So, what to say about Fifty Shades of Grey? First off, my husband recommended this for me after he heard about it on the radio. (I think he was hoping for a reaction in his bookdork wife similar to those he’d heard from the raving, lusty on-air housewives). But, for all the hoopla surrounding it (I’m seeing it everywhere lately, noticed that it’s outranked only by the Hunger Games trilogy on the Kindle bestseller lists, and hear there is a nationwide run on the few paper copies available as well as knockoffs of Christian’s signature textured ties), Fifty Shades of Grey seems to be quite a mild intro to BDSM erotica, mostly aimed at the uninitiated. In my opinion, more experienced readers of this genre will probably find it disappointing, overly long, and the “good parts” too sparse.

What I liked best were the private email exchanges between the two main characters which completely cracked me up.

My problems with it, because I feel like I really SHOULD have liked it, are simple. There are times when it DOES read like the Twilight fanfic it apparently originally was. Ana’s clumsiness and Christian’s stalking tendencies seem a little too Bella and Edward. At times, the editing is poor and the plotline is weak (i.e. it sometimes reads like a bad romance novel with all its euphemisms for body parts and processes and has far too many undeveloped characters). And, most importantly, I don’t really LIKE the main character Anastasia. She’s kind of a simpering idiot for much of the book. It’s hard to get behind a heroine like that or realize why a strong male lead would find her attractive.

Still, a very significant, normally quiet part of me wants to stand up and cheer to see an unlikely little story like this go mainstream.