Poll: Sexy reading makes women swoon

LONDON, July 7 (UPI) -- Give British women a romance novel or a novel with a little raunchy sex and they're in heaven, a survey indicated.

The poll of nearly 2,000 women between the ages of 45 and 60 found romantic fiction was the most popular reading fare, preferred by 35 percent of those surveyed, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

Steamy passages generated heat for nearly two-thirds of respondents, with more than half of the respondents calling sex in books "titillating," the survey conducted by Astral moisturizer.

On top of that, 10 percent more questioned about their reading habits said they actively chose books that featured lots of sex scenes.

"This research shows that reading for pleasure is still an incredibly popular pastime for women," Astral spokeswoman Trisha MacNair said. "However, I am surprised to see just how many women liked sex scenes in books, with most telling us that there was a strong titillation factor."

Crime and mystery novels received 33 percent of the vote, and "other" novels, 31 percent.

Not surprising, reference books were the least popular.