It is official, I became a sheep!! Baa!!
After seeing facebook status after facebook status and tweet after tweet filling up my news feeds, all going on and on about how fantastic this book Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James was. I succumbed to peer pressure and got myself a copy of the book - just to see what all the hype was about and whether it was a novel worthy of the attention and obsession that women seem to be bestowing upon this alleged "Mummy porn".
I love trashy naughty novels, they are my go to easy reading material (my bookshelf is full of them). I love the escapism they provide and idealistic approach to relationships that they traditionally posses . So this particular story sounded right up my street. I don't want to go into the detail of the story as I know some are yet to read the book yet, and there is nothing worse than the internet world spoiling the journey by giving too much of the story away (are you listening twitter??). Also this post is not a book review more a commentary on my experience of the book.
Despite all the hype, I have to say after reading Fifty Shades of Grey I was left feeling a little short changed as it really wasn't the sex fest that it had been billed to be nor was it a particularly well written novel. I cringed through most of it, especially at the repetitive mentions of her "inner goddess", "her sex" and the frankly annoying use of the phrase "Oh my". That being said, I still finished it within 2 days. However I haven't managed to continue with the exploits of Anastasia and Christian in the second and third books quite yet, I think I'm going to have to get very bored before I finally force myself to complete the story.
The hype this book has received has got me wondering, do you think the appeal of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is that it has captured a moment in time; where there has been a bit of a lull and has allowed women an opportunity to openly talk and gossip frankly about sex, relationships and fantasies once again. Not that we haven't been doing that anyway; but with programmes like Sex and the City, Belle de Jour and the like noticeably missing from our social concious (except for moments of nostalgia when we get the DVD boxsets out) the topic of women and their sexual exploits are back to being hidden behind closed doors and not spoken about public forums. Which is why when this supposedly raunchy book came along, we pounced on it like a horny woman on sitting on washing machine during the spin cycle when her rampant rabbit was broken??!! Just a thought.
The main reason of this post wasn't to bash the Shades of Grey but it was to offer up some suggestions of alternative books that are worth reading if sexy, no-holds barred sexpliots are what your after. Then I have three trashy naughty books (all true stories) that are written by witty, interesting and knowledgable women that you should definitely have a peruse of. (By the way you won't have to wait until page 113 for the good stuff with these either!!)
Sleeping Around: Secrets Of A Sexual Adventuress by Catherine Townsend
Describing herself as "part slut, part hopeless romantic" this fun read by Townsend has some very erotic scenes and enthusiastic romps as it documents her sexual curiosity whilst trying to find her soulmate.
Confessions Of A Working Girl by Miss S
Confessions of a Working Girl is an intimate diary of the first year working in a brothel by Miss S. Needing a job to pay the rent and finding herself rather sexually frustrated. A job opportunity at the local "massage" parlour seems like a good idea; solving both her financial problems and giving her all the sex that she needs.Girl With A One Track Mind: Confessions Of The Seductress Next Door by Abby Lee
Similar to Sleeping Around, Girl With A One Track Mind is a year in the life of self confessed sex fiend Abby Lee. Frustrated with her mediocre love life and thinking about sex constantly, Abby is on the hunt for the kind of sex she has always wanted.Any of these three titles are definitely worth a read, especially if your looking for a good holiday read or looking to past a few hours on a rainy afternoon (lets face it, that's quite common place this summer).
Let me know what you think if you do read them and anyone that has already read them what do you think??
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