iPad a Boon for Erotic Titles

Pornographic fiction dominating Apple’s British e-book chart at the start of the week had mysteriously disappeared Tuesday, prompting speculation the multinational corporation censored its customers’ true preferences to save face.

Apple, which allows iPad owners to download books through its iBooks store, featured racy stories including the number one “Blonde and Wet, the Complete Story” in its British top five e-book chart on Monday morning.

Hours later all erotic fiction dropped out of the chart simultaneously and was replaced with less raunchy books such as British lawmaker Peter Mandelson’s autobiography.

An independent book chart analyst said a radical change in preferences in such a short amount of time was unlikely. Apple declined to explain the disappearance of the books.

“Blonde and Wet,” which Apple offered for 99 pence, ($1.50) was described by one reviewer as “extremely graphic and some might say it is porn.”

The most popular author was Carl East, originally from northern England, with more than 70 erotic books to his name. Available from 49 pence, his books were first, second and seventh in the chart before they disappeared.

East, who lives in America, has never appeared on any conventional bestseller lists, but his multiple appearances on Apple’s top ten suggests there is a hidden market for erotic fiction that goes unrecorded in mainstream charts.

Philip Stone, charts editor for The Bookseller magazine, said East was likely to be benefiting from iPad users’ ability to buy erotica more discreetly than if they bought a paperback.

“The embarrassment factor of being caught reading something like that in print is not there. If it’s on your iPad then no one can tell what you’re reading. You could be reading Plato.”