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I mentioned elsewhere that in 2026 I will start writing a regular column about erotica books (in the broadest sense).

No, I am not starting on that yet. But I regularly come across annotated book lists semi-related on that topic, so I thought I’d make a list of them (hey, is that meta or what?) I know the same titles pop up on these kinds of lists, so I’ll seek out lists with unconventional or obscure titles.

• (Unwanted) Sex Lives of Married Women: Eight Books About Complicated Desire. Compiled by Kate Hamilton (a pseudonym) , whose memoir Mad Wife is about her traumatic experiences being married.
• 30 Best Erotic Novels to Curl Up With by Marie Claire Magazine. A mixture of classic and contemporary, though mostly by female authors.
• Fivebooks is amassing some highbrow recommendations: Erotic Writing by Arab Women, Best Books on Adultery, Gay Fiction (compiled by Edmund White no less) and Landmark LGBTQI books
• Shepherd
• There are a ton of erotica book listicles on Goodreads, most of which have the usual suspects and aren’t that great. Best Literary Erotica . Listicles also for the Black Lace series (n.b. some not in English), Modern Erotic Classics (an imprint started by editor Maxim Jakubowski) and Bibliotheque Erotique (a grabbag of various things).

Anthologies

Anthologies are a great way to sample different kinds and styles of erotica. I’ve learned about many great authors that way. Indeed, in the 1980s and 1990s, that was the best way to learn about smut. Starting in the 2000s to the present, many

Mammoth Book Anthologies is a series of genre anthologies with 24 different erotic anthology titles (many of which are available in ebook). Almost all were edited by Maxim Jakubowski (who has really dark tastes, especially with BDSM, etc). I highly recommend the first volume (published in 1994) which is NOT available in ebook form). But I imagine volume 1 would be easy to find in the used book market). Here is a table of contents which includes Anne Rice, Marco Vassi, Robert Silverberg. Actually, stumbling upon Vassi’s Carcass of Dreams led me to write an in-depth study of the author. This volume also includes Robert Silverberg‘s “Two At Once” (which is one of my all time fave comic erotica stories) and “Beauty’s Punishment” by A.N. Roquelaure (aka Anne Rice).

Several Mammoth titles were published in the 1990s and 2000s. I just counted and I own 9 physical books and 6 ebook editions. (I would estimate that I have read maybe a third of the stories). These guides are especially useful for learning about different authors — though to be fair MJ publishes many of the same authors over and over. In the 2010s, Barbara Cardy has taken over the editor position for these anthologies and focused on specialized niches (Lesbian, Gay, Uniform Erotica, Erotic Confessions, etc). The Mammoth stories are well-written and edited and yes, cheap (ebooks rarely are under 3.99).

Letters to Penthouse/Penthouse Uncensored. Several years ago I bought a few ebooks from the Letters to Penthouse series and found a lot to like. Penthouse was a raunchy men’s magazine from the 1970s and 1980s which was also known for publishing lots of fake letters from readers detailing their sexual adventures. I admit that I read a few from pilfered issues. They were sexy, very daring and yes, kind of funny because they were obviously fake. In keeping with the illusion, Penthouse never gave any bylines (aside from abbreviations and maybe a place name). They definitely reflect the 70’s liberal attitude to sexuality and the Sexual Revolution which was prevalent during that time — a tolerance which disappeared in the 1980s with the emergence of President Ronald Reagan and the AIDS disease. It was definitely a wilder time, and frankly, notions of consent and the use of drugs was a lot different than what the contemporary reader would be used to. Still, these stories were first and foremost stroke stories and didn’t really try to be anything more.

I know that Marco Vassi wrote a few of these letters — and he had even published a few things in Penthouse with his own byline. So some of the letters were smart and literate. On the other hand, the anthologies are randomly organized and anonymous. In fact there are two series with similar and overlapping content. Penthouse Uncensored and Letters to Penthouse. Good luck figuring out which ebook to buy (All are cheap and discounted often). Purely from the standpoint of organization and formatting, I thought Penthouse Uncensored was cheaper and easier to read.

Susie Bright edited Best American Erotica and Herotica anthologies starting in the 1990s. Bright was a prolific author, blogger and sex educator who edited these anthologies. They had more of a focus on lesbian sex and softer stuff. As printed books they were easier to find at bookstores and even libraries, but it seems that not much effort was put into making ebook editions of these volumes. Plus, they were ridiculously expensive, so I haven’t delved into them as deeply.

Cleis Press publishes several anthologies, Best Women’s Erotica, Afternoon Delight: Erotica for Couples, etc., etc. , many of which are edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel.