~May/June Book and Discussion~ **May contain spoilers & adult themes**
 

Okeys there was enough interest in Fifty Shades of Grey so we'll go with that! I've heard from some say how poorly written it is (it started out as fanfic..but I didn't notice it so it didn't bother me at all)

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Looking forward to the discussions on it!

I must be completely oblivious to the poor writing b/c I didn't notice a thing!

The first thing I have to say is that I think Anastasia is an annoying twit! I did not think it was horribly written... I mean, obviously, it is no classic masterpiece, but it was alright.

so are we talking about the first book or the series as a whole?

my opinions have changed from reading the first book and the end of the series which is why i'm asking.. LOL

Lets go with the first book..My opinions changed too and I'm pretty sure once people read the first book they will finish the trilogy but for the sake of the month we'll stick with the first one.

I am on the third one right now...so I will try and remember the first one. LOL

I've read all 3. I'm curious as to why people like it. Is it the romance? is it that it's explicit? is it the Dom/sub forbidden genre?

I like the book (and series) for these reasons, in this order:
1. The romance and attraction between C and A. To me it is such a unique story, one that I've never come across before. Hence, I am having a hard time finding books/stories to read after this series that keep my attention (or are as good).
2. Christian. He knows what he wants and goes for it. Just thinking of him gets me all hot and bothered. LOL. Plus, his young childhood pulls at me.
3. The sex. When I first started the book this was my #1, but as I read on I realized the book was more about C and A's struggle, so this went down the list for me.
4. The sex. Let's just say that DH has benefited from me reading this. ;-)

I also have a question. I know this was fanfiction, but I've never read the Twilight books, and frankly do not care for vampires, etc., etc. (If you look at my goodreads books you'll see that I love a good ol love story.) Is this really similar to the Twilight books? And if so, how?

Ok so I'm near the end of book two and Ana is making me crazy. I'm really curious to know where book three goes. She's a lot like Bella in her annoying wishy-washyness about what she wants, but Christian makes up for it.

I too am curious what appeals to everyone about the book and the series. I think it's kinda surprising that a book with obvious BDSM themes is getting so much mainstream attention.

Any thoughts?
R

Oh and Jackie, to me Twilight is only partially about vampires and werewolves - it's mostly a love story IMO with some weird twists that happen to be about werewolves and vampires. You should read it - if nothing other than to sate your curiosity. Thats why I read the trilogy and while I'm not a Twi-hard, I'm glad I read the series.

well i don't know how to do any thoughts for the first book.. hmm. lol!

I liked it in the beginning moreso than I do now. Her "oh my" was just a bit grating. LOL

Good to know!!!

I felt the same way she did almost all the times she thought that, so this didn't bother me so much!

I am all for some kinky sexy books but honestly the sex was too much in the end. I kept reading the first line of the paragraph then skipping it was like
"oh Ana"
"oh Christian"
"I want to hear you"
"Please"
"Please"
"Now baby"
"Let's do it again"

I can not believe this is going to be a movie...seriously! It was not all horrible, but it just was not that grabbing... and yet I HAD to read the trilogy to see how it panned out. I guess it was like a train wreck for me.

and it pissed me off how her nickname for him was Fifty or Fifty Shades.

is it gonna be a movie or a p0rn0?! lol

Like I said elsewhere, I only read about 150 pages before quitting. I got through the "first time" - but as soon as I read "I don't make love. I f*ck.....HARD." I was rolling my eyes and done. LOL

However, I have to say that the Neil guy from White Collar is who I imagined as Christian. I don't even know his real name.

I finished book one today and the sex scenes are alright but the story only has me "meh" I'm not really super invested and in love with Christian, but I wasn't with Edward either, I always liked Jacob better.

my favorite part in every book was the email banter and him changing his signature line on them...

it's hard to talk about the first book when you've read them all because my opinion of Ana and Christian both changed as I got further into the books.

I like how Ana started out very naive and inexperienced and gained confidence and learned to stand up for herself and what she wanted as the story went on.

Like Jackie I think it was a nice love story.

I loved the books! To me they were a fantasy to hang out in and enjoy for a while. You get a sense in the first book that something went on with Christian that made him the way he is. Hey, what can I say, when I was younger and didn't know what was good for me I was always a sucker for a wounded, brooding man. It made me mushy to see him fall in love with Ana and try to make changes from his strict norm to make her happy and try to work things out with her. Ana was so so so annoying, always pushy and wanting him to change and do more. Obviously the books aren't going to win a Pulitzer but it was fun spending time in their world.

Yup, I loved the emails more than the sex!

Who do you all picture as Christian?

Mad Christian LOL

http://sookiestackhouse.com/wp-conte...87-485-523.jpg

oh Lord, yes!

Okay, I read these books last year well before the hype and I loved them. Were they perfectly written? No. Did the sex scenes get to be a little repetitive? Yes. Was I annoyed that Ana could O every stinkin time? Absolutely.

However, as a woman who handles EVERYTHING the books brought me into a little fantasy world that was completely different from my everyday life of work, kids, bills, etc. I read books to escape reality and this one did the job for me.

I was totally engrossed in the not-so-normal relationship between the sexy, rich, successful, and tantalizing Christian Grey and the normal, innocent Ana. The ups and downs of their relationship kept me on the edge of my seat and I received an introductory education on the BDSM lifestyle. *Blush*

Other things that I loved:
* I loved the emails and the changing of the subject and signature lines.
* The fact that the P and C word were not used for a woman's parts like it is in most erotic novels, I absolutely cringe every time I read those words. (Hopefully you know what words I am referring to.)
* Ana's inner dialog with her subconscious and inner goddess to me was hilarious.

Side note: I just got a personalized, signed copy of the third book in the mail last night from a friend that was able to go to one of her book signings. Totally made my day!

crud. pic messed up. nevermind

You don't get off that easy Missy, we need eye candy!

Wowsa! I think this guy does do it for me - GOOD choice!


While I was reading the book, I was picturing a guy like this (but only b/c I'm a Paul Walker fan):
http://www.celebrityring.info/images...l-Walker-3.jpg

Ian's name has been tossed around as who would play Christian. He's not really who I pictured but he's def eye candy. Not sure who I have in my head that would make the perfect Christian though

I finished the first book a few days ago, am now on the third.

I found the fact that the book still read like a fanfic so distracting. And the typos and weird word errors (I'll need to find the passages that bug me). I think the editing could've been a bit tighter.

I did like how Ana and Christian got closer and then together. I like Kate :) I like Charlie Tango. Those emails were fun :D I do like how sassy Ana can get with Christian and that he doesn't know what to do with it sometimes. She keeps him on his toes, and it's a novel experience for him.

this-exactly! the book was self-published through Amazon so that's why it's written like that. it's obvious the author lives outside the US just by some phrases in the book. there were quite a few that i had no idea what they meant.

i loved their personalities together though. and i agree, i love Kate & Charlie Tango...Taylor too...and Ray! the 3rd book was my favorite.

I just finished book 1, meh... there were a couple scenes that made me hot and ready for Mark... but well... it was mostly boring IMO LOL... and the typing errors drove me nuts LOL... from what everyone was saying, I really thought this would jump start my groove... but well, it didn't LOL... My favorite part for sure is the emails... I just wish she could be like that with him in person... because I think it's what draws him to her... like the competition to get her... and yeah... I was totally crying when they "broke up"... I'm a total sap LOL... I think I like the love story and everything else is meh LOL

This is pretty much word for word how I felt.

I'm in the middle of book 2 now just cause I couldn't leave it hanging. I like it better than the first one so far, but yeah, this definitely isn't my favorite book of all time or anything.

So back to wondering about Twilight:

Since a lot of you have already read it and I'm doing it in reverse - Fifty Shades first, I'm actually finding that I enjoyed the storyline/romance more in Fifty than Twilight so far.

Do you think it would have been that way for you if you read Fifty first as well?

I caved and got this ... on chapter 4 right now.

I'm still struggling to even get into this, I just have no urge to read it, its just...

Ok...so I've read the first book and Im 1/3 of the way through the 2nd book. I have to say that when Christian first introduced Ana to the "Red Room of Pain" I was really repulsed. I did like that he had "vanilla" sex with her to break her in.

I love the email exchanges between them. So flirty and fun. DH and I did this over IM when we were dating and it reminds me of that. Fun, sexy, hot anticipation of sex. We never do that anymore and I miss it which is why I loved that part of the book.

I didn't mind all of the sex scenes. But I am INSANELY jealous of all of Ana's easily obtained orgasms. Ana doesnt bother me at all- I can totally put myself in her shoes and understand all of her emotions/confusion/whatever. I think she is cute and I love her playful banter with him.

Now, as for who I picture as Christian- I have no idea.

I am halfway through book #2. I hate the words that are hyphenated that shouldn't be. It is driving me insane. I am a grammar freak. I don't hate the books at all and I am curious to see where it ends up.

Of course, it would take me the end of the month before I saw this is what you guys were reading for the month! I finished book #3 a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed them more as the series progressed. For those asking about the Twilight references, it was kind of like a drinking game..."insert meadow scene", the parents and siblings, hang-gliding vs. flying up trees, he can play the piano!...but I was able to overlook those. Ana's "oh my" was grating and if her inner goddess did another backflip, ugh! But I liked Christian's character. His backstory was compelling and as you get into the series, you learn a lot more about him and why he is the way he is.

It was a little annoying that he couldn't be into kink just because. It had to be because of his childhood, trauma, etc. I've read plenty of romance and erotica and I've told friends who were worried about the sex scenes that the series is a pretty good intro into erotica. Like Twilight, it was a sweet love story, but instead of brooding vampires, it was a brooding billionaire. The innocent naive girl and bad boy have been done better by other authors, but it was an enjoyable read.

My pick for Christian is Michael Fassbender. Yes, he's in his mid-30s when Christian is supposed to be 28, but he's been brave enough to handle nudity ("Shame") and spanking ("A Dangerous Method"). I think he could pull it off wonderfully.
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I really need to pick these books up... almost everyone I talk to has nothing but good things to say about them...

just finished the trilogy! Loved the epilogue :)

Anyway ... book 1 - I am not bothered by the Red Room of Pain to be honest. I am not into that, but it intrigues me. I think the writing was typical of most modern "chick" lit now and it makes for an easy read (especially when you are a mom of 3 kids and you are reading on your Kindle in the van while hubby is driving LOL)

I wasn't bothered by Ana's character. I also was able to put myself in her shoes. I was really impressed actually with her at the end of book 1. I don't think I could have done that without turning around and changing my mind.

As I read the series I felt like it was always one "disaster" after another. Drama Drama Drama!!

for some reason i thought i had commented on this before ... i read these a few months ago and overall i have to say that i enjoyed them - because i read all three of them, and quickly too (probably all three in 4 - 5 days). i thought they were fun, easy reads that were also super sexy. i would NOT consider them especially well written - there were plenty of things that bugged me, but i knew they were fan-fic and probably not well edited before i started, so i wasn't expecting much :) the use of so much non-american-isms bugged me the most, as did the fact that they were so mature/successful and so young. but - the story was intriguing enough to me that i still enjoyed them a lot.