Adult & Erotic Books | Books & Reading

Many people today still confuse the art of erotica with the less artistic discipline of pornography, however, these two types of material could not be more different. Books that focus on erotica, whether pictographic or written stories, have always been popular among the general population but it is a common fact that very few high street bookshops sell books or magazines of this nature. This means that if you want to buy such reading material you would normally have to find a specialist bookshop or look on the Internet.

A short history of erotica and adult books
Erotic pictograms have been found as far back as the writings of numerous ancient civilisations including the Egyptians and the Greeks. Egyptian hieroglyphs found in some temples describe love spells and erotic rituals that could be used to attract lovers. Since then, virtually every country and ethnic group has produced books that depict nude figures, erotic pictures and even fantasy stories that have strong sexual undertones.

Possibly the most famous book that can be described as erotica is the Indian book the Karma Sutra. Even though the book is a manual written for young Indians on how to live life, many people only associate it with the images of sexual practices that are contained in one of the seven sections. The diagrams in this particular book are all hand drawn however more recent editions use photography instead. Even so, the book is still widely classed as adult erotica and not pornography.

Some forms of erotic material are now very collectible, and serious collectors will may many thousands of pounds for a single picture or small book. Finding such treasures is a difficult and expensive hobby and often a professional book hunter is needed to find the rarest materials.

Photographic erotica
Erotic photos are normally described as suggestive without being offensive. Many depict nude young ladies lounging on sofas, or standing against walls in poses that are demure and quite reserved. These kinds of pictures date back to the invention of the modern camera and even though the discipline of photography has come along way since then, most erotic photos are still taken in black and white or sepia.

In the early 1900s, erotic pictures used to be printed onto postcards and these were very popular with the young men of the time. Not surprisingly it was illegal to actually post the cards although quite a few people did try! Since then hundreds of books have been published that contain nothing but classic erotic photos and it is the early examples of these that are considered to be collectable items.

Written erotica
As with photographic erotica, written erotica is not the kind of material that is widely available on the high street, unless you count the works of Mills & Boon! This publisher is considered by many to be the founder of adult erotica, also known as fantasy stories; however hundreds more have joined them in the lucrative business. The stories that are written and published range from quite placid through to intense sexual story lines and there are a number of websites that specialise in these kinds of books.

If you know where to look you can often find books that describe your own fantasies and thousands of women love to drift away from their day to day lives with an adult book and a cup of tea. Buying these books from new can be quite expensive however, and it is not common to be charged around �10 per paperback book. For this reason it might be worth looking around for second hand copies that will cost a fraction of their original price.

Buying second hand books
As with any second hand books it is important to check that the books you're interested in are in good condition. They should have a strong spine, crease less covers and the least number of marks possible. If they are older books then it is rare to find them in perfect condition however they should still reflect their price.

It may be possible to find erotic or adult magazines as well as books. Buying these publications second hand is always a cheaper option and you can often pick up a bundle of second hand editions for the same price as you would pay for a single new copy. As with erotic books, you probably won't find them in the well known book shops and it may be a case of searching the Internet for them.

Conclusion
The misconception that erotic art is the same thing as pornography has meant that there is still something of a taboo that goes with the subject. Even so, it is easy to find both written and photographic erotica if you do a bit of research. Buying such material second hand can save you a lot of money and you may even find a collectors item while you're at it.