to think 50 Shades of Grey is a disaster for everyone involved?

[sieglinde]

Can't believe there are still people who don't know 50 Shades of Grey is a Twilight fanfic reprinted with the names changed.

I think frankly that everyone involved in bringing it before the public in the guise of a legitimate original work should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves - I don't mean the readers duped by the hype, as everyone is suckered by hype sometimes, and I am definitely not dissing the content for being sexual, but for being unoriginal, unbelievably badly written and misguided about the sexual universe it claims to describe.

It's plagiaristic, endangers the fanfic community (especially if Stephenie Meyer ever wakes up and takes action), and it's utter shite.

And as BDSM goes, it is utterly and criminally irresponsible, both for failing to use the most elementary safety precautions and for dissing BDSM as sadism, which it bloody ISN'T. I'm not in that world myself, but I have friends who are... and I lost a colleague to it a few years ago, to self-strangulation.

My views are admittedly based on the fanfic, which I read a while ago, but I gather that the 'book' is 86% the same as the fanfic, and that most of those changes are name-changes (Bella is Ana, Edward is Christian).

What cheered me up is the emerging parody - 51 Shades... Google for it.

donnie - fanfic is fanfiction, fiction written by fans of [insert TV show/film/book here].

So you take the established characters from the Twilight series and then write your own stories about what you might like them to get up to. So I would write a very short little fic about them going camping next to an active volcano that then explodes and melts them with lava.

But most people who write it are fans of the series concerned, so imagine funny senarios or arrange for two characters to shack up together because they think they'd be a cute couple, or just pour their sexual fantasies on to the page and effectively stick the characters faces on.

Some is brilliant, some is dire, but it keeps a lot of people on the interweb entertained and out of trouble.

Fifty shades in a nutshell:

• Oh my
• Holy shit.
• Smirking.
• Gorgeous.
• Darkening eyes.
• Controlling stalkiness to the point of restraining order.
• Dull sex, mentioning bare feet a lot, and always reaching orgasm on command.
• '80's jeans.
• Pathetic neediness (her).
• Convenient excuse for all shitty behaviour (him).

Basically, it's Mills & Boon but with more swearing and the occasional slap.

Don't tell me this book is like Twilight!

I have just bought it on a whim, purely because I heard it is hugely popular in US. I have no idea what it's about.

I read Twilight and thought it pants.

I have to say I have had more titillation from a Jilly Cooper and a lot more fun. I thought I might like it as I like quite dark books but er no.

50 Shades is norty as it started life as fanfiction. Authors usually ignore the copyright infringement inspiration that fanfic writers get from their work but if it goes too far they can crack down. Anne Rice gets litigious on the asses of anyone who tried to write Interview with the Vampire fanfic for example. Fanfic is fun to read and write and there are huge online communities involved. Fanfic communities don't like people 'pulling to publish' as it could endanger the existence of the whole community, if the author gets pissed off and decides to crack down.
Fanfic is generally harmless and writers always credit the author with the original work, so it doesn't do any harm to let it go on quietly in the background - but using an original author's characters, situations, plots etc as inspiration, then changing the names and publishing it as original fiction is

Many fanfic writers are excellent writers and can get publishing deals for original works - often due to the confidence and skills they develop writing fanfic - but IMO a talented fic writer ought to write something original before trying to publish.

It must be hugely popular among people who have never actually had sex, I was almost offended how boring it was.

Offer still open for my copy....

(I could throw it away but I have issues with binning books, even shite ones)

I am now on the third book and I never once thought it was like Twilight until someone mentioned it. I love trashy novels so I am currently enjoying these books but they are prob not to everyones taste.

m.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/29/fifty-shades-grey-digested-read?cat=books&type=article Guardian tells you all you need to know. Sounds awful.

Misogynistic bollocks.

Misogynistic bollocky drivel. Paul Mason did an author interview about it on Newsnight FFS - even mentioned the word fisting (haha) while the author was trying to insist it was a "love story". Yeah right......there's twaddle and then there's seriously bad twaddle, which is this book.

And women in America (it was alleged) love it. You really have to wonder sometimes......

I cant read anything labelled "mummy porn"

nancy friday, again. sigh

Oh hush, NF is a good read

There are two things to love here. First is fannygallops which is beyond brilliant! Second is that digested read from the Guardian. I was pondering whether to read this book as so many people seem to be having juddering climaxes over it. Hmmmmm. It sounds like shite!

Who is Nancy Friday? Should I avoid at all costs?

Nancy Friday

Guys, maybe the juddering climaxes are press releases from Random House. The only juddering joys I'm seeing is the sniff of MONEY.

Also it's always part of PR to say that a book is hugely popular somewhere or other, hence the use of 'The International Bestseller' on covers, which means it's been on A SINGLE bestseller list in ONE country and then separately once in another country. Makes everyone think the book is essential reading. This one really isn't, unless you are vocationally interested in misguided BDSM fantasies by people outside the BDSM world.

Fanfic is such an embarrassment.

From the excerpts I read from this book, it sounded like unprocessed and maybe even repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Anyone remember the Black Lace books? I was reading them back in the "90s.
A lot of talented writers did stories for Black Lace books.

I'm reading it at the moment

I'm reading it at the moment

oops

Although am starting to wonder how it is a trilogy - does she renew the contract and spends have the next book making her mind up about it again?

I'm not ashamed to admit I have read all three and I love them.

My sex life is obviously very uninteresting compared to katiepoes and pretty much everyone else, it seems.

I am awaiting the Trilogy from Amazon-something to keeo me occupied in the evenings on holiday. I will be vair disappointed if they don't cause at least a frisson :)

I knew there was a reason why I wanted to kick the 50 Shades of Shite Grey display stand over when I saw it in the supermarket.