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I always read them, just like every part of a book. There have been a couple I have read intensely, 'cause you know, sometimes it's an integral part of the story. Most times though, it's just sex. We always like to make a big deal out of sex, and I'm not really sure why.

If a book is well-written the sex scenes are just as important as anything else in the story.

I always read straight through because any sexy parts are a part of the overall story. Sex is a natural part of life, and I never understood why so many people get offended by it try to shelter themselves from any mention of it.

And yet people exploit the living crap out of violence.....makes sense right?

I'm kind of odd with sex scenes.
I prefer the hand holding, the conversations, and the closeness. I'm not a romance novel type I guess.

People read those more for the sex scenes than the actual romance, just me being picky maybe.

I keep reading straight through. And if its a badly written scene I'm all meh.. if its a great scene I'm all "HUBBY COME HERE!!!" :D

Yeah, humans are definitely a bizarre species, one I doubt I'll ever understand.

Speaking about the disparity in how we treat violence in media to how we treat sex, George Carlin made an interesting suggestion in his 1977 HBO special. He wanted to go back through old movies and exchange the word "kill" with the word "fuck". That would certainly make for some interesting viewing. xD

I just read right through usually. Sometimes I'll just skim for dialogue or important parts to the plot, but generally I just.. read it. It doesn't do anything for me sexually, but I don't really care whether it's there or not..

hahaha, I just read them and it is not a big deal, although sometimes I feel they are truly unnecessary...

Either they don't add anything to the story or are just there to lose the focus of the story, but that may be just me :P

I feel like the awkward immature ferret but I'm going bust up your monocle wearing party...I LOVE THE SEX SCENES! I will read them and if they are good I will read them twelve times.

I can't decide if it is because I get really attached to the characters and I love to see them get it or if it is because I am just a really sexual person and I enjoy sensual literature. Either way when I come across a sex scene in my book as long as it is well written...SCORE.

No, it's definitely great when characters you'd really been rooting for FINALLY have sex. How graphic the sex should be is something that's going to vary depending on the particular story, but it can be really satisfying as a reader.

I do this exact same thing xD

How I feel about explicit content usually depends on it's relevance to the story. If showing the characters in a sexual setting contributes to the story and helps us gain new insights to a facet of their relationship then I'll read it and appreciate the perspective.

If it's smut that's only there to be smut then I might not even read the book. If your story is so weak you have to try to entice me by presenting me with porn in hopes that it will keep me turned on enough to continue reading then your story probably sucks, or it's a harlequin romance novel, which means it sucks. I have more respect for straight up porn since that doesn't generally pretend it's selling me an actual story.

To summarize, whether or not I'll read it and enjoy it really depends on it's importance to the plot and the character development.

@Red XD But the Harlequin Romance novels ARE porn for some.

Generally, I enjoy having some smut spliced into my novels. Even if I don't read through it right then (maybe entangled in the story and have to finish it first), I will still come back and make my own little marks on the page to let me know where it was.. IF it was good. If it sucked, then no, I'll never go back to it and it might even draw me out of the book.

Unfortunately for me, I cannot seem to find an outlet other than smut novels that really.. *AHEM* get things going. I've taken to gathering and collecting the novels purely for the erotica, in an attempt to liven up the love life.. Most pictures or videos do nothing for me.

I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with straight-out porn either...

Unless the intention of the entire story is obviously to be pornographic or otherwise not serious in terms of story/plot/character development, sex scenes and all other material MUST be done in a manner that is completely relevant to the story and characters and only what is necessary for proper development should be shown. I will stop reading a story completely (or only continue reading it as a joke) if I come across a useless segment of filth clearly intended to keep the attention of an immature and/or otherwise bored reader. A good story does not have room for irrelevant crap. Period. That's not just applicable to sex scenes, but all things included in the story, from physical descriptions of the characters to the amount of time covered between scene transitions. Relevance, relevance, relevance. It is important. If an author seems to be ignoring it, then the material is not worth my attention--nor would it hold my attention if I were to try reading it anyway. As Red pointed out, however, there are times when a sex scene may indeed be relevant and certain details used to illuminate character traits and relationships in a way that other types of interaction scenes could not. This is when such things are acceptable. Sexuality is, after all, a normal and often important aspect of life. It can say a lot about one or more characters. Overall, as with everything else, an author must tread very carefully when it comes to this sort of thing and decide how much detail is truly appropriate for each situation. Just because it needs to be said that two characters have slept together does not mean that it needs to be written out from start to finish--and yet, sometimes it does.