vinay87 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Anyone else have a problem with the use/description of sex in books? I usually don't like scenes that describe sex in literature. I tend to skip through it unless it's part of the actual storyline. And even then, I just search for reasons to not read it. Ironically, I had to write a sex scene in my own book. What can I say? The characters are heretics I tell you. They never listen to me and induce me to become a hypocrite of a sort. I'm ok with sex mentioned in the passing without showcasing the author's ideas for porn screenplay. Or when the scene involves more dialogue than the actual add-the-legs-and-divide-by-two bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Nope, no problem here. I'm a bonafide pervert and proud of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Nope, no problem here. I'm a bonafide pervert and proud of it! Me too! I don't mind sex in a book as long as there are still lots of blood, guts and murder also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexicola Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I don't have a problem with it. Sex is a part of life and so I don't see why scenes of it should be excluded. It could give further insight into a relationship, be intrinsic to the narrative etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 If it's completely gratuitous then I don't exactly have a problem, but I do wonder why the author put it there.If it's part of the storyline, then I don't mind at all. One of my favourite books is actually quite graphic in parts - Maia by Richard Adams, which is about a 15-y-o girl sold into a life of sex slavery by her mother for having an affair with her step-father. There's a lot of sex in there, but it is all integral to the plot and not gratuitous at all. I've enjoyed quite a few overtly "sexy" books such as The Sexual Life of Catherine M by Catherine Millet, and Girl With a One-Track Mind by Abby Lee which, as their titles suggest, follow the sexual exploits of the authors. I do not have a problem with sex in books, whether explicit or romantically described, but sex for the sake of sex gets a bit tedious. There's a time and place for it is, I guess, what I'm trying to say. If it's just filler then the book would probably be just as good, if not better, without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Never bothered me, just like sex in a film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Nope, no problem here. I'm a bonafide pervert and proud of it! I don't mind it as long as it's tasteful and not too crude. I've read Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries and there's quite a bit of sex going on between the pages but it's all tastefully done so I don't cringe. On the other-hand, I read The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom and it was pretty coarse, bordering vulgar. I skimmed those pages and it put me off the book as a whole.......ewwwww! Just thinking of it gives me the creeps! Maybe women write sex scenes better than men? Or maybe it was because the sex in Charlaine Harris' series was from the point of view of a woman whereas Christopher Ransom's was from a male point of view, therefore being a woman myself, I could relate more to Harris? Do you think it depends on the sex of the author? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlette Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I don't mind sex in books, but like Kell mentioned above, too much of a good thing can become boring very quickly. I don't particularly like sex scenes that are too explicit, sentimentally Mills-and-Boon-ish, pointless, and anything too perverted makes me cringe and turn the page without giving it another thought. That being said, though, like with most things it all depends on the writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Definately. I think that female authors tend to write very conformist sex scenes, and by that I mean, romantic/traditional/unadventurous, whereas males lean towards the exiting/exotic escapades. My wife was a devout reader of Mills And Boon books, as well as other erotic stories, so I have an insight here. What I've read of male authors confirms this for me, as well as what I've written myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I will buy Mills and Boon occassionally and my OH calls it my Girl Porn. I do think that the sex of the author makes a difference. I also agree that Charlaine Harris's love scenes are pretty tasteful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Perhaps perversely, I'd rather read crude, vulgar terms for genitalia than the proper names (sounds too clinical and passionless) or stupid euphamisms (sound ridiculously silly and tend to get more and more outlandish as more sex scenes unfold - I get sick of throbbing members - LOL!). At least with the vulgar terms you can imagine the characters getting properly down and dirty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Univerze Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Nope, no problem here. I'm a bonafide pervert and proud of it! Ditto. I love sex in books. Actually I can miss in some.. although it doesn't always have to be described in detail, sometimes I do like that. I like Laurell Hamilton's books so yeah, you can't really if you hate sex in books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I have no problem with it once it's not gratutitous, but I don't like ANYTHING gratutitious in books. Like someone already said, it's like watching a fim with sex in it. It doesn't have to be really graphic, and if it's done well and fits in with the story, then what's the harm? As someone else said, sex is a part of life so why not write about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraPepparkaka Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I do not have a problem with sex in books, whether explicit or romantically described, but sex for the sake of sex gets a bit tedious. There's a time and place for it is, I guess, what I'm trying to say. If it's just filler then the book would probably be just as good, if not better, without it. This is exactly how I feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 By and large, the books I tend to read don't have much sex in them (Wyndham and Wells weren't exactly known for their sex scenes!), but that's not really by design and I don't usually have a problem with a bit of rumpy-pumpy when it occurs. Murakami uses sex like a sledge hammer; it's usually quite graphically described and raw, but I've never found it over the top or out of place. On the other hand, a few years back I read a road-accident of a book called Succubus Blues, by Richelle Mead, and the sex in that was just boring (to the point that I skipped over the last couple of encounters entirely). As others have said, if it is a part of the plot I don't have a problem with it but if it pulls you out of the story it shouldn't be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 (edited) I don't read romance books for a variety of reasons which include trying to avoid sex in books wherever possible, as they tend to make me uncomfortable at best and upset me greatly at worst. In other types of books, I will put up with sex scenes if they're well-written and serve the narrative - Keith Miller's The Book of Flying, for instance, contains some absolutely stunningly written scenes which advance the plot and character development, so I accept that they have their place and brave stoically through them even though I'd rather not have to. However, a lot of books have sex scenes which seem to serve no purpose other than pandering to a wider audience. One example of this is Scarlett Thomas's The End of Mr Y. Now, my opinion on this book is usually less than popular - it has been rated the least helpful of all my Amazon reviews, for instance. But, I beg you to consider. I thought I'd bought a book about quantum physics, metaphysics, time travel, philosophy... exactly were did the self-deprecating descriptions of the unlikeable heroine being [censores self in order not to have to ban self] on top of a glass tabletop by an equally unlikeable married colleague fit into all this? The problem is precisely that: they didn't. They jarred so much it hurt, and felt to me like a lifeline thrown to the kind of reader unable or unwilling to follow anything more profound for the length of the book. I find it very sad that what would otherwise have been my mind-bogglingly clever book of the year had been cheapened so. Edited February 2, 2010 by BookJumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosychair Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Sex in books doesn't bother me at all, it part of life leaving it out can mean loosing out on part of the characters personality making them a little less 'real' to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I don't mind sex in books and in fact have read some womens erotica in the past and enjoyed it, i have also read some more standard 'classic' erotica, whilst at university. My housemate did as part of her degree erotic fiction and I read some of the books on her reading list, 'delta of venus' by Anais Nin and the 'story of the eye' I think they were, neither of them appealed to me one by a woman the other by a man but both in factI quite sickening. I have do say though i don't agree with the Laurell Hamilton take on sex in her books I did like the early Anita Blake books but then it just became the whole story so i stopped buying them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimmy619 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I don't mind sex in books at all and I am not really offended by it. I sometimes wonder why an author bothered to put in the book if it seems a little pointless, but I wouldn't not read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I don't mind it as long as it's part of the story. But like others said, I don't care for gratuitous sex scenes. I hate romance novels and chick-lit, though, so I'm usually able to avoid it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosychair Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Just wondering what people consider gratuitous sex? Just a general idea, no need to go into detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirinrob Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I don't mind sex in books so long as it fits the plot and isn't gratuitous. One of the reasons I dislike Junot Diaz's debut novel 'The Brief Wondorous Life of Oscar Wao' is that sexual references are simply put in to titillate, and end up being extremely boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Good question. For me it's not so much what's in the scene as it's general existence - like in the book I just finished, The Magicians, there were a LOT of instances of 'hooking up' totally randomly, in some cases described, in others not, but I was kind of left thinking, 'did we really need to know that?' It seemed a bit pointless, but it still didn't bother me. In other cases it's just if it seems forced, like the author thought 'oh I'll throw a bit of sex in here' and gears everything unrealistically towards it happening. It still doesn't bother me in the slightest, it just detracts from the credibility of the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosychair Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 (edited) Good question. For me it's not so much what's in the scene as it's general existence - like in the book I just finished, The Magicians, there were a LOT of instances of 'hooking up' totally randomly, in some cases described, in others not, but I was kind of left thinking, 'did we really need to know that?' It seemed a bit pointless, but it still didn't bother me. In other cases it's just if it seems forced, like the author thought 'oh I'll throw a bit of sex in here' and gears everything unrealistically towards it happening. It still doesn't bother me in the slightest, it just detracts from the credibility of the book. I agree with that, if there is constant sex throughout a book then it can get in the way of the actual plot, if the plot that is isn't to do with sex. Lady chatterley's lover, has a lot of very graphic sex throughout it but in my opinion the sex is central to the whole novel therefore it isn't gratuitous but I know many others feel it's just too graphic. Edited February 2, 2010 by cosychair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I haven't read Lady Chatterly's Lover, but I've heard about it. I agree that a book about sex or based largely around sex can't possibly be considered to be gratutious - not to mention I'd rather read about sex than some of the disgusting murders, torture and violence I've read in some books. I always find it amusing that people are so desensitized to killing and violence and gore in both books and movies, but sex actually warrants a discussion and/or discomfort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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