It may seem an odd subject to want to amass titles, but for some, the quirkiness and oddities that circus sideshows and carnivals provide are fascinating subjects. I began to indulge in collecting any mystery that had a smidgen of sideshow or carny theme, and have progressed to purchasing non crime fiction too. Sideshows are considered politically incorrect in this day and age. People think that displaying individuals with physical deformities is demeaning and exploitive. Perhaps it is, for some. But for many of the performers of yesteryear who graced the tents and circus midways, the money and notoriety was a welcome thing, the alternative to being shut away in some institution or hidden in the attic of a family home.
