Ep 7 – Dashiell Hammett and the Hard-Boiled Paperback
Show Notes Although Dashiell Hammett is a major influence in mystery fiction, his novels and stories (with the sole exception of The Maltese Falcon) are often left unread. It’s a shame because they all hold up well even in 2022. I urge you to get one of Hammett’s paperback novels and just sit down and
Ep 6 – Sexy Sleaze Paperbacks and Orie Hitt
We discuss the history of this unique paperback genre, how the books were written and distributed, and the people who read them (primarily men). The era (excuse the pun) “peaked” in the 1960s when new readers and marketplaces emerged (the adult bookstore). Even established authors like Robert Silverberg and Harlan Ellison wrote (using pseudonyms) these
Ep 5 – Gold Medal Paperbacks
This week we’ll be talking about Gold Medal Paperbacks. Founded in 1950 by Fawcett Publications, this company was the first successful publisher of paperback originals. That means they didn’t reprint already published hardback books which every other paperback publisher did, but original works of fiction. And they were incredibly successful. We begin the show however
Ep 4 – The Armed Services Paperback
In this episode, we look at the history of the Armed Service Edition (ASE) paperbacks made specifically for American soldiers fighting in World War II. The background of America’s response to Nazi book burnings, the formation of various groups to provide soldiers with reading material, and the final creation of the group that would select, edit,
Ep 3 – Raymond Chandler and The Big Sleep
Episode 3 of the Paperback Show features a discussion of the novels of Raymond Chandler with bookseller and audio-book producer, Richard Brewer. We focus, in particular, on Chandler’s classic – The Big Sleep. It was a lengthy conversation so we released a condensed version of the show for our regular podcast. We are making the
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