50 Shades of Grey?

Squinkies said:

Well Wally world will never carry it. I don't think. Lightening strike me dead. *ducks*

Click to expand...

Lightning strike you dead, considering I've seen it physically in Wal-Mart. It was nice knowing you, Squinkies.

I found the third book online by the chapter. The website doesn't have to first two, but I dunno, people wanted to see it with the writing first hand, as well as the epilogue and just... wow. Just, wow.

It's really disappointing that someone used a fandom to capitalize on financial gains.. it wasn't her own following for an original idea, it's just giving the Twilight fans what they wanted in the original books but never got, which was lots and lots of sex.

http://epubebooks1.info/467/Text/Title.html

dangerousbill said:

A triumph for 50 Shades:

My daughter called the other night. She's been dyslexic all her life, and in spite of therapy, has never been able to burrow her way through a book. She did high school on Cliff's Notes.

Tonight, in her 40th year, she called to announce that she'd finished the first book she's ever read all the way through. It was Fifty Shades of Gray.

Click to expand...

Congrats to her!

I've read a bit further and am still enjoying it (though I am also sick of Ana biting her damn lip!), though I have had to stop reading it in the car when my mother is driving us both into work XD

And yeah, I've definitely seen it in many places. I bought mine at Shoppers Drug Mart.

It also, for reasons beyond me, is actually being shelved in the fiction section at Chapters, rather than in erotica. Of all the issues with it, this one bothers me the most since once again it shows the marginalization of genre.

Also, having read it there is a decent amount of original stuff there. The characters are clearly based off Twilight but the situation is not. So I have no problems with "capitalizing on fandom."

i_paint_the_sky said:

It also, for reasons beyond me, is actually being shelved in the fiction section at Chapters, rather than in erotica. Of all the issues with it, this one bothers me the most since once again it shows the marginalization of genre.

Click to expand...

Many potential readers wouldn't want to be seen browsing in the erotica section. What if a neighbor came by? Basically, the marketing strategy is to put a sweet frosting on an erotic center, so that it becomes 'acceptable' to buy 50SOG.

I just walked by all three books on a discount table in the book section of my local Kroger's grocery store.

dangerousbill said:

Many potential readers wouldn't want to be seen browsing in the erotica section. What if a neighbor came by? Basically, the marketing strategy is to put a sweet frosting on an erotic center, so that it becomes 'acceptable' to buy 50SOG.

Click to expand...

Oh, I completely understand the marketing strategy but I still don't like it. I even mentioned it to the cashier and he thought it was dumb too, especially since the books actually say "erotic romance" on the back.

dangerousbill said:

Many potential readers wouldn't want to be seen browsing in the erotica section. What if a neighbor came by? Basically, the marketing strategy is to put a sweet frosting on an erotic center, so that it becomes 'acceptable' to buy 50SOG.

Click to expand...

Well, all of that and the fact that the Fifty Shades series is the "Need to Read" series at this point.

From what I hear, some other publishers are giving their Romance or Erotic Romance books less risqué or "identifiable" covers, if that makes sense. (Instead of using a couple on the covers, they'll use an object. Kind of like how Fifty Shades used the tie, mask, and key or handcuffs for its book covers.)

Truthfully, I'm kind of on the fence about it. I admit that I do like the covers I've seen mostly.

It might just be my book, but the printing quality was bad. *shrugs*

Blurry and slightly offset, from the sample I browsed in the grocery store. You could tell that it was made in a hurry.

I've only seen the covers on the internet. *shrugs* I'm just saying that I like the idea behind the cover I guess. It's not new; I know that. It is slightly refreshing I think.

I quite like how the books look, as far as the covers go (and I haven't had any issues with the inside of my copy either). They do remind me a bit of the Twilight covers, which I also think are really good ... though the Shades trilogy does get points over them for having the book numbers on the spines. They definitely are very nice looking books.

And the tie on book 1's cover does actually have something to do with the story (you can probably all guess what role it plays from knowing that BDSM is involved).

I was in the bookstore the other day and saw the books out on a stand.

Above them was the first of the knock offs, same kind of cover, different author. I wish I could remember the author's name and/or title. Sadly, I can't because all I could say was 'oh look, the clones are starting to come out now'.

Which is unfair to the book because I don't know that. The cover indicated it, though. :/

bearilou said:

I was in the bookstore the other day and saw the books out on a stand.

Above them was the first of the knock offs, same kind of cover, different author. I wish I could remember the author's name and/or title. Sadly, I can't because all I could say was 'oh look, the clones are starting to come out now'.

Which is unfair to the book because I don't know that. The cover indicated it, though. :/

Click to expand...

Is it one of the covers of this book?

fireluxlou said:

Is it one of the covers of this book?

Click to expand...

Wow. You're good. It definitely was that one. I remember her name now and the covers for certain.

Well, if nothing else can be said, marketing sure knows their business.

bearilou said:

Wow. You're good. It definitely was that one. I remember her name now and the covers for certain.

Well, if nothing else can be said, marketing sure knows their business.

Click to expand...

I know it because it was self-published itself first and that it's getting good reviews as it has a good plot I've been told. Most are saying it's better than 50 shades of grey because it's much better written and a better plot.

fireluxlou said:

I know it because it was self-published itself first and that it's getting good reviews as it has a good plot I've been told. Most are saying it's better than 50 shades of grey because it's much better written and a better plot.

Click to expand...

Honestly, nothing would please me more than to know that is true and hope that the author has much success. I'll have to check them out.

fireluxlou said:

Is it one of the covers of this book?

Click to expand...

I was just about ask that.

That book is going around fast, and a lot of people are saying that it's better than Fifty Shades of Grey. It was self-published at first, but then it got picked up by a Big Six publisher I think. I can't remember which one but I think it was Penguin Group. Personally, I wish the author all of the best. I hope it does well.

fireluxlou said:

I know it because it was self-published itself first and that it's getting good reviews as it has a good plot I've been told. Most are saying it's better than 50 shades of grey because it's much better written and a better plot.

Click to expand...

It is very good. I enjoyed it and it's not my usual cuppa. I've recommended it to my friends -- the people who hated 50 liked BtY, and the people who liked 50 thought BtY was much better.

Bubastes said:

It is very good. I enjoyed it and it's not my usual cuppa. I've recommended it to my friends -- the people who hated 50 liked BtY, and the people who liked 50 thought BtY was much better.

Click to expand...

Wow, that's really good. I read a little about it. I thought it sounded pretty good. But I'm glad that author is doing well.

Me, too. When more good erotica becomes successful in mainstream lists, all erotica and erotic romance writers and readers benefit.

Filigree said:

Me, too. When more good erotica becomes successful in mainstream lists, all erotica and erotic romance writers and readers benefit.

Click to expand...

Yes! And the benefits go even beyond erotica and erotic romance. One of my friends, who never saw herself as a romance reader, read Fifty Shades and then read Bared to You. After that, she explored the romance genre some more and discovered historical romances. She now reads two historicals a week.

Yeah, anything that gets more people reading period is good, especially when it leaves them wanting more.

As far as the book goes, I just skimmed through it after my wife finished reading it, but the whole idea that women find this erotic is a bit puzzling. Let's face it, no one is reading this for its high literary value. It seems to be a masturbatory (now don't deny it) vehicle almost exclusively for women. The problem for me is that the sex woman are getting so aroused over, is the infliction of pain on a willing woman by a man who needs to have his partner in pain in order to enjoy sex.

I can't help but think that if a man had written this, it would have been flamed to death as misogyny.

RJLeahy said:

As far as the book goes, I just skimmed through it after my wife finished reading it, but the whole idea that women find this erotic is a bit puzzling. Let's face it, no one is reading this for its high literary value. It seems to be a masturbatory (now don't deny it) vehicle almost exclusively for women. The problem for me is that the sex woman are getting so aroused over, is the infliction of pain on a willing woman by a man who needs to have his partner in pain in order to enjoy sex.

I can't help but think that if a man had written this, it would have been flamed to death as misogyny.

Click to expand...

Haven't you heard of BDSM? I mean it's consensual you make it sound seedy and horrible for women to like sex like this, Secretary (2002) is another film story a long a similar vein. There are plenty of films written by men that are highly praised written about this. Remember that BDSM is consensual sex with safe words that people enjoy because it's consensual and what they like to do in the bedroom.

A lot of the criticisms of this book seem to be misdirected I've discovered, it's all about shaming mothers for liking sex and wanting to read about sex and having masturbatory pleasures from books that talk about sex. It's all about shaming women for wanting to read about sex and liking sex and getting the same pleasures from books like this (besides the obvious criticisms people just love to wank fantastical about womens sexuality and sexual appetites as if they know what is best for a woman to enjoy in the bedroom).

People have different sexual appetites and different things that turn them on so this shouldn't be 'puzzling' at all.

I have no problem with anyone who enjoys this lifestyle. My puzzlement come from the fact that willing or no, the sex in the "red room" involves a woman suffering, and the majority of woman readers (who I assume don't all live this lifestyle), find that arousing.

9 times out of 10 it's not the suffering that is arousing but the control fantasy. It's a tamer version of a rape fantasy, which is much more common than you might think and certainly wouldn't involve women actually wanting someone to be raped.

It's hard to really explain anyone's kink but BDSM is about trust and dominance/submission and not so much the pain element (or at least it wouldn't be for people who only read about it and do not personally partake). Or at least that is my understanding of things, obviously I do not speak for everyone.