Sunday, May 19, 2013

Erotic and Romantic Fiction

Romance has come a long way since the days of Mills and Boone where women bought the reasonably-sized books and read them and they were written by a handful of women and some men.  They were light romances for the ordinary housewife who would get time to sit down and read just before bed or whenever they had time to read during their busy day.

However, times have changed a lot, and so has the way romance has been written.  It's hot, sexy and very descriptive... and yes, it's meant for not only the ladies but also the men too.  So, when 'Fifty Shades of Grey' was published, it caused plenty of waves in society of its content and why it was published.  But it also brought a lot of people who read erotica out of the woodwork.
But not all erotic writings are the same.  I've read 'Fanny Hill' which was written by a man for men in the late 1800's and it was a book which was banned for many years due to its content.  However, I was given my copy by my Grandmother who had bought it for her husband in 1984 for his birthday; and it was a reprint of the unabridged edition!  And what an amazing piece it was to read!  I never thought my Grandparents would read anything that kinky; but really they are just like anyone else, they were young once too.
But Grandma had a large collection of Mills & Boone books at her house and I was amazed at how many were well-thumbed and that she often re-read a few of them because they were just good, old-fashioned romance stories that were girl-meets-boy kind of thing.  It's probably why she loved 'The Sound of Music' so much, it went along the same lines of Mills & Boone novels.

However, the typical romance novel is now a lot more descriptive.  It highlights how each person is feeling, their every move, clothing removal and everything else in between.  There's a new section of romance called Erotica and it sits alongside the typical romance section in bookstores and is taking off through e-books sales.  It's not because we're all perverts, it's because we're all wired this way.  Romance and erotica has come out of the shadows of being sinful, and become something to be read because it's good for us in a way.  For some of us, we write it - but would never tell anyone because it's something to keep quiet - while it's a big seller

So, do you read romance or erotic books - or are you too shy to say?  Until my next post, happy reading.    

1 comment:

  1. I've read romance novels off and on for years... Some were too cheesy with their fairy tale endings.

    Around 2010, I began reading a few erotica novels and novellas here and there in either their eBook form or the traditional book form. Erotica varies widely in subject matter believe it or not. Some of the erotica I've read is not to my liking at all and others have been more enjoyable to read.

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