Fifty Shades of Grey benefits from a covert read

The Privacy Of Kindle

E.L. James has set a landmark. Her raunchy novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, is the first book to break the one million sales mark on Kindles. Most certainly she can thank the covert nature of the device.

Fifty Shades of Grey

For many people the act of reading literary erotica on the morning commute may simply be a bit too much. It is not that they are averse to the book itself, rather they fear the judging glances and raised eyebrows of the fellow commuters.

This then may help explain why E.L. James’ (aka Erika Leonard) debut novel Fifty Shades of Grey, which follows the rough and racy relationship of young college graduate Anastasia Steele and mysterious billionaire Christian Grey, has taken off so dramatically on Kindle. It has now set a landmark becoming the first novel to reach one million sales on the electronic reading device -- which never announces the book you are reading.

With many critics chastising the book’s poor writing, and others declaring it little more than mommy-porn, it seems reasonable to expect it would have suffered in sales had its readers not been able to discreetly pour over its words.

To be sure, the paper and ink versions are doing a brisk trade. In the U.K. the paperback version has reached the highest weekly sale. However, Amazon -- the proprietor of the Kindle system -- said that the electronic version is outselling its paper version at a rate of two to one.

Some people feel no need to veil their lusty interests; others are perhaps a touch more shy.

The two other novels in the series, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, sit in second and third on the Amazon's bestseller lists.

The series may follow, with an erotic saunter, in the footsteps of Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games, as there is some talk of a movie adaption.

Bret Easton Ellis, author of American Psycho, has expressed interest in writing the film’s screenplay; while Deadline New York suggested Angelina Jolie may take up the directorial reins.

Image courtesy of Michael Carpenter/ WENN.com