Castro Valley Library

British author E. L. James probably didn’t know she would hit the jackpot with her 2011 self-published ebook Fifty Shades of Grey. The erotic romance novel tells the story of the relationship between a college graduate, Anatasia Steele, and a successful businessman, Christian Grey, and includes explicit sex scenes featuring bondage, dominance, and sadism/masochism.

Though an unknown author without the backing of a publisher, James and her early fans used book blogs and word of mouth recommendations to grow readership. By 2012 the story had become popular enough to draw the attention of Vintage Books, which then published the Fifty Shades trilogy. A film adaptation of the first book was released earlier this month.

While critics have generally panned the book for poor writing, its popularity is undeniable. It has been a best-seller in the U.S. and around the world, selling more than 100 million copies. So if you’re one of those millions of fans, and you’re looking for a similar book to read, consider these titles that are available at the Alameda County Library:

• The Age of Impropriety by Pam Rosenthal
• Belinda by Anne Rampling (Anne Rice)
• Bared to You by Sylvia Day
• Belong to Me by Shayla Black
• Be Mine by Laura Kasischke
• Chemical Pink by Kate Arnoldi
• Dark Secret Love: A Story of Submission by Alison Tyler
• Diary of a Submissive: A Modern True Tale of Sexual Awakening by Sophie Morgan
• The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski
• Exit to Eden by Anne Rampling (Anne Rice)
• His to Command by Opal Carew
• Hot Ticket by Olivia Cunning
• In the Cut by Susanna Moore
• Gabriel’s Inferno by Sylvain Reynard
• Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
• Lion’s Heat by Lora Leigh
• Never the Face: A Story of Desire by Ariel Sands
• Never Too Much by Lori Foster
• Pleasure by Eric Jerome Dickey
• Sleeping Beauty trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
• Sweet Persuasion by Maya Banks

Many publishers have added a new category of books to their offerings over the past few years. The so-called New Adult (NA) line is a category of books written about the experiences of 18- to 25-year-olds joining the adult world.

According to an article on NA books in the Library Journal by Jane Jorgensen, NA books are often super dramatic, emotionally powerful, and contain strong sexual content.

Some of these books, such as those by Jamie McGuire and Tammara Webber, were first self-published online. Their success drew the attention of publishing houses and the new category was born. There are still more NA titles offered as digital books than there are print books.

While readers in this age group are reading Young Adult novels and novels with older protagonists, the growing popularity of the NA line shows that these readers want stories they can call their own.

If you are interested in reading titles in this category, here are a few that the Alameda County Library system has to offer…

• Lost in Thought by Cara Bertrand
• Losing It by Cora Carmack
• Slammed by Colleen Hoover
• When We Met by A.L. Jackson and others
• Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
• Frigid by J. Lynn Virgin by Radhika Sanghani
• Easy by Tammara Webber
• Deeper by Robin York