25 Random Things I Learned from50 Shades of Grey: The Magazine
By Lois Alter Mark at the The Huffington Post
Posted: 09/24/2012 6:31 pm
For better or worse, I have to admit that I devoured the entire Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy in less than two weeks. I didn’t care that the books aren’t particularly well-written and that author E L James tends to favor a dozen or so words which she uses over and over and over again. They were a total escape, and I enjoyed every minute of reading them.
Even more than the book themselves, though, I am fascinated by the whole Fifty Shades phenomenon. So when I learned that there was a magazine devoted to the subject, I knew I owed it to our readers to go exploring. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my job.
Unfortunately, you would think we live in the boonies here because I can’t tell you how many newsstands I had to hit until I finally found Fifty Shades of American Women Who Love the Book and Live the Life on display at a Barnes and Noble. I forked over my $6.99 and, in the name of research, spent the rest of the afternoon rapt in stories like “Release Your Inner Goddess!” “Real-Life Anastasias Tell All” and, my personal favorite, “I Fix Men Like Christian Grey … I’m a Sex Whisperer.” (I just saw the Oscar buzz-worthy The Sessions, starring Helen Hunt as a real-life sex surrogate, so this was actually very interesting to me.)
In case you would rather save your $6.99 to apply toward a three-pack of Masque (which you’ll have to look up on page 72), I will give you the Cliff Notes version of the magazine which I studied in great detail — as part of my research, of course.
Here, in no particular order, are 25 Random Things I Learned from Fifty Shades of American Women …
1. Sales of rope are up 10% at Lexington Hardware on New York’s Upper East Side, where I used to live. I am now avoiding this aisle at my local Ace Hardware because (gagging a little) I really don’t want to imagine my neighbors tying each other up.
2. 93% of women surveyed want a spanking NOW. Really? Do that many of you feel that way? I’d like to make it clear NOW — especially to my husband — that I am in the 7%.
3. You can follow @ChristianTGrey and @AnaRSteele on Twitter, along with 60,000 other fans.
As always you can read…more Here
Christian Grey Is On Twitter And He’ll Tweet You Back, ‘Laters Baby’
By Maria Vultaggio at International Business Times | August 29 2012 3:59 PM
Exciting news for lovers of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series, Christian Grey has a Twitter account. For those of you who have ever wanted to meet the characters of “Fifty Shades,” this is probably as close as you can get.
Ana Steele also has her own Twitter account, and naturally the two tweet each other back and forth. In the current tweets Christian is trying to get Ana to marry him.
Here’s an example of some of their messages.
Read more HERE
Fifty Shades of Sex Sells
by Peg Fitzpatrick at My Book Club
Posted: July 12, 2012
It doesn’t take Don Draper to tell us that sex sells, but look at the phenom that is the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy. The Trilogy is topping the New York Time’s Bestseller’s lists and “worldwide, the Fifty Shades books — starting withFifty Shades of Grey — have sold a total of 31 million copies in all English-language markets, The Wall Street Journal reported this week,” says Yahoo! News.
Here is what people are tweeting about it:
Read more at the Source
Ladies, Christian Grey Is on Twitter & He’ll Tweet You Back, Baby
by Kiri Blakeley August 28, 2012 at 3:45 PM
Good news for all you Fifty Shades of Grey fans. I know when you’re reading the trilogy, you are thinking one thing. You’re thinking, I wish I could meet these characters. I wish I could be these characters. I wish I could … Tweet with these characters! Yes, that’s what you’re thinking. Don’t front me. Well, finally, you can! Christian, Anastasia, Katherine, Elliot, andother characters from the book are now on Twitter. And they’re Tweetin’ up a storm. Let’s see what these randy bishes have to say.
Unlike a lot of fictional Twitter accounts, these are not parody accounts. (Unless you subscribe to the theory that all of Fifty Shades is actually a parody — heh, good one, E.L. James!) Christian, Ana, and the rest all stick to their characters. *Pointed stare.*
Fifty Shades of Crazed
There’s been no stopping “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
The “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy, written by Erika Leonard under the pen name “E.L. James,” has become a global phenomenon. It’s been a fan favorite among all genders and ages.
What has everyone in such a crazed state of obsession? Christian Grey, of course.
Chief executive and unofficial sexpert, Christian Grey, has captured the hearts of women everywhere with his charming personality and his dark sexual knowledge.
The erotically graphic plot of the trilogy undoubtedly attracts readers, but some critics say James took the sensuality much too far. Some libraries in Florida went as far as banning the books from shelves for a short time due to the pornographic nature of the story. However, the books were brought back by popular demand as well as a result of many complaints from local fans.
The controversy surrounding the novels has not inhibited James’ success in the least. The series has become so wildly popular that movie rights were sold to Universal Pictures and Focus Features six months ago for $5 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film is highly anticipated and will be produced by Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti (the same duo that produced “The Social Network”).
The announcement of the upcoming film has caused book sales to soar even higher and has catalyzed further conversations about the series. Fans have been sent reeling regarding which actresses could fill the shoes of the innocent, down-to-earth Anastasia Steele and, more importantly, which actors could possibly live up to the perfection of Christian Grey.
Meanwhile, fans are calling for more narratives from E.L. James. According to Celebuzz.com, a website dedicated to popular culture, James has been questioned about something of a spin-off novel written from Christian’s perspective rather than Ana’s (as in the published trilogy).
James has supposedly not written the idea off, spawning tons of positive feedback as well as wishful posts from fans awaiting her next work. Others are having their own fun with the stories already published by James.
For instance, Jonathan Denby, a playful hotel owner in England replaced the standard copy of the Holy Bible in each room’s nightstand with a copy of “Fifty Shades of Grey,”according to Genevieve Shaw Brown, ABC’s travel and lifestyle editor.
Others have created Twitter accounts impersonating characters from the novels such as @ChristianTGrey and @AnaRSteele. These impressionists tweet quotes from the novels and interact with their followers as if they are the characters themselves.
Continue reading at the Source
Fifty Shades of American Woman Who Love The Book And Live The Life
September 2012 issue.
Here, in no particular order, are 25 Random Things I Learned fromFifty Shades of American Women…
1. Sales of rope are up 10% at Lexington Hardware on New York’s Upper East Side, where I used to live. I am now avoiding this aisle at my local Ace Hardware because (gagging a little) I really don’t want to imagine my neighbors tying each other up.
2. You can follow @ChristianTGrey and @AnaRSteele on Twitter, along with 60,000 other fans.
3. Speaking of Twitter, author Bret Easton Ellis, a.k.a. @BretEastonEllis, is vying for the screenwriting job and has tweeted about the books more than 50 times. Talk about American Psycho …
4. Kettlebells can help you achieve Buns of (Anastasia) Steele.
5. A first edition of Tess of the D’Urbervilles, which Christian gifted Ana, will set you back $14,000.
6. I scored smack in the middle of the “Which Shade of Grey Are You?” quiz, which means “You’ll occasionally flirt with the dark side in bed, but would only tell your closest friends.”
7. A Mormon women’s book club read Fifty Shades of Grey, and ended up discussing whether having an orgasm just from nipple stimulation was really possible. Discuss amongst yourselves.
8. In case you’re looking for your own Christian Grey, sex therapist Dr. Stephen Snyder warns that “it would be a serious mistake to get involved with such an emotionally dominating man.” Ladies, Christian Grey is not real.
9. Seventeenth century herbalist Nicholas Culpepper found that asparagus promotes “lust in man and woman.”
10. Fans think Ian Somerhalder and Alexis Bledel would be the perfect Christian and Ana in the movie. Ryan Gosling and Kristen Stewart would not.
11. Virgin Atlantic is now streaming the audio book on cross-country flights. Are they also discreetly providing blankets for twitchy palms?
12. According to one woman who experimented with bondage, “canes are sneaky suckers.”
13. The Damson Dene Hotel in Britain’s Lake District replaced the Bibles in all 40 guest rooms with Fifty Shades of Grey. Surprise! A religious experience indeed!
14. A young female doctor who enjoys being a submissive admits she would be happy “being used as a human coffee table.”
15. When it comes down to it, most women would still rather make out.
16. Heed the advice of the woman who learned “if you’re using a tie, you should have safety scissors on hand.”
17. Almost half of the men who have read the book would most want to date Kate! Less than 10% said they’d choose Ana. Maybe they were worried about trying to compete with Christian?
18. Dr. Meredith Chivers, in a groundbreaking study, found that a woman’s desire is basically “sexual narcissism.”
19. A Kentucky fireman thinks the most unrealistic thing about Christian Grey is “that he can [have sex], then turn around and have sex five minutes later.”
20. Sales of Smart Balls are up a whopping 350%. No wonder those women standing at the back of the room during the PTA fundraiser look so happy.
21. 93% of women surveyed want a spanking NOW. Really? Do that many of you feel that way? I’d like to make it clear NOW – especially to my husband – that I am in the 7%.
22. Author E.L. James finds the term “mommy porn,” which has been used to describe her books, “disparaging.”
23. There is expected to be a Fifty Shades “baby boom” this winter. Will Christian and Ana be the new top baby names?
24. The sex toy industry may be the best investment in this economy.
25. Book four is coming …
Grey House 