The popularity of Fifty Shades of Gray means that many women are discovering erotic novels for the first time. If you’ve finished the trilogy and are looking for another book to keep the fire burning down below, there are plenty of stories that will stoke the flames and take your literary sexual awakening to a whole new level.
- Sleeping Beauty trilogy by Anne Rice (writing as A.N. Roquelaure) – If you’ve already read this series, you were probably scratching your head in confusion when everyone started going nuts over Fifty Shades. Sure, Fifty Shades is good, but compared to the sexual exploits in this trilogy, Mr. Grey might as well have been an awkward teenager who got to second base with his girlfriend. Every deviant sexual behavior you can ever think of happens in this book, seemingly within the first few paragraphs.
- Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence – Madonna has called this one of her favorite erotic novels, and if the author of SEX thinks it’s hot, then it probably is. This story is the old-timey version of the “stay-at-home wife doing the pool boy” plot line, only it was the lady of the house boinking the groundskeeper. Back in the day, this story was shocking and controversial because the upper class simply didn’t go slumming with the working class, let alone have sex with them, which makes this story even naughtier.
- Spring Fire by Vin Packer – A pulp fiction novel from the 1950s, this is a story of two sorority college girls who have an illicit affair that they need to keep a secret from their sorority sisters. There’s sexual tension, over-the-top, Shatner-like drama and forbidden lesbian sex. Even after all these years, the book that’s credited to have launched the lesbian pulp genre still remains a hot read for today.
- Vox by Nicholson Baker – Vox is about a man and a woman having phone sex and sharing their fantasies with one another. It doesn’t sound like much of a story, but Nicholson Baker has managed to turn it into a sexy and erotic tale about two strangers who find an unexpected emotional connection with each other.
- Delta of Venus by Anais Nin – This collection of short erotic stories reads more like a book of erotic poems. Even if you weren’t familiar with Nin, you’d still know this was written by a woman. As expected, there’s definitely a lot of sex, but what’s unexpected and surprising is the emotion and feeling she’s infused into all of the stories. It tugs at your lady parts and your heartstrings simultaneously.
- Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller – Any book that’s been banned in the US for 27 years because of its sexual content has to be good, right? Set in Paris, Tropic of Cancer is a memoir of a struggling American writer’s life abroad. It’s written in a very unique, rambling kind of style and the sexual exploits and descriptions are raw and real – definitely not for the easily offended. If you’re into that kind of thing, you can get completely lost in this book.
- The Surrender by Toni Bentley – Reading The Surrender is a lot like getting a peek into a woman’s bedroom and having a front row seat to all of her sexual exploits. This book is sexually graphic and definitely not for the faint of heart. If you decide to give it a go, read with an open mind and a lot of, uh… batteries. Ahem.