Fifty Shades of Grey
discussion
Worst book you have ever read?
Melissa wrote: "I try very hard to read books that I am really going to enjoy. And I quit reading if books sucks. I "hate-read" all three of these books because I was tired of hearing about how great they were. So..."Wow! Just to let you know I quit on 2nd book, after about 50 pages. I did not "hate read" and I am pretty happy about it. You forced yourself to read 3 books and are miserable about it.
Mary wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Horrible writing, repetitive ramblings of a housewife trying to imagine all the kinky things she would like to do were she not boring...."How incredibly judgmental and stereotypic..."
Obviously I can't speak for Melissa but she has a point. The books were written by a housewife (yay for her) who appeared to have not done that much research into her chosen subject. It doesn't matter if the author was a housewife or a CEO that doesn't suddenly change the writing techniques employed.
I wasn't a fan of the writing either. It's one thing to have a simplistic style I don't mind that. But it seemed to me a little bit unpolished. At least in my opinion.
I would check my facts, the author was a television executive. I also don't think that her writing has anything to do with the fact that she is a housewife. Read her bio and do your research before making comments. You are guilty of the same thing you accuse her of doing.
Paula wrote: "I would check my facts, the author was a television executive. I also don't think that her writing has anything to do with the fact that she is a housewife. Read her bio and do your research befor..."You're right I must have been thinking of Stephenie Meyer instead. Although E L James is still accused of misrepresenting the BDSM lifestyle and not learning enough about American slang and idioms, for it to be convincingly set in America.
But I agree with you as I stated previously, I dont think it would have changed the writing techniques if she weren't a housewife.
Make of that what you will.
Well- isn't she a housewife? I did find her fantasies boring and her writing terrible. What part of that was incredibly judgmental? She is a middleaged housewife who wrote a fanfic for Twilight who went by the name of "Snowqueens Icedragon".I try not to judge what people read. I am just happy people are reading. As far as fantasies, I am the last person to judge what gets people off, and I spent many years as a stripper and a dominatrix, I have heard many, many fantasies, some deep dark secrets, some so bizarre I'm sure most people have never heard of half of them. It was obvious to me when reading E.J. James' books that she had absolutely no experience with American culture, American men, BDSM relationships, and not even a clue as to what college girls are doing today. In fact, if I hadn't seen her on a talk show I would assume she was a nerdy teenager who hadn't yet had sex, trying to imagine the coolest, naughtiest things she could think of.
And the sex in the books after the first few chapters was dull. I was not turned on by the characters and their interactions, but people like different things - thank goodness. You probably don't care for the books I like either, nor do we probably get turned on by the same things - so what? It doesn't bother me.
Yes, I did purposely waste two days of my life slogging through this trilogy - but that was only so I could critique them intelligently and legitimately with other readers.
Somerandom wrote: "Paula wrote: "I would check my facts, the author was a television executive. I also don't think that her writing has anything to do with the fact that she is a housewife. Read her bio and do your ..."No she is a TV executive, wife and mother of two. And BTW I agree with you that she did not research the American culture properly, but what is at issue is her inability to write because she is a housewife.
tv
Paula wrote: "Somerandom wrote: "Paula wrote: "I would check my facts, the author was a television executive. I also don't think that her writing has anything to do with the fact that she is a housewife. Read h..."I don't think anyone is saying she wrote that way because she's a housewife but that she wrote that way because of her inexperience in BDSM. I'm not in the lifestyle so I honestly dont know. Although it did seem kind of awkwardish , if that makes sense? Perhaps it was just her being a rookie erotica novelist? I don't know.
Like I said I agree that her being a housewife or not has no affect on her writing ability.
Whoa, what a newsflash.And allllllll this time I pictured ol' Snowqueens Icedragon as a dumpy housewife on disability, sitting at home diddling herself whilst fantasizing about some uptight metrosexual controlling asshole whirring on up to her bedroom window late at night via his helicopter to carry her away from her lonely, unfulfilling life.
Well, I stand corrected - and my inner goddess blushes with embarrassment and bites her lip. Bwahahahahaaaa
Melissa wrote: "Whoa, what a newsflash.And allllllll this time I pictured ol' Snowqueens Icedragon as a dumpy housewife on disability, sitting at home diddling herself whilst fantasizing about some uptight metro..."
ROFL! XD for some reason I pictured the mother of "Honey boo boo" typing 50 shades. Thanks Melissa, that picture will be hard to erase from my mind.
Oh crap! Geez! Holy cow! My subconscious whispered to me that I had better read a biography of E.L. James post-haste. http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-e...
Well, I am blushing and flushing furiously with embarrassment now. I got schooled because YES, E.L. James is a former BBC executive and her husband is a scriptwriter who helped edit her books (OMG!!!)
Anyway, now my inner goddess looks is looking over her half moon specs and rolling her eyes, shaking her finger at me (anyone else notice how Ana is 21, but her inner goddess is 45?) It's just one of many creepy things about this book.
Its better than Harry Potter for sure!
Somerandom wrote: "Obviously I can't speak for Melissa but she has a point. The books were written by a housewife (yay for her) who appeared to have not done that much research into her chosen subject. It doesn't matter if the author was a housewife or a CEO that doesn't suddenly change the writing techniques employed. ..."
...and J.K. Rowling was on welfare when she started writing the Harry Potter books. Jane Austen never had a job in her life...I think you get my drift. Let me ask another question. Is there some monolithic BDSM lifestyle where everyone who engages in it does so in the same way for the same purpose?
Melissa wrote: "Yes, I did purposely waste two days of my life slogging through this trilogy - but that was only so I could critique them intelligently and legitimately with other readers. ..."I believe there is a different between critiquing a work and trashing an author. I think the books were poorly edited and needed more research. These problems though could have been easily solved with a good editor. I just do not get the personal vitriol directed at E.L. James.
Melissa wrote: "Anyway, now my inner goddess looks is looking over her half moon specs and rolling her eyes, shaking her finger at me (anyone else notice how Ana is 21, but her inner goddess is 45?) It's just one of many creepy things about this book. ..."Did you think that To Kill a Mockingbird was creepy because Harper Lee was an adult writing through the voice of a 6-7 year old child?
Calling her a "housewife" is not trashing her. I am making fun of the way she writes because I found it ridiculous, nothing about the woman personally.And course it's not creepy when an author uses a different voice. All novels do unless they are autobiographical. However, I find characters with what appears to some sort of multiple personality disorder that talk to themself constantly to be disturbing. Not a turnon, which - I think - which is the purpose of this book.
In that link which links to an TV interview, E.L. James called these books her "midlife crisis" and stated these books are her own personal fantasies. I mean, she's writing cheap poorly written porn, specific to her own taste - but obviously a lot of people loved it. It's heroic of you to feel the need to protect her, but I doubt if E.L. James is crying over my rejection of her writing. As a person, she certainly looks like a nice lady, I hope she enjoys her fame and wealth. No vitriol at all.
This was the first piece of erotica I've ever read and *blush*, I have to admit, I enjoyed that aspect initially. Truly, I did. But there comes a point where the emotional aspect should have eclipsed the basic animal instincts. The story should have turned from infatuation to something with a little more depth, and I don't see that this ever happened, even by the end altogether - not to a high enough degree. Actually, maybe that's unfair. Maybe it just didn't happen early enough, for me. That to me was a crying shame - but hey, it was written for the erotica market so maybe she was bowing to reader's tastes? Personally, I was skipping through sex scenes by book two to get to the meat and bones of the story (i.e. the emotional aspect). The intermittent exchange of bodily fluids got a bit boring.There were quite a few typos. With novels that have been produced through professional publishers I take a bit of an issue with that.
However, I think there was a good plot there, particularly by book three and the car chase etc. There was a fair bit of action (outside the bedroom department) which I found pretty gripping. There was great characterisation, not so much with... What was her name? But Christian Grey is a name that will go down in history. It just amazes me when I talk to my friends that no one seems to remember he was ginger...
As a writer, I get far more compliments on my male protagonists. Maybe that's because my readers just identify better with my male characters. Or maybe it's because women fiction writers, being predominantly women, have a tendency to put men on a pedestal? For me, Shades of Grey etc. was all about him - a man's inner turmoil and his ultimate redemption. That was the bare bones. From his objectification of women based on a traumatic childhood, to finally engaging with, empathising with and falling in love with Ana. He may have been successful academically/on a business front, but it was bridging this gap that made him grow socially (the guy did sound like a bit of a loner until that point) and as a person. I very much enjoyed that aspect of the story.
You know, having said all the above, this was initially a self-published author and the fact that we're sitting here talking about it, all this time on, however many million copies sold... I can't knock it. The gal done good :)
Melissa wrote: "Calling her a "housewife" is not trashing her. I am making fun of the way she writes because I found it ridiculous, nothing about the woman personally.And course it's not creepy when an author us..."
I don't think she feels the need for me to protect her either, but I did read your housewife comment as dismissive. Also, most authors use their past history as information for their books. That is why it is much easier for a 45 year old woman to write about being 21 than it would be for a 21 year old woman to write about being 45. The 45 year old has actually experienced that age. That does not mean a really good young writer cannot write about being older, there would just be less background knowledge to draw on.
Characters talking to themselves is nothing new and it can be done really well. I liked the inner monologues that Bridget Jones had with herself via her diary in Helen Fielding's books. Several of the Pride and Prejudice re-tellings make use of a diary or inner monologue and a number of them were done very well. Most books written in first person have lengthy character dialogues or "innerlogues."
Personally I do not think the books were great at all. I think they did have potential if James had had a really good editor, but as is there is much to critique. However, I think that many of the critiques have gone overboard and read more emotionally than critically. I think the writing at the beginning of the novels was close to abysmal, but I also saw the writing get better over the course of the books. I saw an underlying story that had merit, but a lot of small nitpicky things were included that jarred the reader out of the story. I feel like the books were more in line with a rough draft of a novel than a finished product.
Mary wrote: "Somerandom wrote: "Obviously I can't speak for Melissa but she has a point. The books were written by a housewife (yay for her) who appeared to have not done that much research into her chosen sub..."
Mate I'm on your side. I pointed out that her profession doesn't impact on her writing abilities and I made it clear that I am not in the lifestyle just pointed out that misrepresentation of BDSM is what E L James is accused of doing. Why are you acting like I'm the one "insulting" the author? I'm not.
Somerandom wrote: "Mate I'm on your side. I pointed out that her profession doesn't impact on her writing abilities and I made it clear that I am not in the lifestyle just pointed out that misrepresentation of BDSM is what E L James is accused of doing. Why are you acting like I'm the one "insulting" the author? I'm not. ..."Sorry. I thought you were agreeing with the housewife comment like housewives have nothing better to do than sit around and have erotic fantasies. I was a housewife until my youngest started first grade and I can assure you that staying at home is harder work than the work I do now that I have a paying job. My mother was a housewife who looked after six kids. For most it is not some indulgent and lazy occupation that should be dismissed as having any value. OK...I am finished with that rant.
As to the BDSM "lifestyle," I ask again...Is there some monolithic BDSM club that has a set of rules its members must abide by? Or is it more along the lines of anything goes within the confines of a consensual relationship? If it is the latter, then I guess she can define it for HER characters anyway she likes. I got the feeling from the books that Christian's "lifestyle" was not so much about BDSM as it was about control and this was one sexual area in his life that he was allowed to exert that control without emotional consequences. I took it as a "faux BDSM" because I don't think he was really wedded to the idea; he was merely using it as a crutch.
Mary wrote: "Somerandom wrote: "Mate I'm on your side. I pointed out that her profession doesn't impact on her writing abilities and I made it clear that I am not in the lifestyle just pointed out that misrepre..."Oh trust me. My mum was a housewife through my youth (she got bored one day and became a justice of the peace. Like ya do) so I have nothing but respect for housewives.
I don't know much about BDSM so you'll have to ask someone who is in the lifestyle. Personally I got the implication that Christian was only into BDSM because of his abuse, which is plausible I admit, just made me question just how much the author knew about BDSM to begin with.
Perhaps he was just a creep. I understand that he wanted to control his sex life as his not always the best. But speaking as a survivor he seemed creepy rather than him just reacting to his trauma. Maybe it's the way he's written or maybe it was just how I interpreted him, but if I was Anna I'd run far far away far quicker than she did.
I did get the sense that their relationship was a bit unbalanced. Like he was taking advantage of her naivety. Whether or not Anna derived enjoyment is irrelevant. BDSM is based on mutual trust and balance. I didn't get that from their relationship. I didn't read the other two books so I don't know where that leads or if it's adressed or anything. It just kind of irked me for some reason. I honestly don't know why.
But you're right it's her fantasy to do with as she wishes (well technically fanfiction) but whatever. It just kinda creeped me out is all. (Not the sex but the characters. Also I hated Anna. I'm her age and I found her to be a twit who may or may not be schizophrenic.)
Somerandom wrote: "I did get the sense that their relationship was a bit unbalanced. Like he was taking advantage of her naivety. Whether or not Anna derived enjoyment is irrelevant. BDSM is based on mutual trust and balance. I didn't get that from their relationship. I didn't read the other two books so I don't know where that leads or if it's adressed or anything. It just kind of irked me for some reason. I honestly don't know why.But you're right it's her fantasy to do with as she wishes (well technically fanfiction) but whatever. It just kinda creeped me out is all. (Not the sex but the characters. Also I hated Anna. I'm her age and I found her to be a twit who may or may not be schizophrenic.) ..."
Anna never signed his contract. The only time they actually engage in sex where she was uncomfortable, she leaves him. Anna is portrayed as naive, but most people ARE naive at some point. I think that decent stories have to show growth in a character. Anna did grow, however whether you look at her "strength" as a sort of calm strength or her being passive/aggressive, she did stand up for herself and ultimately refused to let Christian control her.
As I said before, I don't think Christian's lifestyle is portrayed as true BDSM. I think he uses that as an excuse to not face his problems. Therefore I don't believe he really ever embraced BDSM in a way that people of that nature are committed to. At least that is the way I read the story. People who have been abused have conventional sex all of the time, yet we don't look look at conventional sex as a symptom of abuse (not a great analogy I know).
I just think that people who do live that lifestyle got a little over defensive about Christian being the victim of child abuse and what it might say about their own choices. I think most people can make the leap that not everyone who engages in BDSM is some how screwed up by prior abuse.
Anna is a bit of a twit. However she does not totally remain a twit. That is part of the maturation process.
Mary wrote: "Somerandom wrote: "I did get the sense that their relationship was a bit unbalanced. Like he was taking advantage of her naivety. Whether or not Anna derived enjoyment is irrelevant. BDSM is based ..."Perhaps I've just been thoroughly desensitized by tv but I honestly thought Anna was 16 when I read it. No one is that naive. At least around here. She knew less than most high schoolers. I mean did she not have proper sex education at school or something.
I don't care about the contract. It seemed more like a symbol of Christians nature. If it's not then I honestly don't see it's purpose. She could have told the world about his sexual preferences and he couldn't have done much. She could even use the contract as proof to avoid a libel suit. But I digress. I think it works better as a symbol.
Either way he manipulated her well he seemed manipulative at least. And it's not just BDSM practitioners I think you might find a few sexual abuse survivors who may object. Many may not, but I think they have every right to. BDSM and sexual abuse is still very misunderstood in our society and portrayls in the media could potentially influence public opinion. (I said potentially not that it will absolutely.)
But I do see your point.
I must have stopped reading before she stopped being a twit. So I'll take your word for it. I still hate her though
Somerandom wrote: "I must have stopped reading before she stopped being a twit. So I'll take your word for it. I still hate her though .."LOL!
Definitely not the worst book I've read, it's what got me more interested in that whole type of book, but I did find some things in it quite annoying like Christians answer to everything - "Because I can". And it isn't that well written but the story itself is good.
I thought this was the greatest series I have read in a long time. I have never read anything like it and that is probably what drew me into it. After the first one I couldn't imagine reading the other two but I did and yes, Christian had a lot of problems but that was from his upbringing. By the end of the third book, you really love Christian as a human being. Stay open minded. Just a fun book to read.
Wicked by Gregory McGuire. The play was great, but the book I find horrible. I've been trying to finish it for 3 years. I try to never leave a book unfinished, but it is really hard with this one. Maybe I should have read the book before seeing the show.
50 shades is definitely the worst book I've ever read - didn't bother with the second or third because it was written so badly.
Jess wrote: "50 shades is definitely the worst book I've ever read - didn't bother with the second or third because it was written so badly."I agree that it is written really badly, you'd have thought through the publishing process it would have been sorted out but the story itself is good.
this book may not be the "worst book I've read", but it's totally overrated
I must say, yes this book was poorly written which is why it was easy to read and fly through the chapters seeing that the majority of chapters was sexual. The words were similar, boring, not interesting but the story line with Christian and Ana was kept me interested. The first book, I felt like Christian was very controlling and an abuse character which definitely kept me disgusted and uninterested. But I read through all the books because (1) it was my friends books and (2) I HAD to be a critique on this popular series, that everyone read except me!! Hands down. A really bad series. I most likely will have to hesitate when looking at another E.L. James. Sorry, not sorry?
I have yet to read the third book but I actually really like what i have read so far. It is DEFINITELY NOT the worst book I've ever read!
I didnt like the first one because of the same reasons you said above. IT HAS NO STORYLINE, the best moment in the entire book was when she left him because of his sickness, I mean, SHE DID THE MOST LOGICAL THING. Ugh, and besides, I couldnt stop imagining Bella as Ana and Edward as Christian. I know is a Twilight fanfic, but honestly, i've read way much better fanfic than this saga.
Daniela wrote: "I didnt like the first one because of the same reasons you said above. IT HAS NO STORYLINE, the best moment in the entire book was when she left him because of his sickness, I mean, SHE DID THE MOS..."I believe Mrs. James will be successful in the "Smut" genre, but as storylines go... I agree. lol My mother and I were just discussing the fact that as a writer she may not be up to par, but I think she will sale book if she sticks to erotica only. And I'm glad she left him. It was the best thing for him!! Yes the best thing for her too!!!
Brittney wrote: "Daniela wrote: "I didnt like the first one because of the same reasons you said above. IT HAS NO STORYLINE, the best moment in the entire book was when she left him because of his sickness, I mean,..."hahahaha it was the best until she got back with him again, i mean, wtffff?????? and it was at the second chapter! GIVE ME MORE ANXIETY.
Daniela wrote: "Brittney wrote: "Daniela wrote: "I didnt like the first one because of the same reasons you said above. IT HAS NO STORYLINE, the best moment in the entire book was when she left him because of his ..."lol true!! I was freaking out for a bit, but I'm glad he is willing to give it up for her. As long as he has her he doesn't need the rest, but I haven't read the third book yet either.
It has to rank up there, the writing was horrific
Entwined With You is the worst thing I've ever read. Writing was terrible, nothing happened & Sylvia Day ripped off her readers(cardinal sin). There's was no plot, just very brief dialogue in between lacklustre sex scenes. Weak characters added to string out another 2 books.I could go on....
Personally, I honestly think only idiots could rate it anything over 1 star.
I love to read, and I love to read about a good sex scene, and this book is filed with sex but it is far from good. They sex sounds like two awkward 15 year olds trying to go at it.. I was uncomfortable. I couldn't get through the book honestly I couldn't stop laughing.I honestly have trouble calling it a book, I mean yeah its a book but its terrible with no plot and no real interesting characters , the writing sounds like a 13 year old trying to write fanfiction for the first time. I just can't with this ...whatever this is.
to me this was poorly written porn. I didn't make it to half way in the first book. To many good books out there to waste time reading this stuff
It's a classic book...but one that I hated reading...The Scarlet Letter!
Saif wrote: "Its better than Harry Potter for sure!"I'm sure if Harry Potter isn't your thing, then yes it was better, but Harry Potter had seven books full of plot and a real story line, and Lush characters, that grew overtime to were you could connect and feel for them. It made millions of fans around the world cry and beg for it not to be over.It has even now a very loyal following even though it has been over for almost 3 years. Yes it had no sex scenes and if that's what you like then yeah..better I guess. You could just go read some fanfiction and that would be a better written sex scene though.
Bridie-No excuses. No apologies. No Regrets wrote: "Nah, not the worst books i've ever read by far. I've read books with more explicit sex, but i would say the sex in 50 shades series is very...boring, it's the same bloody thing all the time, what i..."I agreed!! 50 shades didn't surprised me, I thought it was going to be better, but it's too romantic for me, and I never like Christian, his personality was awful. I read the first book, and was ok, and I read the others to know the secrets of Christian, his childhood and everthing, but it was like normal, I believed it were going to be more shocking...
For me, it's a tie. FSOG: I didn't think inducing narcolepsy was the goal of someone writing erotica. And "heroines" born without spines but with overactive tear ducts are a pet peeve of mine.
The Three Gentlemen of Verona: had to read for a website I belong to. Unbelievable. The publishing company must be owned by his family. Um...in keeping with the old adage "if you can't say something nice...", I guess he was an above average speller?
For me it is
and
and now I am waiting for
to be delivered so that I can finish this trilogy and be done with it.
No es el peor libro, he leido muchos peores, como por ejemplo Allegiant de Veronica Roth, al cual di gracias por terminar de leer. Refuto tus argumentos, dado que primero, es natural encontrar muchos relatos sexuales explicitos puesto que es un libro erotico.
Y segundo cronologicamente es muy basico y simple de entender. De hecho, es uno de esos libros que pueden tener mil paginas pero pareciera ser 50 porque son de lectura simple y rapida.
Sinceramente, se debe juzgar un libro conforme su naturaleza y argumento pero con objetividad y razon.
worst book i ever read was this man trilogy and comfort food by kitty french was close behind
it makes twilight look like war nd peace... poor
Celesta wrote: "For me it is and and now I am waiting for to be delivered so that I can finish this trilog..."Its one of the worst I have ever read also. But I am sure for me there are others. You just reminded me how awful these books are. I don't have the courage to read the third one.
I see someone else put this, but it confused me. I hate the first book, as much as everyone has convinced me that I should read the second and third, not in a million years. I forced myself to read the first, because I paid 17 euros for it. There is another book that I have had the same issue with and that is Conquer Your Love, I have no intention of going past book 1, even though there is a big cliff hanger at the end of the book. This is why people said they bought the next one, as a result of it.
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How incredibly judgmental and stereotypical. Do you think she ate bon bons while she wrote? Would the book be any better if she were the CEO of some company or she had chains in her basement?