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[[caption-width-right:267:In case everything else about the cover doesn't tip you off, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids these aren't the "bedtime stories" to read to small children]].]]

->''"Sex is more exciting on the screen and between the pages than between the sheets."''
-->-- '''Creator/AndyWarhol'''

Written stories about people doing it, [[InsistentTerminology often known]] by the classier and more evocative term, ''Erotica.''

According to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_literature that other wiki]], Erotica has been around since the time of Literature/TheBible. This just means that even way back when, people still wanted to read about other people doing it.

Although it's like UsefulNotes/{{porn|ography}}, Erotica can be educational, well-written, and sometimes even pass into the literary canon as acknowledged classics. This ranges from the ancient and quasi-sacred, like ''Literature/KamaSutra'' -- full of information about sexual relations, with a brief foray into cryptography and other methods of concealing your salacious affairs -- to the fairly modern, such as ''Literature/LadyChatterleysLover.'' In some cases an erotic book can come to challenge entire philosophies about sex and sexuality, like ''Literature/VenusInFurs''. As mentioned above, even the Bible has erotica in it: the "Song of Solomon" a.k.a. "Literature/SongOfSongs" is remarkably couched in sensual language. One of its opening passages, [[AsTheGoodBookSays "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth"]] is one of the most famous verses of the Bible itself. Since sex is such a key part of most people's experiences of being human, erotica, in the hands of a skilled author, can easily cross over into LitFic.

A way to divide the two is to mentally remove the sex from the story. If you still have a story, it is erotica. Right in two.

Modern day books tend to deal with the emotional side of sex and sexuality, and often -- with varying degrees of success -- [[PornWithPlot attempting to introduce a story or arching plotline]]. Some of these have been [[EroticFilm adapted to film]].

Compare and contrast RomanceNovel. See also EroticFilm, {{Ecchi}}, and {{Hentai}}.
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!!Examples include:

[[index]]
* ''Literature/The120DaysOfSodom''
* ''Literature/ThreeHundredSixtyFiveDays''
* ''Literature/AddictedSeries''
* ''Literature/AnitaBlake'' [[note]]the series didn't start out as this but by the later books the main focus of the stories is Anita's sex life and intimate relationships[[/note]]
* ''Literature/TheBoss''
* ''Literature/BrokenLoveSeries''
* ''Literature/CaptivePrince''
* ''Literature/TheChangeRoom''
* ''Literature/ADealWithADemon''
* ''Literature/DelicateFire''
* ''Literature/TheDogs''
** ''Literature/WhatAHorribleNightToHaveACurse''
* ''Literature/ADowryOfBlood''
* ''Film/{{Emmanuelle}}''
* ''Literature/ExitToEden''
* ''Literature/FannyHill''
* ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey''
* ''Literature/AFoxTail''
* ''Literature/TheGirlIn6E''
* ''Literature/HoleyMatrimony''
* ''Literature/TheJournalEntries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et al.''
** ''Literature/LoversAndBeloveds''
* ''Literature/{{Juliette}}''
* ''Literature/KamaSutra''
* ''Literature/KushielsLegacy''
* ''Literature/LadyChatterleysLover''
* ''Literature/TheLittleHouse''
* ''Literature/LiveGirls''
* ''Literature/TheLordsOfSatyr''
* ''Literature/MerryGentry''
* ''Mister & Missus'' series
** ''Literature/TheMister''
** ''Literature/TheMissus''
* ''Literature/MyVeryOwnGenderSwap''
* ''Never After'' series
** ''Literature/{{Hooked}}''
** ''Literature/{{Scarred}}''
** ''Literature/Wretched2022''
** ''Literature/Twisted2023''
** ''Literature/Crossed2023''
* ''Literature/TheOccupationSaga''
* ''Literature/{{Once}}''
* ''Literature/OutOfPosition''
** ''Literature/{{Camouflage}}''
* ''Literature/SixesWild''
* ''Literature/SongOfSongs''
* ''Literature/{{Spellster}}''
* ''Literature/TheStoryOfO''
* ''Literature/TalesOfMU''
* ''Literature/TheTeresaKnightTrilogy''
* ''Literature/TheseWordsAreTrueAndFaithful''
* ''Literature/ThreeWeeks''
* ''Literature/TransWizardHarrietPorberAndTheBadBoyParasaurolophus''
* ''Literature/TsunTsunTzimTzum''
* ''Literature/VenusInFurs''
* ''Literature/{{Volle}}''
* ''Literature/{{Windfall}}''
[[/index]]
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