Fifty Shades of Grey
discussion
Did anyone else think Ana was annoying and stupid?
Holy crap! What's wrong with you people? I think she could have been a very good character but you are right the inner dialogue was a bit much. Where I differ with you is that, if I was Ana, this book would have been 1 chapter long. As soon as pain boy pulled out his contract or opened the door to the playroom, it would have been good bye. I wanted smack her up side the head for taking as much crap as she did.
I found it deliciously hot. I probably would have signed the contract without even reading it and jump head first in to the playroom. LolI mean come on. It really wasn't much crap that you are thinking. He says that it's not much that she can't handle. He goes pretty easy on her. He respects that he would never really hurt her. She has safe words that she could use at any time. No damage to the skin, burns or cuts. She had hard limits she could negotiate at any time. He takes care of her afterwards. Not only that but he said that she can change the contract at any time, leave whenever she wanted. It's just some good ol tying up and spankings along with some really intense sex. He babied her the entire time. He was VERY up front with her the whole time, very honest. He made sure she knew from the very beginning what this was. But her stupidity wouldn't get it. She was way too childish for this adult and very fun game.
Stephanie wrote: "She drove me nuts with how annoying she was in her dumb inner dialog. I wanted to scream at her several times while reading this. Her mental thoughts going back and forth about Christian, not bei..."She does grow up and become more sophisticated, but not necessarily smarter. She does some extremely stupid things in books 2 and 3 that made me throw down my tablet in disgust several times.
Grrreeaat....I'm still baffled that he is so infatuated with her. I look forward to the next.
I found the character Ana totally believable and the use of the inner dialogue helped me understand why she made the decisions she did in the relationship. I mean, come on, we were all "innocent" once, though not probably 21, and I think probably would have had the same conflicts. Remember how you were with your first love? And the dumb thoughts you had and the dumb things you might have done, reflecting back now and wondering "what the hell was I thinking"??? Anyway..... I loved the book and congrats to EL James for her success.
Lily wrote: "see i read the first and second... heard the third wasn't worth reading! but in both books she was SUPER annoying! especially in the end of book 1! she asked for it and promised not to run away so ..."I think the third is worth reading. You really get to see Christian's vulnerabilities in Book 3 and how he and Ana manage to work through them.
Stephanie wrote: "She drove me nuts with how annoying she was in her dumb inner dialog. I wanted to scream at her several times while reading this. Her mental thoughts going back and forth about Christian, not bei..."Lol, you may be on to something, but and there is always a but, I think your own inner dialog just went postal on poor Ana, remember she is only 21 and never been in a relationship. My inner dialog (she who shall not be named) rules alot and I'm over forty. Lol
Eve wrote: "Lily wrote: "errr... not going to happen. by the end of book two i was thoroughly creeped out and scared. yeah i wasn't even going to read the second one but the end of the first book was so cliffh..."100% agree, I mean wow 5 whole days? Give me a break. I wanted her to have way more backbone than she did. It seems all that Christian had to do was smile and she caved in. I started the 3rd one and this one thing happened and it just turned me off. Not sure if I can finish it or not.
Shannon wrote: "Eve wrote: "Lily wrote: "errr... not going to happen. by the end of book two i was thoroughly creeped out and scared. yeah i wasn't even going to read the second one but the end of the first book w..."Well the story ended the way I wanted at the end of book one, she left the bastard, why read book 2 and 3 and get angry again.
Eve wrote: "Not that I think I would go back, if I were in her shoes... but then again I wouldn't have fallen in love with him and would have certainly left him the moment he shows me his little play room. ..."Exactly! If you or I were Ana this book would have been a one chapter short story.
I thought the author was actually a collaboration of two writers because the sex scenes and the Romance angst seemed to me to be written by two different hands. By the end of Fifty Lashes (as I will forever think of this book) I was ready to shoot my Kindle if Ana rolled her eyes one more time! She was so annoying that I have no interest in whether she and Mr. Grey ever make it work or not.
I just didn't understand why she was really liking it and aroused when he was sexually dominating her, but then she would boo-hoo about it afterwards. She couldn't think back to how much she enjoyed it while it was going on. Back and forth we go.I found myself yelling at her through my kindle - "What?! You just enjoyed it like a nympho like two pages ago! Now you're complaining and scared he's going to hurt you?"
I'm definitely going to continue reading to the end of the series. No matter how much I'm annoyed with Ana, Christian more than makes up for it in my mind. It's a hot fantasy...not going to lie. And I'm curious to see if she does grow up and get her head on straight at some point.
It took me a while to write my review on this book last night. I had to address my confusion in why this book gets such high ratings, but the reviews and discussions on GR seem to be opposite. The author had some serious courage to write this book. I give my highest respects to her. Using her as my influence, I didn't mind being courageous by boasting my reasons for loving this book. Just come out with it already....it's hot. I think a lot of people are scared to admit their likes about Christian, so they give their 5 stars without explaining why. I completely understand. It's embarrassing to admit an interest in something that is not considered normal in society. And no, this isn't my lifestyle. I've never been in any sort of relationship close to this. It's great to see something different out there to read once in a while.
Stephanie wrote: "I just didn't understand why she was really liking it and aroused when he was sexually dominating her, but then she would boo-hoo about it afterwards. She couldn't think back to how much she enjoy..."I am totally with you Stephanie I'm confused by some of the comments made in this discussion. Let us not forget that Christian was very clear right from the beginning regarding what his "poison" was, he didn't try to deceive Ana, the fact that the silly girl run in the opposite direction when the going got tough is testament to what happens when you jump virgin feet first into a grown-up situation with a child's mentality; who signs up to a BDSM relationship without having a clue of what their own pain threshold is?! As I said childish. EL James' series (3* at the most!)is still at the vanilla end of BDSM and while it isn't my sexual preference I'm very much of a mind that to each his own, what two consenting adults get up to in the privacy of their bedroom is their business. And it brings me to my last point, I can't believe that there is anyone out there that didn't know what the sexual elements in this book were?! And even if you didn't, right at the start when Ana get Christian's "contract" it should of forewarned you that this wasn't going to be a Barbara Cartland novel and as an adult you made the decision to purchase, it's annoying to now hear people shying away from their choice and uttering utter nonsense.....
If I read "crap" one more time, I'm gonna scream. I have NO idea why Christian found her irresistible....literary fail.
I just finished the first book and on page 144 of the second. I'm 22, the same age as Ana, and I wouldn't say my relationship with my BF is anything like hers with Grey but there are similarities like first "REAL" adult relationship and he is the only one i've been with, hes been with others so i can kinda relate to her but i'm like girl, get over it!!! She's only stuck on his past stuff and does not see the good in front of her! UGH She keeps going on and on about "Mrs. Robinson" and shes a child molester blah blah blah...who cares?! really? You are upset about something that happened over 10 years ago?
Then she's like I dont want to be a sub, I want more and he basically does all these loving things and agrees to more and less Dom/Sub stuff and she still leaves him? She's all he doesn't love me because he doesnt say it...he already told he how he is! He's showing you the only way he knows how!
I thought I was the only one! Anna got on my very last nerve and she's one reason I'm not reading the other two books. 1. It irritated the shit out of me when Ana would be in conversation and all of a sudden her "inner goddess" would chime in. 2. Over analyzing things would be an understatement fer her, very annoying and it was even more annoying that Christian put up with it! I mean I'm all for a little prying but she takes it to a whole new level.
Kathleen wrote: "If I read "crap" one more time, I'm gonna scream. I have NO idea why Christian found her irresistible....literary fail."OMG yes!! that and "...jeez"
Lily wrote: "ugh i know! she was an embarrassment to the female race! "Bingo.
Janelle wrote: "I thought I was the only one! Anna got on my very last nerve and she's one reason I'm not reading the other two books. 1. It irritated the shit out of me when Ana would be in conversation and all o..."It's probably a good thing you've avoided the other two books. 'Cause she gets dumber and more annoying. I know it doesn't seem possible, but it happens.
Janelle wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "If I read "crap" one more time, I'm gonna scream. I have NO idea why Christian found her irresistible....literary fail."OMG yes!! that and "...jeez""
I have word counts on both of my reviews. "Crap" was more prevalent in the first one, "Jeez" in the second. Haven't finished the third yet, so no known winner on that one yet. But by far the most used word is "holy" in conjunction with whatever word she paired it with.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
LOL. She was extremely annoying and one of the reasons I didn't finish the series. The only smart thing she did was to actually break up with Christian. Not because I thought his behavior was wrong or immoral but simply because she couldn't accept him the way he was. Come on. Nobody can blame him. He was honest. He told her what he was about. I just couldn't take her anymore whining about him, about Mrs. Robinson, yadda, yadda, yadda.I really didn't see the attraction there. Christian could have done so much better. She was just too dumb to function.
Katrina wrote: "Janelle wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "If I read "crap" one more time, I'm gonna scream. I have NO idea why Christian found her irresistible....literary fail."OMG yes!! that and "...jeez""
I have wor..."
Thank you for providing the link to your review. I just about peed my pants reading your take on it!! Brilliant is all I have to say!
I stopped reading the book because she was so annoying!
Rod wrote: "I thought the author was actually a collaboration of two writers because the sex scenes and the Romance angst seemed to me to be written by two different hands. By the end of Fifty Lashes (as I wi..."Fifty Lashes? which book is that?
I had to stop reading in chapter 7. I just couldn't allow myself to continue reading this lame a** book. If Ana was a friend of mine I would bitch slap her.
Yes, I was annoyed by Bella's, I mean Ana's whining, blushing, "oh my." It's funny to see how the characteristics that annoyed people about Bella in Twilight are the SAME as those points that annoy people about Ana. Coincidence? Of course not. They are essentially the same character, let's not forget the original source.
And let me say also that "9 1/2 Weeks" and "Secretary" kept popping up into my head while I was reading this stupid book. Love the Bella reference. I hadn't read enough reviews (none until today) to have heard that.
I am not knocking those movies. "9 1/2 Weeks" was a love story. Loved that movie. And James Spader was a sad case in "Secretary" but he invoked sentiment from me. Grey - NOT. He was unbelievable. This polot was not original. I hope there is not a slew of these type of books ala every book out there is about Vampires since "Twilight".
How does a grown ass woman stay after she sees "the rules"? I would have told him he's whack and left.
Ana is the reason I will not finish the series. Her crying every 5 minutes, her indecision every time he walked away. For crying out loud make a decision and stick with it.
I am so glad I found this discussion. I thought I was the only person who felt this way. Everyone I know loves these books and I couldn’t understand way.
Dina wrote: "I am so glad I found this discussion. I thought I was the only person who felt this way. Everyone I know loves these books and I couldn’t understand way."A about a month ago the book received a 5 star rating on my nook now it is on a 3 star rating... there are more of us out there!
Candy wrote: "Dina wrote: "I am so glad I found this discussion. I thought I was the only person who felt this way. Everyone I know loves these books and I couldn’t understand way."A about a month ago the bo..."
Good to hear! It's appalling to me that books in this caliber are getting close to a 5-star rating when some of the best books of all time sit at a much lower rating.
Quite frankly I hated being inside her head. I didn't like her inner goddess, at first I thought she had DID/ Split personality. She tends to do or say things without thinking too. Her neediness is also cringe worthy.
I thought she was a little bit stupid in the beginning, and a bit of a wimp. When Christian was at the store buying cable ties and what not I wanted to slap her. Her crying all the time got a little bit old too.The "inner goddess" was beyond cheesy.
I couldn't even finish the book her inner dialog & just everything about her was so infuriating!
Anna is immature, naive, ridiculous and totally warped. She is unbearably annoying. There is also no way in hell a strong female would adhere to allowing any of that shit to happen to her. He beats her with belt and that's when she leaves. Sounds like an old fashion case of Battered Wife Syndrome.
I am only going to finish reading this book, so I can b****h about it! Ana is so f*****g weak!
i have to admit she was a bit ott with all the shit she was taking from Christian and being so shy and naive and she was over thinking everything but that's just me cuz i take no shit from man and i have a strong personality
I was very surprised when I read this book. Normally when I read books that have generated large numbers of sales, it is easy to see why. This is the first best seller/top 10 book that I have read and can honestly say I can't see what the fuss is all about. Ana's character is weak and the inner goddess thing is just about the most annoying thing that I have ever come across in a book. Christian is just controlling and a weirdo.The only reason that this book is on the best seller lists is because of the subject matter. The story such as it is is weak. I have the other two books but won't be rushing to read them, not when there are several other ones that I would prefer to read first.
She kept talking about how high her IQ and GPA. Unfortunately the author has to tell us that Ana is smart - we don't see that on our own. James also could have said that Ana is very religious because it was shown about equally.
I notice a lot of Ana bashing, and she is pretty annoying, however, what about Christian? I'm trying to finish the third book but I just can't! And why? Because Christian's behavior is so downright manipulative that I can't even stand to turn the page. His constant use of sex to get his own way and to distract Ana, his horrific controlling behavior has taken away from the complexity and his underlying vulnerability that first drew me into this series. What started out as sexy is now just grating, the fact that Ana can't even have a night out with her girlfriend is infuriating. I find that Ana is a victim of her own naivete and I can almost forgive her transgressions due to inexperience and immaturity but Christian? He should know better. If I have to read one more passage where he can't respect one of Ana's wishes no matter how many times the chick tells him I will vomit. This last book is more torturous than anything Christian could think up in the Red Room of Pain.
I just have to add that Ana was so annoying to me that I can't finish the series. I think both characters were very flat and the dialogue was so insipid that it is almost unbearable.The fact that this series has become such a sensation only reinforces how stupid the average American is. It is appalling.
I found Ana's character to be very annoying in book 1. Luckily it was a little better in book 2. All the "Oh My"s really got to me. It was just annoying. I don't know anyone who says that. My inner monologue when I see something shocking is not "Oh My" it's "Woah", "Are you serious", "Is he serious", "Holy Sh*t", "WTF", "Um, what". And, what the hell is an "inner goddess".
Carolyn wrote: "I found Ana's character to be very annoying in book 1. Luckily it was a little better in book 2. All the "Oh My"s really got to me. It was just annoying. I don't know anyone who says that. My inner..."Yeah I totally get you. She's been using a lot of hair pulling annoying words. I particularly hate the Oh my's, Oh no's, Oh's, double crap and Jeez. *rolls eyes* :)
Anna was too weak to be in an s&m relationship. I doubt a true Dom would ever get in a relationship with someone that inexperienced. Dom is not looking to play footsie he's looking to put a hurtin on someone.
Annette wrote: "Anna was too weak to be in an s&m relationship. I doubt a true Dom would ever get in a relationship with someone that inexperienced. Dom is not looking to play footsie he's looking to put a hurtin ..."Oh god lol. I thought this the whole time too. "Someone like Christian REAAALLLY wouldn't be messing around with someone like Ana. He's got some standards she doesn't exactly reach."
Does anyone find the way she speaks freaking annoying as well? "The feeling is exquisite". No, it's fucking awesome, not exquisite. He's not glorious, he's sexy.That said though, how many times must we hear just how sexy this guy is. I know this guy who is literally the embodiment of a greek god, but he's able to walk around without every single girl blushing and salivating and getting all tongue tied like every single girl in this book seems to.
I dunno, I think this book is the literary equivalent of a 3 year old girl dressing up in mummys clothes. It's incredibly juvenile, but trying to be sophisticated.
Valid points. But she is very in-experienced and young. 21/22 is young and if you've never had a relationship previously makes you more unsure of yourself. Especially with a man like that. I can see her acting like a kid because apparently she's never experienced the "high school" romance stuff. It's almost as if she was just pushed through time to age 22. The inner goddess stuff was getting annoying. I haven't read 2 & 3 yet, but I hope she grows a little more.
HELLO ANA...This man is running a huge company. He has to work once in a while. Just because he leaves to go to a meeting, doesn't mean you have to cry your eyes out and think he doesn't like you. He just got through telling you how much he adores you 5 effing minutes ago.
She may be in her early twenties, but I swear she sounds like a young teen trying to figure out boys in school for the first time. Like - "I know we have been together for about a week, but I love you and we are going to have a long life together and make tons o' babies!" Yes, go ahead and tell your DOM that. I'm sure he'll be thrilled. Oh and shut up your ridiculous self conscience lady you keep speaking of. She's annoying, too.
Christian, hand me that contract, you need a chick that knows what's going on *digging in my purse for a pen*
Sorry, just got through reading the end of this book and even though she was annoying through the whole book, I had hope for her to work at this relationship and give it a long time for him to come around. But her behavior towards him on the last morning and her decision really pissed me off. She deserved the pain she feels now.
Thank goodness there are 2 more books. Hopefully she'll grow the eff up. I'm looking forward to reading more about Christian.