It shocked the nation when first published – but apparently Suffolk bookworms can’t get enough of it.

East Anglian Daily Times: Fifty Shades of Grey by British author E L James was the most borrowed book in Suffolk libraries during 2012/13. Pictured is Bury St Edmunds librarian Rachel Porter.Fifty Shades of Grey by British author E L James was the most borrowed book in Suffolk libraries during 2012/13. Pictured is Bury St Edmunds librarian Rachel Porter.

Since hitting the shelves in 2011 EL James’ erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels have sold tens of millions of copies globally.

And as rumours of a film version gather pace it appears Suffolk readers are still enthralled by the book.

A list of the top ten most borrowed library books in the county has put Fifty Shades at the top of the rankings.

It’s one of only two books to make the national top ten, placing third. The other is The Affair by Lee Child, which heads the overall table but only makes ninth in Suffolk’s charts.

Alison Wheeler, general manager of Suffolk Libraries, said: “It’s interesting to see that crime and romance fiction is still flourishing and that Suffolk library users enjoy bestsellers.

“Looking further than the top ten there is still a good sprinkling of literary fiction and Scandinavian writers in the top 100 books.

“The key thing for us is being able to offer people a choice.

“We work hard to ensure that we provide books that we know are popular and to be able to meet more specific requests, perhaps for books by local authors or on specific subjects.”

There are 88 copies of 50 Shades of Grey in Suffolk, along with four spoken word versions, two large print and one polish language edition.