50 Shades of Grey

[sillyberry]

Sabine, I loved the first book, too. The characterization was stupid. I recognized Christian was not just damaged, but a disaster of a human being. I hated Anastasia and her bland internal life. I've read better (and dirtier) erotica. I recognized the writing as subpar in the same ways suggested here.

And yet.

I also was up until 4am because I couldn't put it down. I know other educated women who fit the same criteria and yet felt similarly. I can't explain it in any rational way. I was totally and utterly sucked in.

Books 2 and 3 went downhill ("another screaming orgasm, yawn"), but I still finished them.

 

[Autumnovember]

This is one of the worst books I've ever read in my life.
And it is poorly written. That is a fact. No opinion there.

I bought it because my oldest friend who NEVER reads wanted to read it, so I said I'd read it, too.
Terrible. Awful. I laughed out loud a couple times, it was so bad. The sex scenes aren't even good enough to be redeeming. If you write erotic fiction and you can't manage to call your vajayjay anything other than "down there" or your "sex", you are in the wrong genre.

Don't even get me started on the inner goddess bs. I wanted to beat her inner goddess with a mallet by the end of the book. STILL, I stuck it out because of my friend. I haven't known her to read a book EVER, so it was worth the pain.

There's fluff and there's sh*t. This book is sh*t. It's even worse than Twilight, IMO, and that's not an easy task.

The thing that I REALLY want to know from women who love this book is WHY? I'm not talking about the writing, I'm talking about the actual story. What is exciting about Christian Grey? Is it his money? It can't be the fact that he's so effed up he won't let women touch him, and he actually wants to see the woman he cares about in real pain. Can it? I understand the BDSM world, but she didn't even write that storyline very well. It's clear she's never actually engaged in the lifestyle herself. This isn't really about a dom/sub relationship, it's about a guy who needs some serious help, and a woman who thinks so little of herself that she falls in love with him. What's so sexy about that?

Since I'm one of the few that like it on HERE, I liked it because of how f*cked up it was. Honestly. I thought the whole S&M thing was interesting too since I knew NOTHING about it before reading the book so it was something new and different. I liked it because there were qualities about Christian that I liked. Not many but there were some. And I liked twilight so it was fun to read it and think of it being Edward and Bella but in a different world. Plus, it's trashy and I kinda like that lol!

I had no idea what I was going to be reading before I started so when it got really into the sex, I liked it haha.

I know a lot of people who are big readers that agree with everything you've said but because I'm not, I probably can't SEE the same things you are. Give me some suggestions for some more sex filled books and I'll read them and don't I doubt I'll agree with you later on.

P.S. disappointed with the sex scenes?!?!?!?!? Ok really, wtf am I missing out on?! I mean, I AM only 24 but I'm living a boring life, I think!!

 

[mrs jam]

Hey, AN, I'm right there with you! I enjoyed the books for their shock value; I had never read any erotic fiction before 50. While I do look back and have a laugh over some of the writing, I downloaded all three to my Kindle app and spent all day and all night reading them. I will never turn up my nose to reading any book.

 

[rosetta]

Oh god it's bad.

Really really bad.

Fanfic FAIL.

Erotica FAIL.

BDSM FAIL.

 

[mary poppins]

My friend has been raving about the book (not from a literary perspective, though) and trying to get me to read it. Based on what she told me, I wasn't interested in reading it. After reading the comments here, I think I'll stick to my guns and pass.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I real all three. I wasn't expecting any type of masterpiece, just fun. I also edited the writing as I read and inserted my own lines, that helped, lol.

 

[erinl]

I bought this book and it is in my reading queue. Now I don't even know if I will bother

A couple of you have spoken of well written erotica. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Haven]

I'm uncomfortable recommending erotica because it kind of speaks to my own personal preferences, and I'd rather not share. I can recommend that anyone interested in reading erotica get on Goodreads.com and do a search for erotica. People write really good reviews there, most of the members are serious readers.

 

[Amys Bling]

I'm uncomfortable recommending erotica because it kind of speaks to my own personal preferences, and I'd rather not share. I can recommend that anyone interested in reading erotica get on Goodreads.com and do a search for erotica. People write really good reviews there, most of the members are serious readers.

ought o...what are you into lol

 

[geckodani]

I'm with Sabine, I really enjoyed the 50 books and could not STAND the Sookie books. And I've got a BA in English, but a definite soft spot for trashy books.

I downloaded the first one after the SNL sketch last weekend as a funny ha ha. I am not a fan of first person narrative, and I slogged through the first several chapters none too impressed. And then I got hooked, and read all three in 4 days.

Writing: Juvenile, for sure, but better than some I've read, to be honest. And I loved the subconscious/inner goddess stuff. Thought it was hilarious.

Characters: I found them intriguing, to be honest. They grow on you.

Erotica aspect: Ask my husband. I think he's tired now.

 

[geckodani]

The thing that I REALLY want to know from women who love this book is WHY? I'm not talking about the writing, I'm talking about the actual story. What is exciting about Christian Grey? Is it his money? It can't be the fact that he's so effed up he won't let women touch him, and he actually wants to see the woman he cares about in real pain. Can it? I understand the BDSM world, but she didn't even write that storyline very well. It's clear she's never actually engaged in the lifestyle herself. This isn't really about a dom/sub relationship, it's about a guy who needs some serious help, and a woman who thinks so little of herself that she falls in love with him. What's so sexy about that?

******** Spoiler alert! If you care about reading these, don't read my response as I may spoil some things. **********

Haven did you read all three? Because the Christian Grey at the end of book 3 and the Christian Grey at the beginning of book 1 are worlds apart. He is damaged goods. 100% damaged goods when the story starts. And I think that that resonates with a lot of people. A lot of us are damaged in one way or another. Ana's got her own issues too, which she also works through.

To me, watching him evolve throughout the books because of Ana was worth reading in of itself. The fact that he was using the BDSM life style to cope with his damage, and ends up leaving it behind if he wants to move forward was intriguing.

The BDSM life style is not something most people have ever engaged in. Yet I think a lot of women are secretly intrigued. This has just enough of what feels forbidden to be appealing to the masses, as evidenced by how popular they are.

Ultimately I think they have become so wildly popular because women who have never read a trashy book in their lives are picking this one up and reading it.

 

[Mico]

How interesting, I first caught wind of this book today via this thread - and then had someone mention it to me roughly an hour later.

if only i had time to read for leisure...

 

[Haven]

Gecko--Interesting. No, I haven't read all three and I don't think I will any time soon. Now that summer has officially begun (YAAAAAAY!) I'm going to go back to being very, very protective of my time, so no mediocre books until August. I only read the first book, and it was a struggle to get through it. If the writing hadn't been so distracting, I could see getting sucked into the story. Really interesting what you say about Christian evolving over the three books.

I think your analysis of why so many women are enjoying the books is probably spot-on. They do seem like a *safe* foray into the BDSM lifestyle, even if it is a really poor description of it. Maybe it's just exotic enough to appeal, yet not too real to turn otherwise straight-laced women off. That makes sense to me. I can buy that. Safe fetishism!

I still say, at the end of the day, that I'd rather see people reading than not. So, even though I think this is some of the worst writing on bookshelves today, I'd still rather women read this than not read at all.

 

[Haven]

How interesting, I first caught wind of this book today via this thread - and then had someone mention it to me roughly an hour later.

if only i had time to read for leisure...

I refuse to believe that anyone doesn't have time to read for leisure.

 

[Haven]

I'm uncomfortable recommending erotica because it kind of speaks to my own personal preferences, and I'd rather not share. I can recommend that anyone interested in reading erotica get on Goodreads.com and do a search for erotica. People write really good reviews there, most of the members are serious readers.

ought o...what are you into lol

Aaaand that's why I don't want to share any specific titles!

 

[geckodani]

Gecko--Interesting. No, I haven't read all three and I don't think I will any time soon. Now that summer has officially begun (YAAAAAAY!) I'm going to go back to being very, very protective of my time, so no mediocre books until August. I only read the first book, and it was a struggle to get through it. If the writing hadn't been so distracting, I could see getting sucked into the story. Really interesting what you say about Christian evolving over the three books.

I think your analysis of why so many women are enjoying the books is probably spot-on. They do seem like a *safe* foray into the BDSM lifestyle, even if it is a really poor description of it. Maybe it's just exotic enough to appeal, yet not too real to turn otherwise straight-laced women off. That makes sense to me. I can buy that. Safe fetishism!

I still say, at the end of the day, that I'd rather see people reading than not. So, even though I think this is some of the worst writing on bookshelves today, I'd still rather women read this than not read at all.

There's a definite evolution. If you have time for mediocrity , you might find the second two books interesting. The characters really do evolve as the books go on, especially Christian. I'm certainly not championing her writing, but I'm not sorry to have read them.

 

[Haven]

I'm far less picky about what I read during the school year, so I'll put 'em on my list for the fall on your recommendation! I kind of hated Christian by the end of the first book. And I wasn't too impressed with Ana, either. It might be nice to mend our relationship.

 

[Trekkie]

Hi, my name is Trekkie and I read a lot of trash.

I need to preface this by emphasising that I read *a lot* of trash. I especially enjoy Mills and Boon / Harlequin Romances written pre-1985. My favourite Mills and Boon author is Charlotte Lamb (those of you familiar with the genre will know that she's by far one of the most controversial of the "golden" M&B authors), so clearly I am not what one would call a "discerning" reader.

I blame Goodreads for recommending Fifty Shades. I enjoy reading erotica and am no stranger to BDSM and kink so I thought why not give it a go?

*sigh*

I should have known better. What a waste of time and money. What's worse is that I'm a compulsive reader - I simply had to finish all three books. The only "real" moment was the way Christian reacted to whatsherface's pregnancy in Book Three. The rest of it? Meh.

Haven, EL James *is* British, so your comments regarding the dialogue make sense. I am South African but my dad is English and I lived in the UK for a number of years so I can't say I really noticed the English overtone to the writing.

For those of you who have requested recommendations for "good" erotica, I can highly recommend Megan Hart. I am currently re-reading Dirty and again I find it utterly unputdownable. I also absolutely adore Cara McKenna. I have read Willing Victim eight times and have the world's biggest crush on Michael Flynn. Yes, the story is twisted, yes, it's flawed and far too short...

But ****, Christian who? I'd take Michael Flynn any day.

 

[geckodani]

I'm far less picky about what I read during the school year, so I'll put 'em on my list for the fall on your recommendation! I kind of hated Christian by the end of the first book. And I wasn't too impressed with Ana, either. It might be nice to mend our relationship.

LOL. Like I said, not nominating them for any awards, but if you left off at the end of book 1... I'd hate them too, LOL.

 

[soocool]

Glad I read through this thread. My friend has been nagging me to read it and now I can gladly thell her I have no desire to based on all the replies here. Thanks for saving me from wasting my precious time.

 

[geckodani]

Okay. So I'm reading them again at less of a breakneck pace. And my opinion has shifted slightly. Still happy to have read them, but much like Twilight, the melodrama surrounding the relationship portrayed is just huge. Blergh.

 

[mrs jam]

Glad I read through this thread. My friend has been nagging me to read it and now I can gladly thell her I have no desire to based on all the replies here. Thanks for saving me from wasting my precious time.

I have learned to not be swayed into NOT reading a particular book based on others' negative reviews. If I listened to all the poo-pooers out there, I would have missed out on discovering some of my favorite books! I take note of positive reviews because often they help me find books that I might not otherwise select, but I don't pay any attention to negative press as far as books go. One readers's trash is another's treasure!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Oh...hello.....Is this the playroom?
Been loving the quality time I've spent with that nice Mr. Grey and can't wait for my next run-in with the twitchy palm.
Must remember to ask him if he got any of his accessories from Hermes...especially that beautiful tie....
Here's how I picture Himself:

 

[Madam Bijoux]

The "submit" button has a whole new meaning for me now...

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Time to go practice rolling my eyes and stamping my foot. Laters.

 

[rainwood]

I'm not planning to read them because the terrible writing will drive me nuts, but I've really enjoyed some of the comments here. Thanks for the laughs!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

"Some love is fire: some love is rust:
But the fiercest, cleanest love is lust."

--Joseph Moncure "The Wild Party"

 

[isaku5]

The "submit" button has a whole new meaning for me now...

LOL, Madam. You're too cute!!!!!

 

[starshine]

The "submit" button has a whole new meaning for me now...

Lol! Hilarious! Love the eye candy, too!

 

[Mico]

How interesting, I first caught wind of this book today via this thread - and then had someone mention it to me roughly an hour later.

if only i had time to read for leisure...

I refuse to believe that anyone doesn't have time to read for leisure.

If my time outside of work isn't spent studying for my boards, and overwhelming sense of guilt comes over me. I do try to read after each board exam though. Right around when my brain is mush and can't take any more. For those times I tend to stray from anything that can make me think TOO much.