Erotic E-Books

I just saw a comment somewhere that erotic literature doesn't work so well as an e-book as it does as a paper book. I find the same.

Perhaps it's because I don't really like reading stuff on a screen, except for gaining information. Erotic literature is less about information than about stimulating, feeding and nurturing fantasies, perhaps?

How do people feel about e-erotica?

Never tried it... is it different to the missionary position?

I don't much like reading anything lengthy from the screen, so I usually download and print. Some e-book sites offer file formats that make this straightforward and effective. Others don't, and these I avoid.

Depends on the e-book, I guess. I read a lot on my Kindle and don't notice a difference, but the reason I have a Kindle is that e-ink is easier to read than a backlit screen.

eta: Of course illustrations aren't all that great on a Kindle unless they were originally black and white, so that could be a factor.

As I have never seen a Kindle, how do you hold it, with 2 hands?

Seriously I listen to most of my books now and I have never listened to an e-erotic one? However when there is a bit of "erotica" in one of the books I am listening to, it's kind of embarrassing.

A Kindle is small enough to hold in one hand. Here's picture.

I agree that literary erotica doesn't work as well when read aloud. I think there could be some good erotica for that medium, but I suspect it would have to be written with reading aloud as the primary intent.

This conversation cracks me up as I have often been frustrated by the need to either burn the retinas reading from my screen or spend a fortune on ink and paper for a bed time read. Great naughty undertone bergs47 very funny. You can't go past e-books for a quick download though, with often material that would be very expensive in a books store, where here it is the right price. In Australia it seems that book stores see the word erotica and add 30%. So not fair.

Never tried an e-book or kindle for erotica, though I'm OK with reading online. Never tried an erotic audio book, but I think that could work really well, if done right!

I have several erotic e-books on my kindle. The results are both good and bad. I liked My Mother Taught Me. It worked well on the kindle.

However, another book Arabella, was ruined because the last quarter of the book was part of another book and part a reprint of an earlier portion of Arabella. There was no way to tell before I bought and read it.

Buyer beware.

I think reading ebooks affords more privacy for the reader, especially in the realm of erotica - you can read on an ebook reader without the "Hey, what are you reading?" comment or worrying about what's on the cover! ;)

I love them. The first erotica books I got were ebooks from Ellora's Cave and some other ePublishers. The bookstores around me just didn't carry erotica. So I got used to reading them on the computer. I now have them loaded on my laptop in case I want to read one of my old favorites. I do admit though that it isn't the same as curling up in bed with a nice hardcopy book.

I don't have a Kindle because I have heard that you just have a link to your books and they can delete them. I haven't investigated the truth to that or how it really works since it is too pricey for me at this time.

I also found out about a website called Literotica.com where you read stories for free. They are not professional though. Anyone can submit their stories. Some aren't too bad if you can overlook the misspellings, bad grammar, etc.

Erotic Romance is actually at the forefront of ebooks. Ellora's Cave, Smahain, Loose Id, Amber Quill, Liquid Silver... All very reputable publishers producing high quality work. There are authors making a living writing for these publishers, and amongst the romance community their often creditted with putting out better work than the print publishers. Definitely with putting owork out there print publishers wouldn't take a risk on (quick pimp - my book Tease, coming August 3rd from Loose Id? Would never have been picked up in print!)

ebooks are best read on an ereader, since eink isn't backlit and doesn't hurt your eyes (imagine, if you will, reading on an etch-a-sketch!). eink is black and white, so though the covers look great on the computer they're not as good on an ereader (unless you have a nook, which has a colour LCD screen as well). Kindle is cloud-sourced, so yes, they can remove your books at any time. After they pulled 1984 from a load of devices (because Amazon have no sense of irony) and there was a massive backlash they've relented slightly, and promised not to do it again, but if I was going for an ereader I'd probably go for a Sony, or a nook if they were available in my country. For now, I mostly read on my netbook or my phone.

ddeej56, that is not quite true about ebooks and the Kindle. All Kindle owners have an ebook version they can save on to their computer, portable hard drive or keep on their kindle. Amazon also archives a copy for you in case you don't want to save it at all. And MinaKelly, it was not really that Amazon wanted to delete 1984. It ultimately had no choice. Amazon deleted one ebook from its users -- ironically 1984. The problem was that the publisher of the ebook did not have a license to sell 1984. I believe it was sold for a very low amount, at 2.99. When the estate of Orwell contacted the publisher, a lawsuit was threatened or instituted (I forgot which as it has been some time) and the remedy was to pull the book. Amazon did not have much choice in the matter, they were not the publisher but the means for the publication. Amazon handled it poorly and deleted the book AND then contacted purchasers. It likely should have contacted people first. Amazon offered everyone who purchased it a credit for the amount of the book and people were able to purchase whatever they wanted with the money. Amazon has publicly acknowledged that it should have contacted people before it deleted. But in this situation, it is understandable what happened and customers were not out any money. Anyone who downloaded the book to their computer, likely still has a copy. And if the wireless is turned off on the ereader, Amazon cannot access the ereader. All in all, not a real fear or threat. I know the story has grown into an urban legend though. :) If you prefer, you can google the basic facts and there are quite a few news articles on the topic.

I think there may be a difference between what people are talking about ebooks -- computer v. a dedicated ereader with eink. For me, I never read erotica (really) before I had my Kindle. And reading erotica on my kindle is preferable in my mind. I can buy it immediately, get it immediately, nobody knows what I am reading -- it is a private experience. And reading on a Kindle is not much different in terms of experience than reading with a book.

That stinks about the book being a repeat of one already published, if you purchase an ebook from Amazon you have 7 days to return it. But I don't think other vendors have that policy.

I have though recently that ebooks have helped publish more erotica and "romantica" -- it is lower cost in terms of publishing and people can shop shamelessly.

>13 ReginaR:

" ... and people can shop shamelessly.'

Isn't it a shame, that some people should feel there is shame in admitting that they appreciate one of the most wonderful parts of human nature - the one which finds expression in erotica?

Couldn't agree more, Clifford - that is indeed the real shame of it.

I am not ashamed that I read erotica. My problem is how others may view me when they find out that is what I read. I am currently looking for a job. I was told by our local unemployment office of an incident where an employer withdrew a job offer at the last minute because of the content of the person's Facebook page. Since my own daughter is embarrased by what I read (which is ironic since she used to sell sex toys/products in home parties) I felt that I needed to change my library status to private.

So I agree with you both that it is a shame.

Mesg 16 Why bother??

I guess its solely for your own requirements and saves keeping a speadsheet.

I have all my books in the open shelves of my Library for anyone to see. As you will see (if you care to look), it has a varied selection

In an ideal world yes. But I do the majority of my reading on the train to work and at work. On the train to work I routinely see parents of my kids' friends and work colleagues and clients. I do worry about their impressions of me. Despite me feeling fine about what I read, I know not everyone is as enlightened and I am not ready to have my children's lives and our financial security effected by their impressions.

Although I do read e-books occasionally, I still prefer the tactile pleasure of the 'real' thing (books, that is, although given the topic I suppose the actual acts may trump reading about them). Having said that, I haven't yet tried a dedicated e-reader. As noted above, these devices are certainly more discrete; and they are bound to be easier on the eyes than my backlit monitor. I'd miss all the colours, though - including the creamy shades of the soft yielding pages ... sorry about that.

Anyway, I thought I should mention that one good source of e-book erotica is the current incarnation of the venerable Olympia Press: www.olympiapress.com. They still have Henry Miller's works, as well as the vintage Traveller's Companion and Ophelia titles. There's also material both Victorian and new. The sample extracts are a bit brief, but many are only a dollar, so not much of a gamble. They also have a few freebies to try out.

This thread is very interesting and educational for me as an author of several published erotic ebooks. It's great to gain insight from readers as to how they feel about reading erotica on screen
Basically from what I have read I would say that it appears to come down to the particular individual, some will prefer kindle, iphone or other electronic devices because of the privacy that it affords. Persons nearby will never know what they are reading unlike a paperback with a visible title and picture on the cover. But then there are some readers who much prefer to curl up in bed and enjoy a good erotic read the old fashion way.

My other difficulty with 'erotic' e-books is that they are too often very badly written - and that's quite apart from the twee US habit of rendering 'coming' as 'cumming', and even more badly proof-read, even to the extent of wondering whether whole pages of the original 'published ' book have been omitted.

To be fair, there has always been badly written/proofed erotica - and the low cost of generating an e-book will likely tend to increase the volume of badly written material of all sorts. Still, one can collect all the classics cheaply (and read them discreetly, if need be) in this format. And, as well, you can browse material both new and old to see which you might like to get as a well-bound volume to read in style.

Oh, and being a Canuck, I tend to compromise: using 'come' as a verb (to orgasm) and 'cum' as a noun (the ejaculate, proper).

Privacy Privacy e-books offer what paperback does not. Picture that long plane ride home from a work conference. Missing your mate scent and smell, you read a little smut to get you boiling. E-books allow you to escape into your own sexual fantasy without worrying about the passenger beside or behind you. I don't think there is much difference between listening to digital Ipod music versus listening on your home stereo. I think bottom line it is just preference.

Been looking at other people's collections and when a title has taken my fancy I ceck to see if it savailaable for Kindle -- if so I have it on my device a minute later. No waiting for postal delivery and being asked 'aren't you going to open that' over the breakfast table.

I have so many physical books in the house that I just don'yt want to add to then. Especially books that I don't want to display on shelves for anyone to see.

I love my Kindle :)

Just downloaded
The Way of a Man with a Maid by Anonymous
and
Affection: A memoir of sex, love and intimacy by Krissy Kneen

I haven't gone over to teh Dark Side yet, but when I do, I'm gonna go hit www.gutenberg.org
Just type in "erotic" or "Anonymous" under an Author search.

I was browsing through a magazine recently, and they had an interview with an editor at Harlequin. She said that erotic e-books were so popular (married women being the main audience) that some people thought the "e" in "e-books" stood for erotic!

Now, here's the question: NOOK or Kindle? I've been perusing both B & N and Amazon, and it looks like Amazon has a better selection (of Victorian erotica, anyway) for less. Which do you like?

I recently bought both a Kobo touch and a Kindle (the pre-touch version, as a gift). Both have the same 'e-ink pearl' screen. I'd give the edge to the Kindle, as a device - the Kobo's touch screen is a bit ... touchy, as it were. Also the Kindle's standby screen displays cool bookish graphics, while the Kobo shows the cover of the book currently 'open' - which is fine, until you happen to be in the middle of "Debbie Takes On All Comers", when the whole concept of discretion goes out the window. On the other hand, the Kindle uses a proprietary file format, while the Kobo uses the everybody-else epub (and both can display pdf files).

So it comes down to e-book availability (and price). There are lots of free e-books out there, both public domain and new, although the vintage freebies sometimes have an abundance of typos. EBook-Eros seems to have a wide range, from Harlequin to fetish, lots for free ("Spanking Clarice", anyone?), but I haven't downloaded anything yet. Oh, and I see the previously pimped Olympic Press has Venus in the Country for a buck. I shall check this out and report back ...

I thought this video on erotic books from CNBC would be of interest. A lot of current & basic economic facts about the genre:

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000083734

#9-I think that's a problem with the print book as well. I have the Grove Press edition, and it seems to jump from one book to another right in the middle of a sentence.

I just went over to the Dark Side and got a Sony reader. It's okay. I downloaded Arabella, Venus in the Country, Miriam, and Julie, four of my favorite Grove Press books from http://www.olympiapress.com/catalog/
The experience is different than with a real book. It's colder somehow. Harder to describe. I think it's a little more difficult to lose myself in what's happening. I keep seeing the words. I had the same experience with A Princess of Mars.

>27 groovykinda:, I have a nook and love it. I tried both the Kindle and nook before committing, and the nook was more user-friendly to me. The nook also offers more variety, I think, because it can use too different formats. I mainly wanted one for my travel, since it required an extra bag in order for me to carry the variety I like to have away from home.

The privacy aspect of the e-reader is nice for any genre of book, but holding a print copy of an erotic book is definitely not something I have ever been ashamed to do. I find it fun actually, to see strangers' reactions once they realize what I'm reading! And in public *gasp*

I don't read much, but when I do it's on the iPad. Being married and with kid, I'd prefer not to leave a paper trail.

Got a Kobo and I'm rather liking it. Not only can I download stuff from, say literotica, but I can buy some classic stuff, and edit out the parts I don't want. For example, there's just a few parts in Julie by Anonymous that I want, so I edited those down and made a "best of" ebook.