Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James
Fifty Shades of Grey is inescapable, it's in every newspaper, magazine, on every website and being read inside virtually every single commuter train carriage countrywide.
And what are the questions I get asked most at work? It's 'have you read it?' then followed by 'why is it so popular?'
Well, no I haven't read it and I don't plan to. Not for any literary reason but for the same reason I don't watch sport on television. Because it's the kind of thing, that if it's interesting enough to read or watch, why aren't you just doing it? Why not go get your football and hit the park or open up Microsoft Office to type up a contract and paint your basement 'pain' red (don't forget your safety word!). Anyway, I digress...
Not reading Fifty Shades of Grey has not stopped me loving it though and I am truly confused as to why so many people in the book-loving community are turning their noses up at it. Ok, it's not award-winning Julian Barnes or mind-bending Murakami but with the book industry the way it is right now, why complain?
In the bookshop I work in, we sold 101 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey in a single day, for a physical high street store, this is amazing. I have seen a few authors complain that it's all the book community is talking about but with numbers like these, it's hard not to!
The way I see it, this book is creating readers every single day. With over a million sales, even if 1% of those people get the bug for reading, that would make a massive difference to the industry overall and that can only mean positive things.
(I reserve the right to change my mind if my Mum asks me to get her a copy)
Buy your copy of Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James
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