Rebecca Baumann
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arkhamlibrarian.bsky.social
Rebecca Baumann
@arkhamlibrarian.bsky.social
rare book librarian, book junkie, devotee of the weird, angry queer, friend to all monsters, nonbinary freak.
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
The Surprising Adventures of Bigenio, an Hermaphrodite, Or Human Being, Endowed with the Propensities of Both Sexes. @ Lilly Library

🙏 to @arkhamlibrarian.bsky.social for pulling this & other treasures for my class to see
February 8, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Always happy to share this historical hottie.
Important fact I learned today from @arkhamlibrarian.bsky.social… The author of the first publication in English about birth control by a physician (The Fruits of Philosophy, or the Private Companion of Young Married People, 1832), Charles Knowlton, was SMOLDERINGLY good looking
February 6, 2026 at 12:08 AM
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BLACK HORROR MONTH ~ Day 3: T.K. CARTER
Today I had to tribute another great actor from one of my favorite movies, @thehorrormaster.bsky.social THE THING (1982), who sadly passed away last month. T.K.'s rollerskating chef Nauls to the tune of SUPERSTITION was 👨🏾‍🍳👌🏾 #BlackHorrorMonth #BlackHistoryMonth
February 4, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Anyone up for a neo-Victorian porn marathon? Dug these out while prepping for a class on Victorian sexuality today as examples of how we retrospectively view the time period and how it can be hard to untangle their kinks from ours.
February 5, 2026 at 3:40 PM
At some point years ago I had to tell myself that I could collect books or toy monsters but not both. Obviously I chose books. But occasionally I backslide.
February 4, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
[Robert McGinniss was BOTD a century ago, to paint movie posters and a million paperback covers. Also, barn cats. He lived to be 99, and kept working.]
February 3, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Two phenomenal moments of queer angst from two of my favorite movies of all time, Boogie Nights & Velvet Goldmine. They introduced 90s teen me to the glam, the sex, the music, the filth, the smut of the 1970s & shaped all my future interests. Both currently on the Criterion Channel’s 90s do the 70s
January 31, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Books about “weird” women are practically a genre unto themselves these days but even though I gobble them up, I’m often left empty because the “shocking” or “weird” behavior is… not so much to me. But Linda, the woman in love with airplanes in this book—I would die for her. Loved this beyond words.
January 19, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
I'm running a popular romance course at the University of Liverpool... but only if enough people sign up!

Come and join us!

www.liverpool.ac.uk/continuing-e...
January 13, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
your very existence is troubling, enraging, and distracting as hell for some of the shittiest people on earth so no, i’m afraid you may not kill yourself rn
January 11, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
become ungovernable
January 11, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
In this in-depth interview Billie Jean Sweeney — a former editor at The New York Times — details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, why this was directed from the very top, how some staff pushed back and the immense damage done by the NYT legitimizing bigotry.
'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry
In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directe...
transnews.network
January 1, 2026 at 6:32 PM
I’ve been a Hard Case Crime fan since day one but never got around to reading these when they were originally published 2006-8. Two writers at the top of their game clearly having a blast together is a joy to read. Utterly filthy, dark, disturbing and fookin’ hilarious.
December 31, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Fritz Leiber with his wife Jonquil (Johnny) Stephens Leiber, the inspiration for his greatest works, Conjure Wife and (after her death) Our Lady of Darkness. A poet and weird fiction fan in her own right. Bonus cat doodles by Fritz from the Lilly Library’s Leiber archive. 🖤
December 24, 2025 at 5:53 PM
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December 23, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Do I watch By Dawn’s Early Light, an otherwise boring episode, just to see Columbo in his slutty little undershirt? Yes, I do.
December 23, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
2025 Book Censorship Wrapped: Trends, Challenges, & Successes Over The Year.

Dive into this groundbreaking collaborative piece from @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social, @penamerica.bsky.social, @bookriot.bsky.social, @txfreedomread.bsky.social, and @flfreedomread.bsky.social

bookriot.com/book-censors...
2025 Book Censorship Wrapped: Trends, Challenges, and Successes Over The Year
What were the book censorship trends in 2025? Here are the highs and lows, as identified by five organizations doing the work.
bookriot.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
I posted two (TWO!) new blog-galleries. The first is for Sergio "Ser" Leone, an artist who created a high percentage of the covers for one of my fave cheese-sleaze publishers... Kozy Books!
www.paultobin.net/blog-2-1/ser...
Sergio “Ser” Leone — Paul Tobin
Well, gonna admit to a little frustration, here. I haven’t really been able to find anything as far as a bio for this Sergio Leone. And very little original art as well. This despite creating a ...
www.paultobin.net
December 18, 2025 at 5:34 PM
No way I can express my love and appreciation of David Gerrold’s work. The man invented Tribbles. He invented the Sleestaks. He wrote one of the best (sadly unfinished) sf epic series of all time (Chtorr). He was a queer voice in sf whose queerest stories were often butchered, censored, or unfilmed.
December 18, 2025 at 5:12 PM
I love book history and book historians so much. We get to ask the weirdest questions.
I have a weird question for the #bird people on here. Do you think someone could tell that a book was pooped on specifically by a sparrowhawk (or perhaps hawks generally) just from the feces? I'm looking at a 16th c. case where witnesses claim books were pooped on specifically by sparrowhawks!
December 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM
A good mail day for Nympho Librarian. I am dying to finally see a proper restoration of Behind the Green Door, and I have long been trying to track down a copy of this zine that includes an article by legendary pulp collector B. Astrid Daley about the elusive pulp cover artist Doug Weaver.
December 17, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
RIP John Carey. This book changed my life, and I wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t true. 🙏
December 12, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann
I was asked yesterday if I thought that English might benefit from a governing academy, like French, and noted that a language that, to date, supports dreamed and dreamt, dove and dived, and pleaded and pled, is not a language you can govern.

(And I wouldn't want to.)
December 11, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Massive (but typical) failure of the publishing industry to recognize the demand for queer books and for PHYSICAL PRINT COPIES of books. #BookHistoryLive
NEW: It’s not just readers that suffer due to Harlequin’s mismanagement of the' Heated Rivalry' books. Reid misses out on royalties, & booksellers miss out on commissions—which is especially painful during the holiday season when many small businesses make the bulk of their money.
was ‘heated rivalry’ failed by its publisher?
everyone's devouring the new TV series, so why can't people buy a copy of the book the show is based on?
www.thefrankiedlc.news
December 11, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Baumann