Somewhere I have read 'Fifty shades of grey' on this forum but didn't get that it is the title of a novel.
Now I happen to discover a book report on a site of Barnes & Noble and see it is an erotic novel.
There are thousands of novels of this genre on the market, sex sells, but my question is: Is it worth reading?
Run-of-the-mill is boring; when erotic or sex, then it must be gripping.
Has someone read the novel?

Thanks for the trouble of finding the link, thar!

Or as my Uncle Bob used to say:

"No sense gettin' all lathered up if you ain't gonna shave!"

Grey ties are flying off the shelves as wives take inspiration from X-rated bondage novel to dress up their men

By Daisy Dumas and Laura Pullman

The erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey has made grey ties a fashion must for men hoping to emulate the sexy entrepreneur who wears them in the book.

It seems that after reading the BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism) novel women in New York have been keen to get their men a silver grey tie – just like the one Christian Grey wears in the book.

The erotic novel, the first in a trilogy, is currently topping the New York Times bestseller list for e-books and is topping Amazon and Barnes & Noble charts.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2113403/Fifty-Shades-Grey-Wives-inspiration-X-rated-bondage-novel-dress-men.html#ixzz1so5KH0tz
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Well, I am not interested.

Must be a lot of unfulfilled women around!

There are two attitudes towards such literature - there are those who condemn it or at least find it wrong and there are those who read it.
My view about this genre is there is run-of-the mill, there is cheap rubbish, and there are gripping things, and some books are famous. But not everything that is often named is really worth reading. One has to find the good things by oneself. I haven't yet seen a guide to erotic literature.

But no matter which attitude one has towards this kind of literature, one should see that sex is one of the mighty drives in life forms nature has implanted to assure the continuation of the species.
And focus on erotic things has been a topic in almost all cultures around the word at all times. In the western world
the Church has managed to turn people off any representation of this kind since the Middle Ages. But without great success.
In Asian cultures the attitude towards erotic things is different and more natural. And, I think, compared with Asian erotic literature, western representations are almost harmless.

But interesting is the question why is there such a run on a book or a series of books such as 50 Shades of Grey. It is not difficult to understand that a genre like fantasy has become such a big market. As to erotic literature is it that people have a lot to catch up on such novels?

Is it to be seen from a psychological point of view, that people's sexual fantasies are not adequately represented in literature and that now there is exactly the novel that complies with these unfulfilled desires? Or is it a hint that people, and especially women, dare to openly turn their interest towards this taboo literature, which you seldom find in a book shop because it is considered deprecated literature? Is it the beginning of a trend that shows that people get a more natural attitude towards this kind of literature?

And another interesting thing - nowadays it is women who write erotic novels. If I'm not mistaken
The Story of O and Emanuelle were written by women-authors. Other erotic novels by women:
Catharine Millet, Deux-milles hommes
Anne Rice, The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy

One should never apologise for using the English language, whichever version. This is the English Language Forum.

The arrival of e-readers has increased sales of erotica. Busy people, especially women, are more inclined to read it, given the privacy the e-reader offers.
Who hasn't seen someone reading a book, and tried to view the title?
Who hasn't read an iffy title, and not tried to stop others spying?

Percival, regarding your comments about sex in novels, are you trying to tell us you're a 19th C. time traveller?
(if you reply, please don't be pedantic - I realise sex has always been in literature, just sometimes to a lesser degree)

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For infomaniacs:
http://theagenda.tvo.org/guest/156431/edward-shorter
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I'm beginning to see Nathaniel Hawthorne's point. This thing is the literary equivalent of the Cosmo, the shooter that became a cocktail because it was on T.V..

I gather that the title describes the style.

Did you ever try Henry Miller, or a French author, Louis Charles Royer, Roger?
For rollicking erotica none could match the writings of Ted Mark (Gottfried) which succeeded in humorous though sensuous descriptions while subtly lampooning the James Bond ilk. There were many subsequent clones but none matched the original.

Ah, I see, I've really missed something.
Google pictures has a coice of book covers.

I have had no interest in reading it and now even less in seeing the movie as it a complete rewrite but openly commercial.

A 98 year old lady who worked on Laurence of Arabia said it needed to be more steamy.