So I'm reading Fifty Shades Darker.

[necromommycon]

I know: anything that comes after that sentence is my own damn fault.

But I'm glad I'm reading it, because book two appears to be the point where I start finding the series hilarious. (I have had an ear infection and a fever for three days now. That's...probably not a non sequitor.)

Having run out of plot

Comments

[necromommycon]

Awww, thank you. I don't think I was a terribly good writer of erotica, but I do honestly think I was a little better than the sex scenes in Fifty Shades. At least I hope so.

The second book is, so far, marginally less grating than the first. Of course, there haven't been any sex scenes yet. Or very many mentions of her inner goddess.

BUT. During the three days they were apart, Ana apparently *didn't eat*. Which is so annoyingly teenage-angst-ish that I want to reach right into the book and slap her.

[necromommycon]

Speaking of Ana and food, the thing where her name is Ana and his sister's name is Mia worried me a bit.

Also, thank you!

[jennyanydots21]

I was so horrified when I found out his sister's name was Mia. The only redeeming feature about that, I guess, is the potential of winding up at Fifty Shades fanfic while trying to locate pro-eating disorder sites. But still, ugh.

Also, reading his attitude to food as a positive aspect of the books is pretty dubious, I thought. It's not some kind of sensual pleasure-loving thing, it's because he enjoys bossing her around, and elsewhere she has to argue him down from forbidding her to eat snacks (except fruit) between meals. If someone other than a doctor tried to have that conversation with me, it would activate both my "laugh loudly and at length" and "knee to the crotch" reflexes.

[necromommycon]

Yeah, there's a whole lot of disturbingness surrounding food in these books. I'm fifty pages or so into the second one, and so far Ana's distress at their breakup involved her not eating for the whole time, and an ex-sub of his has shown up, looking unkempt and emaciated.
So food is a means of control, but also refusal to eat is a proof of love, or something? Which I realize is more a reflection of societal fucked-up-ness regarding women and food than it is E L James' personal fault, but...it's still not a theme I really enjoy in a romance novel. D:

[sea_of_tethys]

Edward's mother

LOL, was that on purpose?

Crossover fic would be... actually kind of great. Mainly because Dexter would probably end up killing Christian.

[necromommycon]

Oops! No, I swear that was an accident. But...yeah.

[jennyanydots21]

In other news, one of our local papers interviewed Mr E. L. James recently, and apparently his response to the question "So, do you have a Red Room of Pain in your house?" was "Well, we have a room with one red wall where I do the ironing. That's about as close as it gets."

[necromommycon]

That does sound somewhat painful. :)

[ap_aelfwine]

I wish I could tell Mr. James "Very well said!" in response to this, but I'm not able so instead I'll thank you for sharing it. Thanks!

I can't believe anybody would actually use "Red Room of Pain" in a non-ironic context.

Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that I wish I couldn't believe anybody would do such a thing, cos unfortunately years wasted on the internet have made me well aware of the vast range of terminally dull and unforgiveably stupid insults to the name of pervert that haunt our world, polluting the collective psyche with their blighted excuse for kink.

[ap_aelfwine]

Congratulations! You've made the book sound even more disturbing than it already sounded.

I do hope somebody writes that crossover fic. I don't believe I could bring myself to read enough Fifty Shades to do it.

[necromommycon]

I swear by all that's holy, I have barely even *begin* to express the disturbingness. I've picked out a couple of quotes to share tomorrow, in fact, just to spread the...unease.