Is there any way? My girlfriend is intent on me reading this thing, but jeez the writing style is so pitiful. Really, not only am I having a very difficult time believing this thing is supposed to be written in the voice of a 20-something girl, it just feels like reading fanfiction or something. Yet I feel obligated to struggle through for her, so is there any good ways to grit your teeth and struggle through?
The same way I can get through anything that's bad. These things become much, much more enjoyable if you gleefully mock them. I remember reading one of the early novels by Tess Gerritson, Whistleblower I think it was, and I liked the opening a bit (it's the reason I read it in the first place) but after pace 20 or so I just ended up reading more so I found find more ways to make fun of it.
Not so sure she wants you to enjoy it's literary merit there dude - I suspect she's dropping hints - you know all those fantasies you have but are afraid to mention in case she thinks you're a perv...
Fun fact: Fifty Shades of Gray was a Twilight fan-fiction. And honestly, if you don't like it, you shouldn't read all of it because your friend says so. Just tell your friend "You tried, but this book is bad because of XYZ." Reminds me of the times I try to convince friends to watch Cowboy Bebop, Gurren Lagann, or Attack on titan, and they don't give it a chance.
I did not know that. Shows how adept I am at properly assessing work I guess Naw, she wants me to read pretty much everything she does, so we can get together and discuss/debate it, etc.. Just so happens the 50 shades series is the latest read, and Ana seemed interesting at first, but lost me by chapter two because it's written so... formal I guess I'm gonna say. Maybe it's just me, but in 1P/Present I like voices that sound like who's talking. A good example is Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella which uses phrases such as "total blanko and suckatude" that give you the idea a 25 year old girl is talking.
I could not, for the life of me, get into the 50 shades book. The writing was horrible and the subject matter was offensive to me. I often tell people it's not worth their time and that there are so many other books out there to be read. I'm glad I bought it on my kindle and didn't spend the money for the paperback.
You just have to kind of accept it for what it is. If you really can't stand it, then don't finish it. There were a lot of issues with those books, as far as realism and the need to seriously suspend disbelief. It is terribly written, and could have used a good edit -- the three books could easily have been condensed into one. You can skim the sex scenes, which will take you through a significant portion of the book more quickly. These stories are essentially the author's first draft of her story. They were never edited because they sold through her self-publication, initiated by the fan fiction sites, and some NYC women's book clubs somehow found the books and that's how their popularity spread. I didn't, however, find the subject matter offensive. Although I did question the sanity of the characters at times.
Is there any website that provides examples of why the writing is so terrible? I know there was one for Twilight, and I'm curious to see if it's any different.
I almost quit before the end, not because I couldn't get through the writing, I got tired of the monotonous plot. I did end up sticking it out wondering where the thing could possibly be going. In the end, it went nowhere. I never bothered with the other two books in the series. I know I shouldn't admit it, but I liked the Twilight series. And I was enjoying the TV version, "The Vampire Diaries" though that got old quick. Like 50 Shades, the plot just went nowhere.
Read some of the reviews on Amazon. People have counted the 100+ times Ana bites her lip, mentions her inner goddess, notes Christian's long finger and more. There really is so little plot there, like a lot of porn, not like an interesting exploration of the characters that might have made it interesting.
i think she is dropping a hint for you to get red bed sheets and start wearing gray suits. i recommend gray suits they are good on a lot of guys. However i am not sold in the gray suit with a gray tie look he had. i would say a red tie works better, if you can pull it off. or for maximum baller a pink tie.
Could never bring myself to read the books after reading a couple of extracts. However, the 50 shades of grey generator I have wasted a lot of time on, incredibly crude but for some reason always makes me laugh.
You'll be able to read it through, I'm sure, if only to satisfy your curiosity or to feel there's hope for your writing in the future too. If you really couldn't read it, you'd come up with some reason or another to avoid the experience. I've tried to make my hubby read my favorite novel ever, and he still hasn't, and he's got a pretty good reason not to read it -- and even if the reason was "this is horrible, honey", why make him waste a sizable portion of his possibly one and only life on some crap? I'm curious though, what is your gf planning to discuss about it once you've made it through the horror? Representations of the modern woman? Sexual repression and subsequent emancipation of timid twenty-somethings? Depictions of male abuse and power in romance/erotica genre? New stuff to do in the bedroom? Beware, soon she'll be calling you Christian in bed. And if that's not your name or you aren't a Christian by religion -- uh-oh!
That's really interesting actually. I couldn't get through "50 Shades", but you're attempts to extract some significant meaning from what I found to be a very vapid read is compelling. The fact that the theme/meaning you are trying to inject is on the cultural rejection of meaning (I think..maybe I'm misreading), seems pretty... what do the kids call it these days? Meta? I don't know. Anyway, I won't read "50 Shades", but I look forward to reading this article of yours.
Indeed. It's doing something that many people are interested in. Keep in mind that people don't read a book before buying it, the same as people pay for a movie ticket *before* viewing the film. It's something within the concept that makes people pick it up in the first place, not the execution.
By not reading it and just picking up a few plot points through summaries so you can pretend to know about it when you talk to her.
I read all three... with great difficulty. I decided to look at it from a psychological perspective (I'm a psychology student) and analysed the crap out of the characters. It was so fricken ridiculous. Glad I only borrowed the books and didn't buy them.
That sounds like fun x) As long as one keeps in mind they're not real people... Now, an analysis of what does this novel say of EL James's psyche -- wonder if that's possible
A friend of mine knows that I love to read. "You don't know what you are missing. Seriously steamy stuff!" I relented after a month of pressure and I gave her dog eared, underlined and dodgy-stained copy a go. She is now in hospital, bless her heart. Apparently, from a strange book related injury...
I skimmed through these books, mainly to see what all the fuss was about. I enjoined Anna's character development, I think, in the end she learnt to stand up for herself. I just wish it had happened a lot sooner.
