Friday, February 22, 2013

Paperback 612: Martinis, Manhattans or Me? / Barbara O'Brien (Zebra 0013)

Paperback 612: Zebra Books 8468-0013 (PBO, 1974)

Title: Martinis, Manhattans or Me? 
Author: Barbara O'Brien
Cover artist: Boobshot McGee [photo cover]

Yours for: $75

Zebra0013

Best things about this cover:
  • Um, I'm gonna have to try them all and see...
  • What's truly awesome about this cover is how normal-pretty she is. She's not all fakely sexed-up, the way you might expect on a cover of this nature. Cleavage, sure, but that's practically modest by today's standards. 
  • I really want to hear what's being said in that background conversation between Cap'n Blue Tracksuit and Missy Surprised Drunkface.
  • Font! Those dots on the Is are the best I-dots ever—martini-shaped!
  • This book is apparently pretty rare. It's also in wicked good condition. Hence the $$$ it would take it to pry it from my hands.

Zebra0013bc

Best things about this back cover.
  • I'm pretty sure I will guess, and I'm pretty sure I'll at least be in the ballpark.
  • Prince should write a song called "Lady Bartender."
  • You can tell "how much man you're getting" by the drink he orders??? Is this on the Zima-WhiskeyNeat scale?
  • If this website ever hosts some kind of Mid-Century Paperback Insanity-type party, I promise to make drinks from this book.
  • I opened to a random page just now and the first line I saw was "Sounds kind of groovy." Also, quick thumbing through revealed words such as "sumbitch" and phrases such as "withdrew his cock," so ... literati, take note.

Page 125~ (much better than 123, trust me)

Karen was a really bigger-than-life Great Fuck. Another reason for her immense popularity with customers was her agreeable attitude toward sex. Karen simply adored going to bed. She dug fucking. She liked it, enjoyed, desired, and gave her single-minded concentration to the act of fucking.

"She was indifferent to many things; fucking was not one of them. No fuck-hater, she. Etc."

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

4 comments:

Statistics Guy said...

So the official breakdown of non-fuck-haters by sex is now:

Men: 99.99983%
Women: 100*(Karen/(all the women except Karen) = 0.000000001%


Can this be correct?

Katie said...

Statistics Guy, I think you might have some sampling bias there.

Statistics Guy said...

@Katie - Ok, you might have me there. The Women line might correctly be 100*(Karen / (all the women I've been with)) = 100*(1/3) = 33.333%.

On a separate note, I'm retiring from statistics at the age of 58. I have an interest in photography - Any chance that Boobshot McGee is taking on aged apprentices? I've tried googling him, but the sites returned, while extremely interesting, don't have contact info. We do, however, seem to have parallel interests. Parallel, but that meet in the middle in a soft, cushiony mounds.

Marla said...

I think that martini-dotted font is a variation of Loose New Roman, an abominable typestyle that was popular in that era. It's hideous, but when you need something like it, it's perfect.