Sunday, June 12, 2011

Selections from My Library: BRAWNY and MUSIC CAMP

Reorganizing my book shelf as part of "spring cleaning" brought a few treasures in my gay pulp paperback collection to the forefront. These two just happen to have a decidedly musical bent. First up, Brawny by Chris Milano.Not to be confused with the paper towel of the same name, Brawny is the rare well-designed cover featuring a stunning photo of a young blonde guitarist and great typography. This 1975 page turner begins with this introduction: "A young man sat in the second row of the deserted theater staring up at Story (a character's name!) from the shadows...There was a glow in his lean good looks, tawny as if he had come in from the west. Yet he seemed too lean for the strength of his looks. He had large biceps without the knottiness of a weightlifter, and they filled his red pullover which was frayed around the edges of the short sleeves. A couple of threads hung from the waistband and gave emphasis to the bulge of his tight cords. Every worn furrow of the corduroy seemed to call attetion to the crotch..." Brawny indeed. Readers might want to keep a roll of Brawny handy... just in case. Wonder if Amazon carries it?
Music Camp by Andrew Martin was obviously the inspiration for the recent Disney Channel film, CAMP ROCK. From 1990, this novel features chapters called "Sharing a Meal," "Strategy Conference," "Plucked and Blown" and the obvious "Standing Ovation". I love that the cover features a mortice exclaiming "ALL-NEW!" so readers won't get it mixed up with other novels they may have about music camp. How thoughtful!

1 comment:

Writer said...

I love horrible pulp covers!