Flavorwire

Today would have been the 110th birthday of one of history’s sexiest women, Anaïs Nin. To honor her confessional and often erotic literary legacy, we suggest you spend the day reading something unabashedly sexy — but no, not Fifty Shades of Meek Girl Blushing. It wouldn’t be a tribute to Ms. Nin if it didn’t have any literary merit. After the jump, cuddle up to our picks for the ten sexiest literary works of all time — but as in all things romantic, it’s to each their own, so if these leave you cold, suggest your own favorite titillating reads in the comments.

Delta of Venus, Anaïs Nin

One of the first women to prominently publish erotica, Nin is still a giant of the genre. The stories in this volume, mostly written in the 1940s for an “anonymous collector,” tackle every taboo without resorting to crudeness or shock effect. Highly literary, sensual and lushly written, it’s a book to keep under your pillow.