Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I finally caved and read this book. Being an English major in college, there were many jokes thrown around in the department about the quality of reading that this book must contain and I so I avoided it. I feared that I would be judged. Then, when I went to my grandma's house for Christmas last year, the whole family was talking about it. Family members who never read were talking proudly about how they'd read the whole series within three days or so. I started to wonder if it could really have such a stigma about it if it was doing the impossible, getting non-readers interested in reading. I signed up to be on the waiting list through the WILBOR program at my local library to get an ebook version of the entire series. After waiting for 50+ people to have read the book, I finally got it a couple of days ago.

I understand the appeal now. I appreciate all of the literary references throughout the book, although the music references are beyond me. I clearly see how this series started out as fan-fiction, but that is the purpose of fan-fiction - to bring new life to other stories. This series is so fast-paced and alluring that I could scarcely set it down. I stayed up till two in the morning one night while reading it and woke up again early in the morning to read more of it. I enjoy the wit and the banter (I've always been a fan of literary men who are more cocky than romantic - it makes me squeal with joy to see them out-bantered by a strong female),  the passion, and the general story line because being a college English graduate, I see many parallels in the story line to my own life.
While you would think of it as being a book about BDSM because that is what I've heard many refer to it as, I disagree. Sure, he ties her arms out of the way a few times because he doesn't like being touched and he refers to her as a Sub and himself as a Dom, but that is basically the extent of it. The focus of the novel is a relationship between a sexually and romantically inexperienced college graduate and a multi-million dollar businessman who had a terrible childhood and therefore has issues expressing intimacy in a non-sexual way. I started book two this morning, so I'll find out what that one is about soon enough. :) Happy reading!