50 Shades Of Absolute Crap

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by Quexos

Maybe that's how such an appalling book is so successful. Nobody seems to like it but everybody keeps talking about it. Just like this thread does

That's not true. Quite a lot of people like this book. A lot of people hate it, sure, but a lot of people like it.

[captkjaneway]

Not read it, no interest in reading it but surely this is just a step up from a Jilly Cooper or Jackie Collins bit of naughty but acceptable smut I remember from teh 80's. There are far better erotic fiction books out there, but being labelled as such they will never get a wide audience for fear of being judged as a reader.

Lets face it though this type of mass hysteria over a book is not a new thing, and surely the drivel Dan Brown churns out is just as gut wrenchingly bad so comments like

"The lowest common denominator department would seem to be where this belongs.....
Rubbish which ticks all the low spots will always appeal to some - it seems this hasn't scraped the barrell, it's scoured and sand-blasted it."

I think you are onto something. 50 Shades is the perfect book for people who love daytime soaps.

are a little unfair on those that do enjoy it surely. One thing I hate more than a rubbish read are literary snobs!

I <3 the fact that on a Kindle no-one knows what you are reading........

[plib]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

I'm still a bit scarred...

Was it the whip or the cane that did it?

[AlexBell]

Just to show what a mad world we live in

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...of-grey-tallis

[applesauce]

Originally Posted by captkjaneway

Not read it, no interest in reading it but surely this is just a step up from a Jilly Cooper or Jackie Collins bit of naughty
I <3 the fact that on a Kindle no-one knows what you are reading........

I have read Jilly Cooper and Jackie Cooper. They are Shakespeare compaired to E.L James . There is an actual story and characters with some depth, tho limited. Shades is figh have sex repeat over and over again. No story just a pair of emo teens who both needed a goos spanking. I read all 3 books thinking it had to get better. It was horrid.

It is not about being a snob I love a good trashie dime store read, but give me a break these where beyond boring and lame.

applesauce

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by plib

Was it the whip or the cane that did it?

The flogger.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by captkjaneway

Not read it, no interest in reading it but surely this is just a step up from a Jilly Cooper or Jackie Collins bit of naughty but acceptable smut I remember from teh 80's. There are far better erotic fiction books out there, but being labelled as such they will never get a wide audience for fear of being judged as a reader.

Lets face it though this type of mass hysteria over a book is not a new thing, and surely the drivel Dan Brown churns out is just as gut wrenchingly bad so comments like



are a little unfair on those that do enjoy it surely. One thing I hate more than a rubbish read are literary snobs!

I <3 the fact that on a Kindle no-one knows what you are reading........

I've found the volume and intensity of the disgusted responses to be just as perplexing as the volume and intensity of all the happy fans.

I admit to leaning toward literary snobbishness; I could not endure soaps or most TV, and don't get me started on the popularity of Phillipa Gregory, but I will confess *deep breath* I actually enjoyed this trilogy OK.

Did it need serious editing for repetition and technical writing? Oh yes.

But as a story, it kept me engaged, rather than bored, and, at the risk of giving TMI, their style of D/s / DD matches mine, though not as much as the similar book, Knight, and I don't find many others that do.

I know it turns off a lot of people, just as menage and femme domme, and even bitchy, kickass heroines turn me and others off. But I'm happy for everyone to enjoy whatever trips their trigger. I wouldn't read a book that had those things in them, or rate them as bad. They are matters of taste.

It just kills me when people say "it takes women back 50 years," or "they did BDSM Wrong!"
There as many flavors of BDSM as their are religion, and even people in BDSM groups go at each other about what is "true submissive" (slaves and DD) vs "do me subs" (eg masochists) vs yadda yadda.

As long as it is consensual, and that includes the blanket consent of the DD sub or slave, and there is a safe word, it's cool.

Bottom line, the only two things I wished differently for this trilogy were that it had been professionally edited, and that, since it has become so popular, that he wasn't portrayed as a man who needed "fixed."

(1. Girls shouldn't go in trying to fix a broken man (or vice-versa), and if you don't like being controlled, don't try to "teach" him to stop liking control, and
2. It gives the impression that a man has to have psychological trauma or other serious issues to be into control.)

OK, I'm going to shut up now!

[Freeshadow]

Thanks for pointing out 1.) vice-versa included:
Don't know how to name the female part of it. The male surely deserves to be called Lancelot-syndrome.

Footnote to your footnote:
Together people can only solve problems they've together. The solo problems have to be solved by each own.
Whoever (s)he is: you can't "save" that person. This is the most destructive myth in romantic lit.

[Love.Forever.]

I actually tried reading the book, only got maybe 10 pages in because it belonged to a coworker who has now finished reading it. It kind of drew me in a little, but I guess I would have to read more pages to really understand the book. That was maybe 2 months ago, since I didn't bother to borrow the book, I guess that shows my interest level in finishing it at this point

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

Thanks for pointing out 1.) vice-versa included:
Don't know how to name the female part of it. The male surely deserves to be called Lancelot-syndrome.

Footnote to your footnote:
Together people can only solve problems they've together. The solo problems have to be solved by each own.
Whoever (s)he is: you can't "save" that person. This is the most destructive myth in romantic lit.

So true, and well said.

[eskimo49]

It doesn't matter if the book is wonderful or absolutely disgusting. The free publicity this book is getting has pushed it into the best seller's list. Even if I had read it (which I haven't), I wouldn't admit to it.

Wish I could find some way of generating this amount of publicity for my book.

[applesauce]

Originally Posted by eskimo49

It doesn't matter if the book is wonderful or absolutely disgusting. The free publicity this book is getting has pushed it into the best seller's list. Even if I had read it (which I haven't), I wouldn't admit to it.

Wish I could find some way of generating this amount of publicity for my book.

The reality is the target reader and the subject matter ie mummy porn is what gets the publicity.

applesauce

[eskimo49]

Originally Posted by applesauce

The reality is the target reader and the subject matter ie mummy porn is what gets the publicity.

applesauce

You only need to look at the amount of posts on this forum as well to see that we are all keeping the publicity going.

[whitearrow]

This Goodreads review is hilarious.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by whitearrow

This Goodreads review is hilarious.

Oh, that is a good one! I like how she calls it Fifty Shades of $hit.