Want to borrow “Fifty Shades of Grey?”

It’s going to be a long, heart-pounding wait at the local library.

All 185 print, 50 eBook and 14 audio book copies of the first of volume of E.L. James’ adult erotic trilogy are checked out of the Denver Public Library and 1,424 people had placed holds by early Thursday afternoon. Those numbers are growing by the hour, library spokeswoman Jen Morris said.

“I was at the airport the other day, and it seemed like everyone was reading it — even men,” Arapahoe Library District spokeswoman Jessica Sidener said with a laugh.

Colorado readers have been slow to warm to the steamy novel, which as of Tuesday, has sold more than 10 million copies across all platforms since it debuted in April, according to publisher Vintage. The three books — called “mommy porn” by the New York Times — topped the newspaper’s Bestseller List this weekend.

Goodreads, an online reader recommendation site, says readers of the book are most concentrated in New England and New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Readers like it best in the plains and southern states. Colorado is tepid in both categories.

But those who want to read the book, want it bad.

Morris said 802 people are signed up for a print copy of the book, a wait she estimated at three months. She said 71 people are waiting to listen to it. Another 551 want the eBook edition.

(For the record, Morris said, erotica and romance novels are the most popular eBook checkouts at the Denver libraries.)

On the conservative Western Slope, Mesa County Libraries has 16 copies of the book — all checked out — up from five copies two weeks ago, all checked out.

The Marmot Library Network, which is a Western Slope library sharing network that includes the Mesa County Library, has 316 holds for the first book in the trilogy; 100 are in Mesa County, library spokesman Bob Kretschman said.

The Arapahoe libraries have 53 print copies and 61 on order, with 390 holds. The district’s 49 eBook copies have 251 holds, Sidener said.

The Jefferson County Public Library has 133 print copies with 690 holds and 50 eBook copies with 270 holds, spokeswoman Rebecca Winning said.

Although there are 140 people waiting for a turn with Aurora Public Library’s three print and four eBook copies, the book is not as popular as others currently on the shelves.

” ‘The Hunger Games’ had more holds,” Aurora library assistant Shawn Edwards said, “but a book like that appeals to a wider range of audiences.”

The sizzling tale of an affair between a naive college student and a wealthy older alumni of her school is not without controversy. Libraries in Florida, Georgia and Wisconsin pulled copies.

“It is very popular and controversial,” Denver Public Library’s Morris said. “But we support rights of readers and ordered more copies to meet the demand.”

Ryan Parker: rparker@denverpost.com, 303-954-2409 or twitter.com/yhRyan