream porn industry has left you out, says Lisa J. Murphy.

The Toronto Star has a story on Murphy, a photographer who worked with CNIB (the Canadian National Institute for the Blind) to make books for kids that included touchable pictures of animals.

Now she’s working on something a lot more adult — porn:

Tactile Mind is half art object, half artisanal concept book. It contains explicit softcore images that are raised from its pages, along with Braille text and photos. The effect of the tactile, plastic “images” is a bit like that of an ancient Greek bas-relief. Or, somewhat less precisely, a smutty pop-up book.

Creating a tactile book is far from simple, Murphy says. She recruited some friends and photographed them wearing masks, streamers, Christmas lights, or nothing at all. That was the easy part.

Then she blew up the photos and built on top of them with clay, being careful to mimic the photo in three (well, two and a half) dimensions.

She baked them until they were hardened, and then covered them with a layer of special Thermoform plastic that molds to what it touches when heated up.

After being heated in a special machine, the plastic-finished product is ready to become a plate in the book. The whole process takes Murphy between 40 and 50 hours. That’s for just one image.

With the 3-D images, the book is about 13-15 cm thick, and retails for $225.

As someone with a vested interest in books and the kinds of books people like, I spend a fair amount of time looking at lists of books: bestsellers, new authors, upcoming titles, paperbacks about vampires, hardcovers about obscure politicians…there is almost no end of the kinds of book lists you can find.

One of my current favourite lists is “12 Bizarre Kids Books You Won’t Buy.”

The list, if you’re not interested in simply clicking the link above, is:

1. It Hurts When I Poop
2. Hair in Funny Places
3. The Long Journey of Mister Poop
4. Joined at Birth: The Lives of Conjoined Twins
5. Where Willy Went
6. Standing Up
7. I Wish Daddy Didn’t Drink So Much
8. Who Cares about Disabled People?
9. One Two Three Pull!
10. MA! There’s Nothing to Do Here!
11. Hiroshima No Pika
12. A Scary Thing Happened

Some of the titles, such as It Hurts When I Poop and I Wish Daddy Didn’t Drink So Much, are fairly self-explanatory. Some of them, however, require a little explanation. And one of them is a lame inclusion.

Before I start describing some of these books, I should state that I did indeed do fact checking and all of these books are real. Most of them are available to purchase, with the exception of one or two that are out of print and one that is simply not available any more. More on that in a moment.

Where Willy Went, as innocuous as it sounds, is the story of a sperm — a good swimmer — who races for the prize of the egg within Mrs. Browne. The innuendo of the title is probably meant more for the parent reading the book to their child.

Standing Up is the story of a little boy learning to pee standing up. Because, you know, it’s an important life skill that warrants a picture book. I’m serious. Aiming is important.

Ma! There’s Nothing to Do Here! yells the embryo. And that, my friends, is just plain creepy.

The lame addition to the list is One Two Three Pull. The story is the kind of thing you would expect to find in a children’s book: A chicken is having trouble getting a worm out of the ground, so enlists the help of friends to try and get it. The rationale for the inclusion of this title is:

The chicken appears to be in the most compromising position and a bit sexual to many adult readers.

Seriously? It’s a chicken bent over trying to pull a worm out of the ground and a rabbit is pulling on the chicken pulling on the worm. This is sexual? I’m a bit afraid of the adult readers the author of this list knows if she thinks they’ll find these cartoon illustrations of animals sexual. Because if they find those sexy, they probably shouldn’t be around children in the first place. Or they’re to repressed to have made kids. (This is the lame addition to the list.)

The final title that deserves explanation is A Scary Thing Happened — a downloadable colouring book about 9/11. The cover of the book included a child’s drawing of a plan flying towards the Twin Towers, one of which is on fire. I write of this book in the past tense, as it was pulled from FEMA’s website almost a year ago, despite having been posted there since 2003. Thank goodness for the Smoking Gun, however, as they have archived a copy.

The other day, casting about for something to read, Amy picked up “The Man In The High Castle” from my bookshelf. As she started getting into it, I grabbed a copy of “Flow My Tears The Policeman Said” and for a few days, we were both engrossed in (very different) Philip K. Dick worlds.

I was really impressed with “Flow My Tears”, which I hadn’t read for a long, long time and didn’t remember very well. And now I’m looking forward to rereading “The Man In The High Castle.”

But in one of those serendipitous ways that life just treats you right, sometimes, I first came across something else.

Philip K. Dick died 28 years ago this month (March 2, 1982) and the L.A. Times points me to a six-part series that explores Dick’s last years, in Orange County.

I’ve just started reading it, but it’s really good.

Find all six parts here.

Based on a throwaway comment by Grant earlier today, I was reminded about a post I’ve been meaning to make about Robert McGinnis. Even if you are unfamiliar with this American artist’s name, you are more than likely familiar with his work.

If you have ever seen one of those old painted movie posters for a James Bond movie, with Bond holding his gun in that famous pose of his, you’ve likely seen McGinnis’ work. He originated that pose. Not only did he work on the posters for Thunderball and You Only Live Twice with a partner, he was solo artist for Bond on the posters for Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die, and The Man With The Golden Gun.

On the other hand, if you are more of a bibliophile, you are more probably familiar with his work on paperback covers. He did what was possibly hundreds of them. While some were the typical romance novel covers, he seemed to have the most fun on those that involved a tough guy, a gun and a woman (who tends to be partial naked, preparing to get naked or completely naked). These are the covers for pulp detective novels that are so much fun.

Here’s a link to a Flickr gallery of his work, but be warned that some of the images are NSFW. There’s another one here that has more of his movie posters and is proabably a better choice if you’re at work.

No… I think you read that correctly. This cookbook is entitled “Natural Harvest: A Collection of Semen-Based Recipes.” And I’m 98% sure it’s not a joke.

Instead of me trying to make sense of what can only be described as a niche product, allow me to present you with the copy from the back cover:

Semen is not only nutritious, but it also has a wonderful texture and amazing cooking properties. Like fine wine and cheeses, the taste of semen is complex and dynamic. Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants. Despite all of these positive qualities, semen remains neglected as a food.

This book hopes to change that.

Once you overcome any initial hesitation, you will be surprised to learn how wonderful semen is in the kitchen. Semen is an exciting ingredient that can give every dish you make an interesting twist. If you are a passionate cook and are not afraid to experiment with new ingredients - you will love this cook book!

Please do not add semen to your guest’s food without warning them beforehand.

Sean Chercover is a former private investigator, originally from Toronto, who now writes and lives in Chicago. He is the award-winning author of “Trigger City” and “Big City Bad Blood” as well as numerous short stories. I’ve never read any of his works, but I’m certainly going to pick one up if I happen across it, especially after this.

As a contributor to a collaborative blog called “The Outfit” (made up of Chicago crime writers), Chercover has written An Open Letter To The People Who Send Me Crazy Emails. An excerpt:

Your letter is all kinds of crazy.

And while I’m flattered that you have selected me as the person to help you publicly expose “the hidden truth” you’ve discovered, I have some bad news for you.

You have not discovered the hidden truth.

• The Illuminati do not secretly control the Federal Reserve. Neither do “the Jews”, you racist nutjob.
• The Masons do not secretly run the Catholic Church, while pretending to hate Catholics.
• The 1993 WTC bombing was not an FBI false flag op.
• The assassination of JFK was not a secret operation carried out by “the Blacks” (see, “the Jews” above).

Read the whole thing, it’s worth it!

I prefer reading my own books, and maybe discussing them with a few friends, and I suppose I’d watch the odd author interview, but I never thought I’d be interested in a public access show about books.

Not until I saw this one. Author interviews don’t get any odder than this:

I have a vested interest in the rise of the ebook, true. Although I love toys and technology and gadgets, I’ve resisted the ebook. I’ve struggled with the reasons for why I’ve dug in my heels, trying to be objective while realizing that I may just be emotionally unable to face the death of the traditional book industry.

Recognizing that I am biased against ebooks (though attempting not to be), it was with a somewhat heavy heart that I heard Amazon announce triumphantly that on Christmas Day, ebooks outsold traditional books.

Defensively, I immediately thought “of course they did — who’s buying books online on Christmas Day?” It then occurred to me that someone must be buying ebooks at least. I rationalized the situation as such: people were getting Amazon Kindles as gifts and immediately began to purchase books to see how their new device worked. Rationalization or not, it was disheartening. More and more people were buying ebooks.

But is that exactly true?

By my count, as of this moment, 61 of the top 100 selling ebooks on Amazon are free. At least two others cost less than a dollar.

Do these count as sales? Of course readers will flock to the free book over the one that costs $9.99. But how will this affect traditional book sales?

The Washington Post has a great article about the conflict between readers, publishers and authors that is escalating with the popularity of the electronic book. Nowhere is the lowly bookseller mentioned.

But I begin to wander from my point: can one state that “selling” something for free counts as a sale? If I decide to give away 10,000 books to customers (and I’m not saying that I will), can I claim to have my best day of sales ever? As an writer, can I “sell” thousands of copies for free and legitimately call myself a best-selling author?

With all the hoopla surrounding ebooks, I am not overly concerned that the death of the traditional book is yet upon us. There is still too much fudging of information for me to take any of the numbers seriously.

The Daily What calls this their “Flowchart of the Day.” I call it oversimplified. Unfortunately, it’s a too-accurate presentation of what the public thinks librarians might be. Frankly, I’ve been impressed by some of the front-line duty that librarians are pulling in defense of civil liberties, privacy, and information access.

At least two librarians are semi-regular readers of this blog. I thank them for their services.*

(*and, honestly, I appreciate them more than soldiers.)

In 1997, a team of Cambridge scientists came up with an important number. This team spent three years using a new technique for determining the Hubble Constant – the speed at which galaxies are flying apart. By determining this number, it becomes possible to calculate the age of the universe, something that is vitally important because…uh,….just because. Whatever the case, the number these high-falutin’ scientists came up with (as measured in kilometres per second per megaparsec) was 42.

(Cue laughter)

If you’re not laughing, allow me to explain: in a novel by Douglas Adams, a computer called Deep Thought, after several millions of years thought, found the answer to life, the universe and everything to be 42.

Coincidence, maybe. Out-and-out error by the Cambridge folks, possibly.

If you’re a super-genius, you’ll have spotted the problem. Should the Hubble Constant actually be “42,” then the universe is actually younger than some of the stars contained within it.

None of this is new (or news, really), but the recent publication of the latest installment in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series has me thinking about these things again….

Foreign language issues aside, it's a sure sign of bad book design when even a topless woman can't get me interested in it.

Design is more of Grant’s thing than mine, but I like to think I know a thing or two about book design. Whether I do or not is debatable, but I know what I like.

And I like this blog: Judge a Book. Run by a former librarian, this blog is filled with all sort of strange and ill-advised book covers, past and present. The best part is the commentary about each cover.

Enjoy.

And read books.

Don’t forget, if you live in the Brandon area, you should come to Words Alive, downtown Brandon’s premiere literary festival. It’s put on by a group that has significant overlap with the bloggers whom you know and love as Absurd Intellectuals, and it’s lots of fun.

I blogged about it yesterday, the first day of this year’s festival, but today is the real meat. We’ve got workshops at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the business of writing as well as on the art and craft of writing, with Jim Chliboyko and Michael Van Rooy.

Tonight, we have authors Margaret Sweatman and Joel Thomas Hynes giving readings from their latest works. We have an impressive track record of booking authors right before they blow up huge and get sweet awards, so you’ll be able to tell all your book-loving friends that “you saw them when.”

Absurd Intellectual is an official sponsor this year, for which I’m proud. Now all I have to do is figure out a revenue stream for this blog, and it’ll all be gravy.

P.S. Admission to Words Alive is free.

I don’t want to turn this blog into my personal shill-space, but I’m pretty proud of the fact that Keith and I (with a couple of others — and Amy is plenty involved, too!) have managed for three years to put on an annual book festival in our hometown.

It’s called Words Alive, and we bring a few authors to downtown Brandon for readings and workshops. The first year, we had more workshops than we knew what to do with. Last year, we just had readings. This year, I think we’ve got a great balance:

Two evenings of readings as well as two daytime workshops.

The evening of October 23, beginning at 7 p.m., will feature West Coast author Des Kennedy as well as Christina Penner. [That's tonight!]

The following day, at 10 a.m., freelance writer and editor Jim Chliboyko will give a workshop, guiding participants in the ins and outs of making a living as a writer. In the afternoon, novelist Michael Van Rooy will teach some of the finer points of the craft of writing.

Saturday evening, again beginning at 7 p.m., two more authors will be on hand to read and discuss their work. Margaret Sweatman will kick off things off, followed by East Coaster Joel Thomas Hynes.

We’ve had incredible success picking authors in the past few years — we’ve managed to snag several authors just before they win prizes or get TV deals. I credit Keith and his bookstore workings for that.

That authors, too, are very gracious with their time, and we’ve managed great conversation that goes late into the evening.

I’m heading out right away to pick up the booze for the weekend, so if you’re in the area, come on by!

Words Alive — downtown Brandon’s premiere literary festival — takes place tonight and tomorrow at The Music Studio, at 10th and Rosser. See you there!

In 1995, John Carrera found a century-old copy of Webster’s Dictionary. Enthralled by the engraved images illustrating the dictionary, he devoted the next decade-plus to making what you might call a “new-old” edition.

First, he tracked down the original metal engravings, which had been donated to Yale University. Then, he went through the 13,000 engraved blocks, selected the ones he wanted, and printed them by hand in a book all their own. The result is the “Pictorial Webster’s.”

But that’s just skimming the story. Watch the video for an in-depth look at the level of care and craftsmanship that went into printing and binding these editions by hand — from setting the metal type to tooling the leather. It’s incredible.

I only wish I had a few thousand dollars to buy an edition for myself.

The good news is that a $35 version is also available through Chronicle Books — same stuff, just not hand-made.

(via Coudal)

For as long as I can remember, the Penguin Classics book designs have been fairly simple and sleek, with the trademark artwork at the top, and black section at the bottom, broken by a white bar.

You know, like this:

I have a ton of these books on my shelf, from picking them up at used book stores, or buying them for classes at the university. That’s the great thing about Penguin Classics — they work to publish the most accurate translations of stories like The Odyssey, or to publish books that may have fallen by the wayside.

Now it looks at though Penguin is wanting to update their classic cover design — with a twist. They have commissioned comic and graphic novel illustrators for the covers. Artists like Frank Miller, Art Speigelman, and Michael Cho, who talks about his experience on his blog, have created covers for Gravity’s Rainbow, The New York Trilogy, and White Noise, respectively.

I think this is a fantastic way to update Penguin’s look, and it enables the artists to get their work to a different (if not wider) audience.

See all the covers in the flickr set here.