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50 Shades of Grey


Katrina1968

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Well, I haven't the read the books, but I hate them. I'm neither insecure nor fearful, but yes, I am too intelligent to read them. I'm not saying that those who read them are not intelligent, or that they are less intelligent than me, but I have better things to do with my time (and far better books to read) than to read poorly written fan fiction. Nearly every single review I have read, even from those who have enjoyed the books, say that they are poorly written. I've read enough snippets online to know that I agree and they're not for me. Why can't I have that opinion? Surely you have also avoided books that you know you wouldn't enjoy? Call me a book snob if you will. I don't care.

 

I really hate these books, more than I can say. I'm sick to death of seeing them everywhere, hearing about them, seeing them in shops. I hate how people jump on the bandwagon and that nearly everyone seems to hate them but they have still sold in their millions. Yes, I'm upset that brilliant novels written by lesser-known authors sit unsold on shelves while these books sell so well. I'm sad that poorly written crap will long be at the top of 'fastest selling' and 'best selling' lists and that it causes arguments and name calling between people. I hate that my Facebook updates from publishing companies now seem to be all about this series. Don't other books exist anymore? I've long held the same opinion of the Twilight books, but not quite to this extent. Yes, it's vitriolic. No, I don't care. We all have bug bears that annoy us to no end. This is mine.

 

I've held my tongue for a long time for fear of offending the people who like these books, but criticising someone for choosing (with good reason!) not to read them is ridiculous. That's my opinion and I'm entitled to it. I don't need to read a book to know I'll hate it. Calling people names and implying things about their personalities based on whether or not they decide to read a book is not fair.

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Kylie, if anything I've posted led you to believe I would condem anyone for their reading tastes, please accept my apology. Such is not, nor ever has been, the case. I believe my posting history would prove that.

 

I do find it difficult to wrap my mind around actually hating a book, it's only a book, and can be ignored.

Edited by pontalba
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However, this one can't be ignored. Over the past week, two people at work have specifically mentioned it to me, one asking what it was about, one to tell me they'd bought it. The latter person didn't even know what it was about, she'd just bought it because everyone else was!

 

Plus, as Kylie said, it's always being mentioned on facebook, twitter etc. And, it's not really the book which is disliked (I wouldn't use hate), but it's success.. especially when I'm aware of so many excellent authors struggling.

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No, it isn't fair, but what in this life is? Especially in the corporate world, where the fate of these books/authors are decided.

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I had Book Club last night. Of the seven of us, 5 have read or are reading it, including our oldest member who is in her late 60s! She said she had to have a dictionary by her side to find out what some of the stuff meant! She's bought them for her daughter-in-law for her birthday and wrapped them with some bubble bath and all she's written on the label is 'enjoy'! :lol:

 

:haha: *likes!*

 

I confess that I haven't been reading this thread for ages because I feel that things might be a bit heated up over here. I'd rather avoid the thread and try the first book and see how I like it myself. I love it that people have such different views on the novel and that these views are discussed on here, but I fear that maybe later on one might lose sight of the fact that in the end, they are only books. And I know, that sounds like blashemy on a book forum :D All books are sacred! What I mean to say is that in the end they are only books which some people will read and some people won't, just like any other books. And that no one should have to defend their taste in books on a book forum.

 

I hope that doesn't sound patronizing, that's not my meaning at all. :friends3:

 

Edit: I also want to say that these books, at least as far as I know, are not hyped in Finland, so the hype over here where I live has not made me want to read the books or avoid them. This forum is where I learned about them and I bet I wouldn't even know about the books if I hadn't read about them on here. Or goodreads, for that matter. So anyone who's annoyed about bumping into the books all the time no matter where they go, I say come on over and visit Finland :D You can crash at my apartment and we can talk other sorts of books, if you like!

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I'm not sure this is the right place to be discussing relationships etc anyway. I'm aware that the conversation has been linked to the book / characters etc, so I haven't said anything before. However, I really don't want to see arguments on here, especially on a book thread. :)

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I've already said that I'm aware the conversation has been linked to the book. However, this isn't really the place to be discussing relationships, and whether people are being judged. It's also a general comment, and not directed at any particular person.

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I have also decided to stay away from this thread, unless moderating duties require me to step in. I don't like what the books bring out in me, so I'm going to go back to trying to ignore them. In the meantime, I appreciate your responses to my rant, Ooshie and Pontalba. I hope you know I have the utmost respect for you both and your opinions. :)

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I have always said that threads on this forum should focus on the book, and not become personal. I don't think Kylie's response was inflammatory, and comments and discussions are becoming more and more personal. I'm therefore asking for some restraint, as I really dislike closing threads. Thank you.

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I confess that I haven't been reading this thread for ages because I feel that things might be a bit heated up over here. I'd rather avoid the thread and try the first book and see how I like it myself. I love it that people have such different views on the novel and that these views are discussed on here, but I fear that maybe later on one might lose sight of the fact that in the end, they are only books. And I know, that sounds like blashemy on a book forum :D All books are sacred! What I mean to say is that in the end they are only books which some people will read and some people won't, just like any other books. And that no one should have to defend their taste in books on a book forum.

 

I hope that doesn't sound patronizing, that's not my meaning at all.

 

Well said, Frankie, I agree completely. These are just books. Yes I read the first book, no I don't plan on reading the rest, end of story. If someone asks me why I didn't like it I'll tell them, but I'm not going to actively tell people to steer clear of them.

 

Yes it's unfair that some books are popular based on hype instead of true literary genius, but in my mind, life is sometimes unfair and it's not my responsibility to change what's popular. What is my responsibility is to ignore what I didn't enjoy and seek out what I know I'll like to read. Honestly, a majority of people who've read the SOG books have read them because of the hype. If half of the people who hated these books just stopped talking about them, they wouldn't be popular, seriously! People write these books because people buy them.

 

I hold no judgement against people who like them. We all like different things and we're responsible for our own reading habits, so lighten up!

 

Meanwhile, I'll keep reading my Matthew Pearl and be content :P:D.

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Ok.. one of the posters on this thread has asked for her content to be removed, and I have also had to remove her quoted content. I don't really want to delete any other posts as I don't have permission. The flow of the thread has been disrupted, and of course it has also had it's issues.

 

Added: some posts have now been removed.

 

I'm therefore going to let this one stay closed. I'm not stopping discussion of the book, and I'm happy for a new thread to be started. I would just ask that it's not used to discuss relationships issues, and that comments are not made personal.

 

If anyone does want to discuss/debate relationships etc, we do have the debate forum for those with 100 posts.

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