So, you finished an intoxicating book yesterday evening (and left a review, right?) and you fancy another one tonight. Let’s imagine for a moment – you’ll have to bear with me on this one – that you have nothing in your ‘to read’ pile, and your wish list is empty. What do you do? If you’re sitting at home, you’re probably going to reach for your device and go to the relevant store, to download something. But how do you find what you want?
You could browse through the erotica categories on Amazon (or any other digital marketplace). But there are over 300,000 items there; that’s going to take some time. I find that browsing doesn’t get me anywhere. If we’re honest, the titles and covers of a lot of erotica are uniformly monotonous and boring. This isn’t the fault of the author; it’s the retail environment we operate in. All digital booksellers have rigid rules about what can appear on a cover. Nothing remotely explicit; not even if it’s arty. A naked male torso is fine, but give the merest hint of a female nipple, and they’ll withdraw the book, possibly even ban the author. So we all work well within the rules to avoid any problems. But it means that creativity is heavily restricted.
You could look for other books by authors you’ve already read and enjoyed. We all do it; it’s the safe option. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I have a number of authors in other genres whose books I will work my way through. I will buy any new works they publish, as I know I’m almost certain to enjoy their style and storytelling. But I will admit that this doesn’t always apply to the erotica genre. I quite like variety, so tend to look for something different each time, unless I’m reading a series.
You could search for a particular niche or fetish. It’s easy enough to do; it’s another safe option. It may be a kink that forms a part of your life, or one that you wish did. Or, indeed, something that you definitely don’t want to try, but you know it turns you on. But using a search function is unreliable. It depends on those pesky algorithms, as well as authors and publishers actually using the correct keywords for their books. Which is more difficult than it sounds, I assure you! And many books will contain so many different activities, that they can’t be defined by a handful of keywords.
You could go to Goodreads, and look through the shelves of your friends, to see what they’ve read that might take your fancy. At least you will probably have some books in common, and if their ratings or reviews on those are similar to yours, then other books that they’ve rated highly might be a good place to start.
Then there are any number of websites that promote books. You sign up, select your preferred genres, and wait for the regular e-mail to appear in your inbox, with new or selected works which match your tastes. But how have these books been selected? The majority will be paid promotions. Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it means there is no guarantee of quality. Merely that the author or publisher has a budget for promotion.
You might subscribe to book blogs, and if you find a good one, which you trust, then you may have struck gold. But I’ve come across book review sites which seem to be run by just one person, but review a dozen books a day. Now, I’m a fairly avid reader, and I’ve met many people who read more than me, but how some of these bloggers read as many books as they claim – and find the time to review them – is beyond me. The same seems to apply to some people on Goodreads, as well.
In the end, you’ll buy something, even though nothing has exactly jumped out at you. And I really hope you enjoy it. After all, it’s only two or three pounds or dollars, and it’ll only take a couple of hours of your life!
How do you decide what to read next? How do you sort the wheat from the chaff? And if you have a better way of choosing your next steamy read, why not share it?
