A BEST-SELLING erotic novel has been flying off the shelves of Caterham's libraries.
Fifty Shades Of Grey, with its kinky plot of bondage and masochism, has been the most borrowed book at both of the town's libraries, the Mirror has learned.
Book-lovers looking for extra spice in their life have taken the steamy novel out of the Stafford Road and Westway libraries a total of 31 times in the three months to November 30.
But down the road in Reigate, the book does not even make the top ten, with Soul Catcher – a novel about pre-Civil War America – topping the list.
Fifty Shades Darker – another in author EL James's "bonkbuster" trilogy – languished as the eighth-most popular read at Redhill library.
Some of the red-blooded residents of Caterham have welcomed the findings.
Mother of two Sharon Hook, 42, of Stafford Road, said: "I wouldn't be surprised if there is a baby boom caused by the Fifty Shades books.
"I was in Italy when I was reading it and they had it there too. It seems like everyone has read it. It's a book for bored housewives really, isn't it?"
Christmas shoppers in Station Avenue were keen to talk about the book last Friday – but if they were blown away by it as well, most weren't letting on.
Caroline Warne, 31, of Croydon Road, said the book had been a real bestseller among her friends and acquaintances.
"People should not bother with the second or third books in the series," she said.
"I started them and thought, 'I can't read this'. You had to read the first one because everyone was talking about it. The book sold among people right down my street. Everyone read it.
"Maybe it shows we live boring lives here in Caterham."
Jenny Gold, 40, who admitted to having read selected highlights from the book, said: "I think really it's just Mills and Boon for women that perhaps don't have such an exciting private life.
"I am really surprised it has proved so popular.
"I was intrigued because everyone else was reading it, but it's all hype, really. There are so many better books."
She added: "My mother-in-law is reading it at the moment but she puts a different cover on so people don't know."
