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Is Salacious Content Driving E-Book Sales?

narramissic writes "Having already abandoned ebooks once, Barnes & Noble is jumping back into ebooks with the purchase this week of ebook seller Fictionwise. Why is the format suddenly hot? Look no further than the top 10 Fictionwise bestsellers, says blogger Peter Smith. Once again it seems like 'porn is blazing a path to a new media format. Of the top 10 bestsellers under the 'Multiformat' category, nine are tagged 'erotica' and the last is 'dark fantasy.' Need more proof that folks (let's take a leap and call them women) who read 'bodice rippers' like the privacy of ebooks? Author Samantha Lucas (who writes for publishers like Cobblestone Press and Siren Publishing) tells Smith that she sells almost all of her novels in ebook format."

16 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. pr0n by XaviorPenguin · · Score: 2, Funny

    The e-book is for porn!

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  2. One-handed reading with the Kindle by The+Fun+Guy · · Score: 5, Funny

    The ability to turn pages one-handed is touted as one of the big improvements of the Kindle 2.

    Draw your own conclusions.

    --
    The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. - Mark Twain
    1. Re:One-handed reading with the Kindle by Em+Emalb · · Score: 5, Funny

      Cowboy Neal has a Kindle.

      Go ahead and erase THAT mental image.

      --
      Sent from your iPad.
  3. Re:Hey, not just women by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Men read erotica, too! Of course, it's Ghost in the Shell meets X-Files fanfic, but still, erotic.

    "Legolas & Elrond Soil the Shire" doesn't count!

  4. Re:Of course the main reason is by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Funny

    And that it's much easier to wipe off a kindle. Ever cleaned a keyboard?

  5. Re:I just ask my daughter by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why are you aware your daughter reads male on male porn? Like, why are you not totally rejecting this and not talking to her about her porn habits? This seems to be the sane way to handle things.

  6. Re:Selective memory by Fast+Thick+Pants · · Score: 4, Funny

    Very true. ASCII art is good enough for me.

  7. Re:Nothing New by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Pornography has always been at the forefront of technology. VHS, DVD, they were the first to really start using DRM on video content, too. A quick search on Google for 'porn technology' will give you lots of articles on the subject.

    Shoot, go back to the dawn of the printing press, sculpture, painting etc. All modern times has done is change the delivery format.

    I'd bet that Ogg and Thagg, after drawing the latest hunt on the cave walls then did a little drawing about Oggette and her friends. And then started the flame war over obsidian vs flint for spear points.

    Some things never change...

    --
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  8. Re:Selective memory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean that porn will eventually adapt to open source as innovation? That's open source I can't wait to contribute to!

  9. Re:alt.stories.erotica by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Funny

    I used to read alt.stories.erotica way back in the 9600 baud days. The only thing new here is that people are paying for it.

    I read erotic stories augmented with 16-color ANSI art from a BBS over a 2400 baud modem. /waits for someone to come in and talk about how they used to write their mainframe code so that it made dirty pictures on the punch cards, or how if they squinted their eyes at ENIAC the vacuum tubes looked kinda like boobs.

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    The enemies of Democracy are
  10. Re:Nothing New by baKanale · · Score: 5, Funny

    Obsidian is better. Anyone using flint is an idiot.

  11. Re:alt.stories.erotica by Em+Emalb · · Score: 3, Funny

    Back in my day, we had to IMAGINE our porn.

    And we liked it.

    Dang kids with your fancy electricity and your indoor plumbing.

    --
    Sent from your iPad.
  12. Re:Nothing New by Chris+Burke · · Score: 3, Funny

    And then started the flame war over obsidian vs flint for spear points.

    Some things never change...

    Well, except that modern flame wars don't often end with one side stabbing the other in order to prove their point.

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are
  13. Re:Nothing New by hurfy · · Score: 4, Funny

    You mean these little arrows keys don't..... aw shucks :(

  14. Re:alt.stories.erotica by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Funny

    At high school on an Apple II I once wrote a mathematical expression which looked a bit like boobs.

  15. Flint -- proven technology with SPARK! by OneIfByLan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Listen you stupid jackass, Obsidian is the latest flash-in-the-pan buzzword-heavy gimmick that lets newbies chip one edge and pretend they know what they're doing, which is fine if you live right next to a FREAKIN' VOLCANO.

    For those of us who prefer not to tempt the wrath of the LavaGod, and oh yeah -- maybe make FIRE, HAVE YA HEARD OF THAT YET, YOU WHEEL-LESS SLED-DRAGGING DORK -- we'll remain with a proven technology with Spark(TM)!