Five Minute Erotica - erotic fiction by Running Press Book Publishers - review by Apirka

Five Minute Erotica is edited by Carol Queen (who also contributes a story to the collection). Twenty seven other authors make up the rest of the contributors, some well known and others who've never been published before (the introduction states that four couples contributed stories, but doesn't say who they are). There is a fair mix of female and male authors (including M. Christian, Edward Beggs, Melanie Votaw, Marcy Sheiner), though because I don't regularly read erotica, I have no idea who any of the authors are.

At the end of the book, there are several pages of short author bios, listing any work that they may have previously done.

The thin volume consists of 35 short erotic stories, with an average length of 3 to 4 pages. One story was only a page long and just a very long run-on sentence and I didn't care for it. Two other stories by another author had a nice storyline/idea, but I really did not like the writer's style at all. Other than that, the rest of the collection is a nice mix of styles that blend well together. They run the gamut of voyeurism, light BDSM (spanking), alien tentacle sex, hair pulling, masturbation, fisting, oral and PIV sex, all told from either the point of view of a female, a male, and of course the third person. However, all the stories are more geared toward those of the heterosexual persuasion (the introduction in the book and overview on the product page clearly state this as well). Other than the alien tentacle sex, all of the stories feature some kind of sex between a male and a female, though there are two occasions with brief woman on woman oral sex beforehand.

As mentioned above, there are stories told from a woman's point of view, as well as a man's and the third person. There's a story about a man recalling via e-mail the times he went down on his wife/long-term girlfriend; a woman dressed in a skimpy cat costume who seduces her lover by saying nothing more than "meow"; a foreplay game between two lovers reading off a list of sexual acts to one another; a woman flashing her genitals to a fellow diner at a restaurant while both their significant others sit cluelessly nearby; a woman getting fisted from the fister's point of view; a woman who wants her lover to spank her; another who surprises her lover at work for a "lunch meeting"; and still another who seduces a young, foreign boot shine boy. All these stories run from imagining sex with another to foreplay to actually getting it on with lovers, strangers, and of course, that weird alien tentacle sex thing.

The design of the book isn't very discreet. The front cover shows a nude female torso and the word "Erotica" in fairly large, pink letters. I wouldn't read this in public unless you want someone to know what it is, or if you can find a way to cover it up.

The book itself is a thin paperback with 141 pages. It's 8 1/2" high, 5 1/2" wide, and 3/8" deep. The page's margins are quite small, allowing the stories to fill the page and be 2 to 4 pages in length. The type is moderately sized and easy to read. The binding is fairly sturdy, the whole book appears well put together and should stand up to many readings.

I'm not usually one to read erotica, and I haven't read much. But I did enjoy this volume. The stories are short and sweet and to the point, exactly how I like it. When it comes to porn, erotica, etc, I don't like lots of filler, character development, back stories, or even much of a plot or dialog. I just want things to get right to the good part, and that's what I got here. If you enjoy more of the aforementioned items (plot, character development, etc), then you probably wouldn't care that much for this book, unless you're looking for something quick and simple. The only problem I have with this is that I wish it included more stories depicting gay sex rather than just straight. They should come out with Five Minute Erotica for lesbians, or gay males, or BDSM versions, etc...I'd definitely read them all!