Sex sells

So, apparently sex sells. Not only does it sell cars, chocolate, perfume and music, but now it has crept unannounced into the world of literature to sell its seedy wares.

Books have suddenly got sexy, and erotica is now nothing to be ashamed of. I’m fully for people reading things that they enjoy and if a book gets people reading, then that’s great. But why does it have to be something so seedy?

An example of book porn

Personally, I think this upsurge in naughty books has been fuelled by the ebook phenomenon and the rise in self publishing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-Kindle, I am a proud owner of a device myself. I am also not against Indie writers as I have read some brilliant Indie writing.

The Kindle has given the opportunity for people to read what they like, without those around them being able to see and judge. When I’m in London, I do like to see what people are reading on the train or the tube, but I also feel a pang of pride when I see someone reading on a Kindle as they are walking along, risking their life at the edge of the platform as in some ways I see Kindles as a mark of a dedicated reader and in some cases a true book lover.

I suppose some people must get a kick out of reading some “erotic” fiction in a public place, but it is not for me. The Kindle chart is now full of erotica with the types of names and descriptions I would imagine you would find on some sort of snuff movie. When does fiction become porn? Just because it doesn’t have pictures does that make it any less pornographic in reality?

This latest book craze has moved into the paperback arena too. The Fifty Shades series is topping sales charts and I have seen that many book shops have sold out of the trilogy. I am seeing people talking about it on social networks constantly and giving it rave reviews.

I did wonder if it was just me being strange and prudish by not wanting to read badly written porn, but I have discussed this with my good friend Elaine and she wholeheartedly agrees with me. And has even written a blog post about it herself. Go check it out. You’ll like it!

So when you are looking for a book to read, and fancy downloading something new, just say no to the covers featuring naked torsos and manicured talons. Try something a little different. There are plenty of good books out there, and there is plenty of great chick lit if you fancy something a bit lighter with a hint of sex.

Down with the book porn! 

Things I like and dislike this week

I haven't had the best of weeks this week and thought I would compile some lists for you of things I like and dislike (this will obviously be subject to change and more or less only relevant to this week).

Dislikes

• Waiting lists
• Paying £85 for a filling
• Not being able to chew properly because my filling hasn't settled yet
• Children (mainly the boy next door, but I'm sure there are other children I dislike)
• Not being able to find what I want in the supermarket
• Decorating (I don't want to do it myself)
• Untidiness (this is a result of the decorating)
• The fact that my two weeks off are nearly over
• Poor service in restaurants
• Buying a pack of Yum Yums and not finding out that they are apple flavour until I get home
• Having about 46 million spots on my face when I normally don't get any
• The smell of tea tree oil (for my spots)
• It being so bloody cold

Likes

• Books
• The rain (this means that I will have less work to go back to, nobody wants a drought!)
• Beetroot
• Sue Townsend
• Spending time with friends
• Wine (it doesn't involve chewing)
• A £30 voucher for a restaurant
• Bruce (my cat)
• My duvet
• Steve (I suppose he should be on here!)

So that just about sums up the things I like and dislike this week. I think the dislikes outweigh the likes at the moment!

Chortle out loud

After yesterday’s word related rant post I was having a think last night (Yay! Insomnia!) about vocabulary and the way that words are used these days. I was thinking about how there are so many rich, wondrous words available to us to use to describe things and feelings and yet everyone seems hell bent on abbreviating everything as much as possible. The introduction of text speak (or txt spk) which has crept into our lives, stealing all the vowels is now being used in totally inappropriate situations. I actually grimace when I get an email in work which says “u” instead of “you” or “thnx” instead of “thanks”. I have actually had a work email which said “LOL” too!

And this is another thing I have found. The abbreviations that litter emails, texts and even magazines these days are not only stealing our vowels, but inhibiting our use of the many words available to us, by virtue of the restrictions imposed by the abbreviations (or acronyms as they are also known).

The main word that comes to mind in this way is the humble laugh. The introduction of LOL, LMAO, ROFL and even LMFAO has made it all about the laugh. What about the other words to describe the noises we make when amused? When is a laugh not a laugh? When it’s a giggle, that’s when. Or a chortle. There are a plethora of words which are going to disappear from our language if we don’t carry on using them.

Here are a few of my personal favourites:

Guffaw

Chortle

Chuckle

Titter (Oooh-err matron)

Snicker

I have written before about pledging to read the printed word, but it may be time to start a pledge to use the spoken word before it’s too late and it starts to become acceptable to write without using vowels and in a complex code of abbreviations.

TTFN