Playboy's Top 25 Novels

Playboy has announced its list of "The 25 Sexiest Novels Ever Written." The books range from literary to a bit more sexy. It is the Playboy site, so if you happen to be one of the folks who may find Playboy offensive, you may want to skip the site. However, the part of the site with the list has a pretty nice display of the book covers, and you can click on the covers to get some information on the books and why they were included on the list. From their introduction:

"If reading is thinking with someone else's brain, then erotica is feeling with someone else's body parts. With that in mind, we set out to find the books that arouse the most. We limited our search to novels (perhaps we'll tackle memoirs and manuals next), focusing on works of fiction marked by frank language, candor and enthusiasm. Body parts are named and interwoven in ways that arouse, linger and channel your own desires. Some titles were famous for being dirty books for decades, contraband smuggled in from Paris. A few were champions in the courts, books that freed the language. Some tackled taboos. Others showcased attitude -- either curiosity or humor or energy. To us, they are the ultimate love stories."

Some of the works featured on the list are (in no particular order):

• Memoirs of A Woman of Pleasure (Fanny Hill), by John Cleland.
  
• Interview with a Vampire, by Anne Rice.
  
• Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.

I was tempted to put this in our library's blog, but I get the feeling that some of the more "conservative" elements would not appreciate erotica and good literature. So, for those who do, go over and take a look.

A hat tip to The Literary Saloon.