<p>Ah … but you have to read the trilogy. Fifty Shades of Grey leaves unanswered questions. I’m reading Fifty Shades Darker now and then Fifty Shades Freed. </p>
<p>(I should be reading Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea so that I can participate in the CC Book Club Discussion on August 1. But … the last two of the Fifty Shades trilogy arrived at the library for me and can’t be renewed. So, I needs must get right to them. Waving in shame at those of you in the CC Book Club who’ve probably already finished JE and WSS.)</p>
<p>I got some comments from the librarians too, but I expected the (friendly) harassment. I didn’t think they’d just ignore it. I just laughed. They should have expected it … my reading choices are all over the place. Too much buzz here to ignore.</p>
<p>BTW, Writer1992, I completely agree everything you posted about the book.</p>
<p>Have not read any of this book or any others in the trilogy.But see it everywhere I go. Any publicity is good publicity in certain cases. If it is indeed poorly written, is it suprising to anyone that it is a best seller? Not to me. Simple enough for the masses to understand, I suppose. Any literary masterpiece would not be a best selle, unless it became required reading for most high school/college classes.</p>
<p>My 21 year old has read at least the first book and told me that the writing was so bad that it took her out of the story completely. And she is no intellectual snob. So even though I was thinking that I needed to read the books just to know what everyone was talking about, I think I’ll pass.</p>
<p>I haven’t read any Twilight books and only read a bit of Fifty Shades on Amazon and was very unimpressed. But what I don’t understand is how the latter is fanfic of the former. I thought fanfic took characters and made new story lines? Like Kirk and Spock on vacation, or Harry Potter after Hogwarts, etc. I don’t get the impression that there are vampires and werewolves in the Fifty Shades books. Or did I miss something?</p>
<p>Marilyn, originally, the characters were Edward and Bella as regular humans, which is why it was fanfic. Naturally she had to change that when publishing became an option. I didn’t even know fanfiction existed until these books came along.</p>
<p>The writing in Fifty Shades of Grey is terrible, but at least it gave rise to some absolutely hilarious Amazon reviews. I recommend reading them instead of the book.</p>
<p>A librarian friend has informed me that the book itself is shoddily made and falls apart quickly, which of course libraries are not happy about.</p>
<p>I know a die-hard Twilight fan (Twi-hard) who has the fan-fiction Fifty Shades with Edward and Bella. She’s offered to send me a copy but I’m neither a big fan of the Twilight series nor the 50 Shades series. I read Twilight when first published and may, at some point, read the rest in the series. Truthfully, I found Twilight more original than Fifty Shades of Grey with better writing. I think 50 Shades exists because of Twilight. E L James owes a debt of gratitude to Stephenie Meyer.</p>
<p>Similarities: Edward/Christian’s wealth; Bella/Ana’s innocence; location (Pacific Northwest); the sense of smell (Christian constantly sniffs Ana); the grand piano; Edward/Christian’s dominance with Bella/Ana’s dependence - probably more but I’m not familiar enough with the Twilight series to list.</p>
<p>Actually the term “slash” (meaning a male-male romantic pairing) is derived from Kirk and Spock fanfiction from the 70’s when it was circulated at fan convention in mimeographed pamphletes. Authors used a slash to indicate the romantic partner involved. i.e. K/S</p>
<p>And you name a TV show or hit book series and I guarantee there’s an adult fanfiction archive somewhere on the web…</p>
<p>Thanks for the information,haha. I really thought the “on vacation” was a joke, and I’m so glad it’s not. And thanks for the origins of “slash.” This thread has been very informative ;)</p>
<p>I just finished Fifty Shades Darker. It ends on a cliffhanger, as did the first one. I definitely need to read Fifty Shades Freed to find out what happens. </p>
<p>I would describe Book 2 as romantic (kinky hot) suspense. So, I’d heard about the BDSM and the poor writing. Still, no one mentioned the psychotic ex-submissive or the smarmy boss or the evil ex (think Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate) who seduces (dominates) underage boys. Let’s not forget to include the not-so-anonymous person seeking to murder Christian, Ana, and friends.</p>
<p>I feel like I’m reading a particularly kinky version of Dallas or Revenge. (All the men are hot and the women gorgeous. ;)) Since I like both TV series, I can’t really diss the book on content. It is what it is - and can be enjoyed as such. (Well, I do have to diss the writing. It lacks … a lot.)</p>
<p>It does start reading like a thriller and no matter how bad it was written, I just kept reading to see what would happen next-would they be ok? Would the lunatic kill them? Was Mrs. Robinson break them up? And so on. I hadn’t mentioned it before so as not to spoil it for anyone. </p>
<p>FWIW, there’s a LOT of erotica in which everyone is young, thin and pretty. Just like in mainstream fiction everyone is either unmarried or has no kids or a job that lets them skip out anytime they need to go solve something. It is what it is, exactly.</p>
<p>Twilight was terrible. This book is even worse. I could forgive the terrible style of writing if there was a decent plot, or even a plot - but there isn’t anything.</p>
<p>What particularly annoys me is the way the author, who is British, has used American spellings and phrases alongside British ones (she uses grey and gray interchangeably, and is confusing “blonde” and “blond”) - was this book even edited?</p>
<p>No there isn’t. EL James has basically taken Stephenie Meyer’s plot (which was pretty dire to begin with) and diluted it even further. Girl meets boy and has sex - that is all that happens, this is not a plot. How any self-respecting person can buy this book and read it is quite beyond me. It is pure and unabashed escapism and that can only be a bad thing.</p>
Waving in shame at those of you in the CC Book Club who’ve probably already finished JE and WSS.)</p>