Yesterday, this was the number one book at the bestseller list of Apple's book store: Blonde and Wet, The Complete Story, followed by Big Sis, both erotic short stories written by English auteur Carl East. Well, not anymore.
Apple is being accused of another case of puritanical censorship after allegedly taking out three adult-oriented books out of their bestseller list today. The top two books were written by Carl East, a 54-year-old writer responsible for seventy similar titles. The fifth position was occupied by Six Sexy Stories by Ginger Starr. According to the description, it contains "six ultra-erotic short stories for your reading pleasure! M/F, F/F, group scenes and light role play. All characters are 18+ and consenting adults. Not for readers under 18."
This was the list yesterday:
1. Blonde and Wet, Carl East
2. Big Sis, Carl East
3. The Perfect Murder, Peter James
4. iPad Survival Guide, Toly K
5. Six Sexy Stories, Ginger Starr
And this is the list today:
1.The Perfect Murder, Peter James
2. iPad Survival Guide, Toly K
3. My S**t Life So Far, Frankie Boyle
4. S**t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern
5. The Third Man, Peter Mandelson
Given Apple's obsession with maintaining a Disney-like, family-oriented image, it's not surprising that these three books simultaneously disappeared from the top list, even while they haven't been eliminated from the book store yet.
In the past, Apple's censorship efforts have gone as far as threatening to eliminate iOS-based mainstream publications if mature-oriented editorial content were not censored. Publishers complied, but not before publicly protesting about it. Apple also censored James Joyce's Ulysses graphic novel adaptation, only correcting their actions after the public uproar.
Most recently, Steve Jobs said to Gawker's Ryan Tate that he wanted to offer a platform free of porn. I wonder if he has read the first few pages of Mr. East's work:
How much longer this literary masterpiece will last in the store now, nobody knows. From past experience, it may disappear soon. [Daily Mail]