Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James

Because there is so much buzz about this book, I took extra care in reading it. Paying attention to the details and how I felt every step of the way. It is a sexually charged love story.

My first reaction is; impressed. I like the detailed descriptions. The author has me intrigued and interested in Mr. Grey. I can already feel Ana’s excitement and fascination, but the sex is a bit raw for me. The anticipation I felt in the beginning of the book quickly turns to discomfort by the middle of the story. And yes the book is poorly written.

The book begins to lose my interest once Ana turns on the low self-esteem and the self pitying dialogue of “I’m not pretty enough”. When Grey starts to speak during sex, I have to laugh out loud. I can’t keep a straight face, and think, who says that during sex.

How many times does E.L. James have to tell us that he runs his fingers through his hair? Yes we know he has beautiful grey eyes and yes he is so gorgeous. It is disturbing that Ana is so completely obsessed with him. And why is she always murmuring and whispering. Why can’t she talk like a regular person? I get really annoyed with her by the end of the book. In the beginning Mr. Grey sounds intriguing and sexy but by the end he sounds sleazy and a bit yucky.

The book is entertaining, erotic, fun, and comical and dares to explicitly explore BDSM. I found it hard to take some of it seriously, but I enjoyed most of the book, especially the email exchanges.

According to Wikipedia “The series has sold around 20 million copies worldwide, with book rights having been sold in 37 countries, and set the record as the fastest-selling paperback of all time, surpassing the Harry Potter series.” 

Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett

This is the first book I remember reading as a teenager and it is the reason why I fell in love with reading. I remember completely being transported to another time and feeling as if I was right there with the characters. It was the simple and straight forward style that captivated me.

This is a story about race and faith. Homer Smith is a black ex-GI living life on the open road until he stops at a farm in Arizona and sees four women working on a fence, and later realizes they are nuns from Germany. Homer had no idea that this stop would change his life forever.

The mother superior is convinced he has been sent to them by God to help them build a new chapel. She asks him to do a small roofing repair job. He enjoys the friendliness of the nuns and decides to stay overnight. When he is done, Smith tries to get the mother superior to pay him so he can leave by quoting Luke 10:7, "The laborer is worthy of his hire." Mother Maria Marthe, asks him to read another Bible verse from the Sermon on the Mount, after all she had a bigger plan in mind for him, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”