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Tom Ripley

(4,945 posts)

82. There are several theories as too what later happened with Caldwell:

Thu Jul 26, 2012, 11:47 PM

Jul 2012

he became "too successful" (his books were massive sellers in the then new paperback market)
he wrote himself out
he drank his talent away
his work suffered when he started writing more about the southern landed gentry
critics and academics were more comfortable with Faulkner, Welty, Tate, etc...
I don't know...
but his early novels and short stories are some of the finest writing ever produced.

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CONFESS!!! First 'naughty' book you ever read [View all] LynneSin Jul 2012 OP

I was in 2nd grade when I found my dad's stash of porn.... Scuba Jul 2012 #1

Psychopathia Sexualis Baitball Blogger Jul 2012 #2

Probably 8 years old Xyzse Jul 2012 #3

"Referencing the rooster"? nolabear Jul 2012 #9

Why thank you. Xyzse Jul 2012 #11

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) MicaelS Jul 2012 #4

Just tell people it was the 1999 version you read LynneSin Jul 2012 #5

But that would mean .. MicaelS Jul 2012 #6

You could say you were a political prodigy.... LynneSin Jul 2012 #13

Absolutely... MicaelS Jul 2012 #18

Me, too. LWolf Jul 2012 #71

Something Harold Robbins, I'm sure! pink-o Jul 2012 #7

I forgot about 'Goodbye Jeannette' LynneSin Jul 2012 #10

That is so cool! Tom Ripley Jul 2012 #84

I actually found a copy of The Story of O in a ditch while walking home from school. nolabear Jul 2012 #8

Oh wow Xyzse Jul 2012 #35

79 Park Avenue. Iggo Jul 2012 #12

Probably Dr. No or Thunderball. hifiguy Jul 2012 #14

Penthouse Letters Taverner Jul 2012 #15

I was going to say "Penthouse Forum" OmahaBlueDog Jul 2012 #27

Lady Chatterly's Lover Bertha Venation Jul 2012 #16

Totally forgot about my grandmother's 'The Love Machine' LynneSin Jul 2012 #17

Me too. Think I was 9 or 10 when I read it. Had to have a dictionary handy. sinkingfeeling Jul 2012 #30

Me too, also. RebelOne Jul 2012 #34

Yup. Just started high school when I got my sweaty little paws on that one. sarge43 Jul 2012 #69

Flowers in the Attic. Brickbat Jul 2012 #19

I read that in 8th grade but never thought it of 'naughty' LynneSin Jul 2012 #21

Does "Summer of 42" count? Gidney N Cloyd Jul 2012 #20

: ohiosmith Jul 2012 #22

Yep yep yep solara Jul 2012 #26

Bingo--that's the one panader0 Jul 2012 #28

The Harrad Experiment bluedigger Jul 2012 #23

Nudist magazines kwassa Jul 2012 #24

Actually, I've never read a "naughty book"... Denninmi Jul 2012 #25

I think you might have had Hustler. Playboy was always pretty tame. nolabear Jul 2012 #29

My God, I'm practically dead. Denninmi Jul 2012 #41

*whew!* Good to know I'm not despoiling America's youth! nolabear Jul 2012 #56

"The Happy Hooker" ismnotwasm Jul 2012 #31

The Bible. Sodomy, incest, bestality. It's got everything covered. Kaleva Jul 2012 #32

Fourteen, I think, and the book was pipi_k Jul 2012 #33

“The Washington Fringe Benefit” Va Lefty Jul 2012 #36

I actually still have that on my bookshelf Tom Ripley Jul 2012 #83

"Clan of the Cave Bear", while babysitting. 9th grade. GreenPartyVoter Jul 2012 #37

"A Stone For Danny Fischer."....Whew..n/t monmouth Jul 2012 #38

Lady Chatterley's Lover In_The_Wind Jul 2012 #39

The Happy Hooker by Xaviera Hollander. RiffRandell Jul 2012 #40

My first too. n/t Inspired Jul 2012 #72

Peyton Place trof Jul 2012 #42

That was mine, too. femmocrat Jul 2012 #58

It was passed around at school. The 'good' parts were dog-eared. trof Jul 2012 #62

In my day, it was "The Exorcist" and "The Godfather" passed around with the "good" parts dog-eared. Tom Ripley Jul 2012 #85

The Meese Commission Report on Pornography, Vol. 2 jberryhill Jul 2012 #43

I read Valley of the Dolls in the summer of 68. kcass1954 Jul 2012 #44

Portnoy's Complaint grntuscarora Jul 2012 #45

I inherited MiddleFingerMomTom's bedroom when he went off to college and one day... MiddleFingerMom Jul 2012 #46

Tijuana "Bibles" hunter Jul 2012 #48

I'll be in my bunkbed. MiddleFingerMom Jul 2012 #51

Oh dear...I'm about to waste an entire afternoon. nolabear Jul 2012 #60

I remember finding my dad's "Archie" Tijuana Bible Tom Ripley Jul 2012 #86

It was some Judy Blume book, I am sure. alarimer Jul 2012 #47

An issue of Hustler. HopeHoops Jul 2012 #49

Well, my dad kept his "Playboys" pretty openly available kimi Jul 2012 #50

God's Little Acre. zeemike Jul 2012 #52

It was a surprisingly good movie too sharp_stick Jul 2012 #67

I never saw the movie. zeemike Jul 2012 #68

Turner Classic Movies has been showing it sharp_stick Jul 2012 #70

When I was a kid, my parents had all the Caldwell paperbacks with the lurid covers Tom Ripley Jul 2012 #74

I sure agree that he was a great writer. zeemike Jul 2012 #79

There are several theories as too what later happened with Caldwell: Tom Ripley Jul 2012 #82

I did not know that about Caldwell zeemike Jul 2012 #87

Honey. by Lenny Bruces gf wife whatever she was. alphafemale Jul 2012 #53

25th anniversary Playboy. GaYellowDawg Jul 2012 #54

The unusual childhood of Hunter. I should write a book. hunter Jul 2012 #55

Can't remember for sure. Either "The Perfumed Garden" or "The Story of O" dimbear Jul 2012 #57

Love is a Dog from Hell iconoclastic cat Jul 2012 #59

"Perfumed and Powdered." Still Blue in PDX Jul 2012 #61

A James Bond book. greatauntoftriplets Jul 2012 #63

Of course, I knew where both the old man and my older brother kept their stashes of Penthouse... TheMightyFavog Jul 2012 #64

I don't remember exactly what they were called. texanwitch Jul 2012 #65

Epic of Gilgamesh One_Life_To_Give Jul 2012 #66

Going to date myself here, but I believe it was called Candy. I can see the pink and white striped likesmountains 52 Jul 2012 #73

Naughty books Polly Hennessey Jul 2012 #75

i was really young, barbtries Jul 2012 #76

Probably by Lovelace's standard JustAnotherGen Jul 2012 #77

'Venus In Lace' lastlib Jul 2012 #78

James Bond films. linux80386 Jul 2012 #80

Some titty magazine. HopeHoops Jul 2012 #81

Fear of Flying by Erica Jong annonymous Jul 2012 #88

Get outta my fucking head! Odin2005 Jul 2012 #89

If we're talking books (vs. magazines) it must have been one by Blakely St. James deutsey Jul 2012 #90

Fun with Dick and Jane Lint Head Jul 2012 #91