Last night I dreamed...

[rachelmanija]

...that a fantasy novel by Jay Williams had just been reprinted and I could carry it in my bookshop. (In reality, Williams wrote the Danny Dunn books and a wonderful, out of print children's novel, The Hero From Otherwhere. The book in my dream does not exist.)

Thrilled, I rushed to order it, as I remembered loving it when I was a kid. It was about a thirteen-year-old girl and a twenty-year-old man who become penpals, then travel to a fantasy world together. As that premise sounds potentially a bit sketchy, I decided to re-read it so I could confidently say, "I know what it sounds like, but it's a beautiful story of friendship and absolutely nothing sexual or romantic happens between them."

I settled in for the re-read. Here's the first sentence of chapter two:

Reading each other's letters, they both had plenty of orgasms.

Comments

[james]

Oh sure, that book sounds totally fine! ;-) *looks askance at your subconscious*

[rachelmanija]

IIRC the phrase "plenty of orgasms" was a favorite of an ESL erotica writer who was briefly on Amazon with stories like "The Porn Dias."

[james]

I've been following a lady on instagrm, who reads aloud passages from porn books (mostly written by men, I believe) that are stupid, insane, anatomically impossible, so on. It's hysterical. (It's also horrifying to know these phrases got approved by an editor.)

[osprey_archer]

DYING. What a book for your dream self to make up!

[florianschild]

That is hilarious! Good thing your dream-self checked first.

[rydra_wong]

I love that your anxiety dream is now "I ordered a beloved book to stock in the bookshop but it had been visited by the Suck Fairy since I last read it."

[rachelmanija]

Definitely shows where my head is at.

[ermingarden]

Oh my god I was NOT expecting that, that’s hysterical! What a…treat(?)…from your subconscious.

[pauraque]

Wheezing with laughter!

[luzula]

Well, depending on when the book was written, "orgasm" could also formerly mean "violent excitement; rage, fury; an outburst of excitement or rage" according to the OED...

[mildred_of_midgard]

I'm having fond memories of our discussion of the history and etymology of "ejaculate"!

[luzula]

Ha, yes!

[ethelmay]

The Heir of Redclyffe goes on and on about intercourse!

"Mamma said to Charlie how beautifully she did behave, and he too,—never attempting any intercourse."

"Mrs. Edmonstone, as mildly as she could, urged on him that such intercourse could bring him little satisfaction, and might be very inconvenient..."

[owlectomy]

When I was in library school, we had to learn about "management by intercourse" when we were learning about the different management styles. (It is a management style that focuses on reciprocity, mutuality, and communication.) We giggled our way through it.

Eventually, the people who developed "management by intercourse" started calling it "management by interaction," which is less memorable.

[minoanmiss]

giggles helplessly

[cyphomandra]

As a child I loved Jay Williams’ The Time of the Kraken!

….maybe I should just check my copy for stray orgasms :D

[sartorias]

!!!

[lokifan]

It was about a thirteen-year-old girl and a twenty-year-old man who become penpals, then travel to a fantasy world together

My brain's going like 'ah, kinda reminiscent of Fire and Hemlock - '

Reading each other's letters, they both had plenty of orgasms.

'...never mind.'

[ethelmay]

I mean, if you're really into typoes...

[ethelmay]

...but there was "the silken skin of his back"!

[daidoji_gisei]

Exactly how much pepperoni pizza did you eat last night?

[silverflight8]

Actual lol. Probably was that sentence because you were so worried about it!

[sushiflop]

Excellent comedic timing from your brain.