Oh, peeps.

I had no intention of reading 50 Shades of Grey. But after receiving several e-mails for readers asking ‘Have you read, 50 Shades of Grey?’ and ‘What do you think of 50 Shades of Grey?’ I finally caved. I’ve started reading 50 Shades of Grey. I’m only a hundred pages in, so my full report will have to wait for another post.  For now I will simply say…

Yikes!

No one would have talk me into reading THIS! (www.50shadesmeme.com)

Far be it for me to begrudge anyone the indulgence of literary smut. If 50 Shades makes you happy and horny, that’s rad. Sex and reading are two great tastes that go great together! If you’d like to read more porn, here are some of my personal favourites straight from the night stand!

The Best American Erotica

Every year a new anthology compiles quick and dirty stories from some of the best erotica authors the U.S. has to offer.  The collection is edited by famed sex-positive feminist author Susie Bright, so you know this is some top notch writing. Each collection has about 25 stories which feature everything from vanilla encounters to hard-core kink.

Naughty Spanking Stories: Stories From A-Z

As the title suggest, this collection features twenty-six short stories, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet, all of which center around spanking. If you were aroused by the power dynamics of 50 Shades but think you might appreciate a more…considered perspective on the psychology of the sub/dom relationship, I recommend giving this one a read. Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, a blogger for The Huffington Post and senior editor of Penthouse Variations

Best Bondage Erotica

This is BDSM fiction done right!  Once again this anthology is published annually, features high quality writing and a superstar editor – one Alison Tyler. BBE has all the cuffs, ties, ropes and restraints of 50 Shades with more deftly crafted prose and less lip biting. It also skips all the tedious non-sexy bits and goes straight for the good stuff!

P.S….

I haven’t finished 50 Shades. I don’t practice BDSM. But I know just enough about both to tell you that the former is NOT a good primer on how to negotiate the latter. If you are interested in learning more about bondage, corporal play and  power dynamics, I recommend SM 101: A Realistic Introduction by Jim Wiseman.

This was part of my required reading when I began work at Venus Envy and it taught me a ton. It’s even available as a free PDF download here!