it seems dishonest, somehow

[curgoth]

I'm reading one of neeuqdrazil's non-fiction cultural studies books right now (After by the Flesh, the Culturasl Politics of Body Modification). It's an interesting book about a topic I'm interested in. The cover, though, is a bit risque (a tatooed woman wearing a bikini style top that is held on, not with straps, but hooks through the skin). So, to prevent people from thinking I am reading porn (which I nearly got into trouble for when I was reading Kushiel's Dart a couple years ago), I have put a white paper cover on the book.

I'm not sure if this is just going to convince people that I am, in fact, reading porn, or what. But it seems dishonest that I am covering up what I'm reading.

(caffeine is destroying my ability to focus on work, and making me more likely to post weird things. But I'm awake!)

Comments

[thekat03.livejournal.com]

i think the people who look at that white cover and think automatically that it must be porn are less likely to be bothered by the idea that it might be porn. personally, if i thought anything of it at all (since i doubt i'd notice), i'd assume it was maybe a textbook, since that's the only kind of book i've ever put paper covers on (though that was back in middle school and such, when we had to return the textbooks in reasonable condition).

[athenalindia.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about this, because there are a couple of books on my possible to-read list about U.S. race issues with titles that could sound very wrong. Books about the Klan, for instance. How do you read about the Klan without looking like a white supremacist?

I haven't made up my mind about covering them or whatever, yet.

[delerium69.livejournal.com]

IMHO it also demonstrates that you are sympathetic to the sensitivities of some folks who might be bothered by the cover of the book. (Er, I mean squeamish people, not people who run around saying we're going to Hell for our sins - you can bother them all you like. *wink*)