Most of the what-to-read-next lists for those who've whipped through Fifty Shades of Grey are unfulfilling. Readers already know about The Story of O, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin and Erica Jong.
Having written an erotic novel that caused some controversy--as much for how it was published as for its story--I've done my share of reading in and about the genre. I believe we read erotica for the same reason we read mystery, horror, romance or literary fiction--because it's exciting and turns on that part of our brain that wants to be turned on.
It's popular to criticize Fifty Shades because it promotes a BDSM relationship and worry that it's going to turn women into spineless slaves. But that's like suggesting Jeffery Deaver novels encourage readers to become sadistic serial killers. Many people read to escape into lives they would never want to live but enjoy visiting. For them, here's a list of some mainstream and not so mainstream erotica.
The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (pen name of Anne Rice). Wonderfully imaginative sexuality and plot, which is one of the things that makes good erotica stand out--it's more than one-handed reading.
Belinda by Anne Rampling (ibid). A highly controversial novel about a 44-year-old painter obsessed with a voluptuous 16-year-old. Highly sensual, it has the author's signature lush writing and tightly woven plot.
100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed by Melissa P. A sexual coming-of-age novel that tells all. First published in Italy where it sold almost a million copies, it's been translated into 30 languages. The author claimed it was based on her own life. True or not, it's hot.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward. If your pleasure runs to vampires, you can't do better than this series. It's as addictive as vampiric lust and longing can get; there are 10 books in the series so you can keep indulging.
Master of the Mountain and the Masters of the Shadowlands series by Cherise Sinclair. My friend Liz, who told me about Fifty Shades about 50 weeks before anyone else had heard of it and who has read more erotica than anyone I know, swears Sinclair's series will more than satisfy any Fifty Shades addict.
The Bride Stripped Bare by Nikki Gemmell. A bored housewife has disappeared and left behind a diary of lessons to help fellow wives avoid the kind of tedious marriage she endured. This book has sex, suspense, psychodrama, anger, tenderness and terror.
Vox by Nicholson Baker. Yes, erotica can be highly literary and still titillating. Baker's sex is all telephonic. This novel is a series of hot and then hotter phone conversations between two strangers.
Endless Love by Scott Spencer. Forget the movie. This is first love and first sex at its most furious and fiery. A beautiful, sexy and heartbreaking book.
Damage by Josephine Hart. What happens when passion overtakes your entire life? This is one of most powerful tales of sexual obsession I've ever read (and re-read). This dark gothic is utterly frightening in its unsettling intensity.
The Harrad Experiment by Robert H. Rimmer. This book sold more than three million copies when it came out in the late 1960s. The experiment takes place at a private college that allows the students to think for themselves and experiment in whatever way they choose. Of course, many of the experiments include sex.
M.J. Rose is the author of a dozen novels, including Lip Service, which was included in Susie Bright's Best American Erotica 2000, and Lying in Bed, chosen as one of the 10 best erotic novels by the Women's Erotic Reading Society.