The best in erotic literature

[ameliajax]

What books are your favorites in erotic literature?

Anais Nin?

Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer?

Anne Rice's Beaty series?

E L James Fifty Shade of Grey? (please, no one vote for this one)

What books have you read that really turn you on AND are well written?

 

[KoPilot]

The ones I've had to sit down and write myself.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I loved the Sleeping Beauty series, I loved the over-the top ridiculousness of them. I would laugh like a loon while I slid off my chair!

I found Pat Califia, who writes very real BDSM -- you get the impression that these are actual encounters slightly fictionalised-- and some science fiction of the dystopian kind.

Most every other published novel has disappointed me.

I write my own and read fanfiction. Most of that is M/M, for reasons. Here's one of my favorite authors, she practices BDSm herself and she explores a lot of ways that D/s can play out; http://litgal.brinkster.net/

One of the most extraordinary stories I've read recently is this one; Tell Me To Stop based on some guys from some band that I have no idea who it is actually-- M/m, slow burn and would read absolutely well if it were written as hetero, IMO.

I need the queer viewpoint, though. And so, I read things like this;
http://archiveofourown.org/works/522006

which is based on a very elaborate canon of hermaphroditic aliens and human interaction that I don't even feel like discribing atm, but if it strikes anyone's fancy There's a lot to explore

 

[Primalex]

Josephine Mutzenbacher – The Life Story of a Viennese Whore, as Told by Herself

The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt


There is nothing better if you are talking about literature.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Marguerite Duras, The Lover is a favorite.
The White Hotel by DM Thomas and The Honeymoon by Knut Faldbakken are other examples.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

I used to (up into my 40s, when internet porn started becoming popular) *lurve* books that gave me a boner and/or mental fodder to get off. However, most of that stuff has lost its attraction, due to repetition and the competition from visual media to give me a boner and/or fodder to get off. I don't have to work as hard to get the pictures in my mind, so I can focus more on the sensations I'm experiencing, whether it's by myself or with my partner. (Note: Reading a strokebook and trying to get off with another person is ... not easy.)

However.... in the long run, I have to agree with KP - now the ones that have the most immediate physical and emotional effect on me are those I write myself, when at least rooted in personal experience rather than just imagination of what I'd like (to have) happen(ed), and those written by other individuals with whom I have at least an intellectual relationship, again at least rooted in personal experience. And, to tell the truth, one can usually tell if it's fantasy or based on something that actually happened. It has a different flavor. IMNSHO, a better flavor.

 

[midwestyankee]

I'm a guy. Erotica doesn't need to be well written to give me a stiffy. It needs to be well read to keep me going back to the same writer or to reread the same book.

Of the writers I've enjoyed, I think that Nin's Delta of Venus is probably the piece to which I've returned the most. I read a couple hundred cheap paperbacks while I was in college and in the following few years. None of them deserved a second look.

 

[visioneer]

The Image (L'Image in French) by Jean de Berg. It's a simple but strong BDSM - emphasis on the SM - story told in an unpretentious manner. The Image is contemporary to Story of O but far outshines the latter.

Dark Dance by Tanith Lee. Gothic horror tinged with erotica.

 

[KoPilot]

However.... in the long run, I have to agree with KP - now the ones that have the most immediate physical and emotional effect on me are those I write myself, when at least rooted in personal experience rather than just imagination of what I'd like (to have) happen(ed), and those written by other individuals with whom I have at least an intellectual relationship, again at least rooted in personal experience. And, to tell the truth, one can usually tell if it's fantasy or based on something that actually happened. It has a different flavor. IMNSHO, a better flavor.[/COLOR]

It's kind of a double-edged sword for me; there are practically no writers that come close to giving me what I really crave, so then that leaves me to do it myself. Unfortunately, I get off more on context than the penis-going-into-the-vagina, so I have no interest in writing PWPs without establishing who everyone is. (Fanfiction cuts this work in half, as I don't have to dedicate entire chapters to explaining why, say, a Megatron/human relationship would be blatant, dangerous M/s.) So this turns the process of itching a scratch into a long, arduous, boner-killing wait that I'm forced to intellectualize myself through. So by the time I'm done, the brain boner is gone and I'm left a bitter husk of a writer.

I don't usually read stuff over again either (making a "stash" useless for me) because the thrill of surprise is lost, and not knowing what's coming next, which is a sort of brutal helplessness on its own, is something I like in a big way. Years have to pass by before I even entertain the idea of reading something again.

/bitter husk of a writer

 

[Stella_Omega]

<threadjack>

Fanfiction cuts this work in half, as I don't have to dedicate entire chapters to explaining why...

Exactly. And the people who believe that fanfic writers are lazy never take into account the way that using already-understood worlds and chracters can free the storyteller up to write deeper nuance than is otherwise possible.

</threadjack>

 

[MichaelWest]

The Image (L'Image in French) by Jean de Berg.

I admit to being a Story of O fan, so your description of this work interests me. Can you recommend the English translation? Or should I get one of my friends to read it in French and say it in English for me?

 

[FurryFury]

I run two BDSM BOTM clubs one here in the cafe and one on Fetlife. By far my fav books have been The Kushiel Series by Jacqueline Carey. There isn't that much sex or kink in them but epic story lines and multilayer-ed characters plus being sex and kink positive are what makes me so happy.

I didn't like the first Beauty book, couldn't finish the Story of O and the one Califia novel I read Doc and Fluff did little to nothing for me. It was gritty and dirty and nothing said love to me, that's not MY kink.

I've not tried, Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer or E L James Fifty Shades of Grey, the latter of which I'm absolutely sick of hearing about. LOL

 

[Sweetdaisymae]

There are one or two on Lit that are well written and enjoyable.
Tails From Subspace is one of my personal favourites. It is a pity the author has only submitted a couple of works

 

[visioneer]

I admit to being a Story of O fan, so your description of this work interests me. Can you recommend the English translation? Or should I get one of my friends to read it in French and say it in English for me?

I have an old Grove Press edition I bought in a second hand book store and a newer paperback copy I bought in Denmark - same translation. I don't know if it is still in print. I think the translation is fine, although I am sure nuances are lost as with all translations. It may be of interest that The Image was made into a movie in the 70s. It may be hard to find, but was quite faithful to the book.

 

[sarel101]

There are one or two on Lit that are well written and enjoyable.
Tails From Subspace is one of my personal favourites. It is a pity the author has only submitted a couple of works

Can you post a link?

 

[MichaelWest]

It may be of interest that The Image was made into a movie in the 70s. It may be hard to find, but was quite faithful to the book.

Thank you! I found both on Amazon, the paperback is used at around $30. I wanted to know a little about it before ordering. The movie has good reviews it appears.

 

[MichaelWest]

The Kushiel Series by Jacqueline Carey. There isn't that much sex or kink in them but epic story lines and multilayer-ed characters plus being sex and kink positive are what makes me so happy.

I've not tried, Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer or E L James Fifty Shades of Grey, the latter of which I'm absolutely sick of hearing about. LOL

I want to read the Kushiel book from the Wikipedia description alone, seems a rich universe. And I just bought Tropic of Cancer from my Library Book Sale today. I can recommend the Fifty Shades of Chicken book. Its delicious.

 

[FurryFury]

Totally agree. That's my all time fav story at Lit and one I revisit for stroke purposes sometimes. It's a richer, longer story than most too.

There are one or two on Lit that are well written and enjoyable.
Tails From Subspace is one of my personal favourites. It is a pity the author has only submitted a couple of works

 

[VWSinger]

The Image (L'Image in French) by Jean de Berg. It's a simple but strong BDSM - emphasis on the SM - story told in an unpretentious manner. The Image is contemporary to Story of O but far outshines the latter.

One of my favourites too. I have a paperback copy that includes images from the film.

 

[marieR19]

I second Stella, Pat Califia writes some really awesome stuff. Specifically 'Macho Sluts', my absolute favorite erotic/adult/etc book. In erotica anthologies or short-story collections there are usually at least a few stories within the book that I just don't care for, but I swear when I read that book for the first time, I felt like it just got better and better with each story.

 

[GreenEyeVixen]

Great Thread Discussion

Thanks for the input from a newbie perspective. Looks like some interesting books from what I've read already on Amazon. Will be looking to buy a couple or go to the library.

Thanks again.

 

[Netzach]

Mr. Benson. The plot is silly as fuck, but the dynamics are as hot today as they were then.

I love Pat Califia, I love Nin, I love Bataille, but the more literary it gets the less I actually get off on it. I need my smut about 30 percent pornier than a lot of erotic literary fiction.

Online, Trilby Else (prob a dude) writes F/f Mind Control fic which is pretty smokin' hot and Vicky Tern ( prob a dude) writes female transformation fic which isn't mindnumbingly bad.

 

[graceanne]

I can't think of any erotic literature that I would say is the best. There are some I'd say is good, though. I also enjoy the Kushiel series. Um, I got bored of the Beauty series halfway through, and couldn't bring myself to bother with the sequels. Couldn't finish the story of O, didn't like ... Gordon? I think it was called Gordon. As for erotica that I enjoy, although I wouldn't necessarily call it literature, I enjoy Christine Feehan, Lora Leigh, Jade Black, Kresley Cole, Laurell K Hamilton, etc.

 

[ameliajax]

So many interesting recommendations, thanks!

Stella, I feel the same way about you do re: the Beauty series. I laugh at the ridiculousness, then cringe, then find myself more than a bit turned on.

I've heard a lot about the Kushiel series, I'll have to check it out. Sometimes the descriptions and reviews are so overwrought, it makes you not want to read it, though?

And what about the Laurel Hamilton? Is that the Vampire Hunter series? It is well written?

 

[GreenEyeVixen]

So I thought I would go by the library today in small town USA to see if they had any books. Well I was surprised. I got the first of the Sleeping Beauty series and hopefully will like it. I should know soon enough.