Shelly
“Us” is me. I’m Shelly. Books are my passion. I’ve always been a reader. In 2004 I bought the domain name ShellysBookstore.com to support my growing business selling books (mostly from my personal collection) on Half.com and on Amazon.com. Shelly’s eventually evolved into an eBay business when eBay absorbed Half.com. I started to sell a lot of other things besides books so I established a DBA name and an eBay store for that side of the business. The Shelly’s name and site remained but it was really just a static information site that trolled for eBay consignment customers…until now.
Fastforward a year or so from 2004 to my straight marriage dissolving amicably because, hello, I’m gay. I jumped through some job and love life hoops for a while but I settled down with a wonderful woman a couple of years ago. We were married in Washington D.C. in November of 2010.
With my mind settled and my love life in a fantastic place, it became time to rethink some of my business ventures. I’m still doing eBay but I’ve pretty much stopped taking consignments. I use the DBA name (a holdover from my consignment days), MJ’s Consignments to refer people to my eBay store. It was time for the Shelly’s Bookstore site to become about books. I chose to focus on one area, LGBT books and Gay and Lesbian associated movies and music. Why? Well, it’s both an area I know well and an area where I still have a lot to learn.
This site is a work in progress. It will evolve and grow over time. I’ll read and I’ll share what I’ve read. I invite you to share your thoughts with me.
If you’re an author or a publisher with a book that you would like me to review, please read this post regarding my review requirements first. If your book meets those basic “tests”, please contact me at the email address in the post or via the form below.
Dear Shelly,
What a great service you do by reviewing these books! I just found your review of my book (six months ago). I want to thank you so much. I’m glad you liked it, and yes… even one partner using it can make a lot of difference. (You’re wife might like the cartoons though)— (;-). Also, you can sneak in some questions from the exercises now and again.
Now I’m going to have fun perusing the rest of your site. frances fuchs
Thank you very much for your kind comments!
Shelly, you might want to do more research into the lives of the authors you promote upon your website. Dr. Victoria (Vicky) Whipple was not in her relationship with Martha Cooper as a lesbian. Martha Cooper was married to Charles Tucker and Dr. Whipple was Martha’s bisexual lover as well as Martha and Charles’ boarder. She is not the best doctor to promote on your site. Dr. Victoria Whipple is a one-sided person who acts in a political manor. She has only studied how feminist counsleors heal people while compiling her disertation at NIU . She herself has acted upon the interest of a male family member, who have been convicted for abusing a female child & divorced from his wife upon the grounds of mental cruelty that entails domestic violence, rather than heal her own family members through feminist thought and application. She doesn’t work with past family members well to promote the general well being of her own grandson, Benjamin O. Whipple, but will help shuffle him around so those most interested and capable of taking care of their own son cannot. Yes, I am her son David’s first wife, but I am not disgruntled. I am giving you this information so that you are protected, and calling you to act in an ethical manner to recall Dr. Whipple’s book or to at least fully inform people on what types of authors you are promoting so that they can make a sound decision as to buy books based upon fact and not fiction. Dr. Victoria Whipple is at best like Vanessa Regrave in that she, while not being a lesbian, acts on the behalf on the GLBT community for political reasons and to gain noterity. Perhaps, when I complete my book “Justice Began in the Spring,” you will have the complete history of my time trying to heal Dr. Victoria Whipple’s son, David Joseph Whipple.
I absolutely appreciate your input. That said, it is your opinion and, although it’s an informed one, it’s still a one sided viewpoint. Regardless, I’m not promoting Dr. Whipple on the site, per se. Instead, I’ve promoted a book which contains the stories of 24 women who have lost their female life partners and who agreed to be interviewed about that. It’s an important perspective that should be shared.
While I eliminate authors from consideration on this site who spew venom and hatred, I can’t eliminate authors because they’re not liked by this person or by that person, or because they’ve been in jail, or because they’ve been or are now alcoholics or addicted to drugs and so on. We as readers would not be familiar with the works of some of the best authors of our times if publishers chose not to publish books and promoters – like me – chose not to promote them because the author was an alcoholic, for example. Think of the works we wouldn’t have by the likes of Edgar Allen Poe, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Ernest Hemingway, just to name a few.
Am I comparing Dr. Whipple to those literary giants? No, not at all. What I am doing is giving voice to an author with human faults who still has something important to share.
Shelly,
Hello there! What a great site and I just now stumbled on it tonight. Not being a big reader and mostly because of limited time to do it, this is perfect for me. I get the reviews I want/need and in a format that I can understand. Win, win!!
All the best to you and thank you!
Michael
OutMaturity
Thank you so much for visiting. I’m happy that you enjoy the site!
Wow! Shelly, I just found your review of my first book, Blind Leading the Blind, and I’m overwhelmed by your comments. Thanks so much! And, yes, I have two sequels in the works and ideas for a fourth and fifth, one written from the point of view of the blind character.
Thanks again!
Susan
Please let me and my readers know when your 1st sequel is published. I’d love to review it for the site.