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Linda in sw va
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
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 Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Claire wrote: | I just finished reading the first book of the series and I loved it. It's been a long time since I've read a book in one sitting like I did this one. Maybe being a romance reader, like most of us here, who has read some of the steamier stuff, I didn't find this to be "womens porn" the way the press has written it out to be. They need to be talking about the emotional aspects of the story. Christian and Ana are struggling to overcome the obstacles he has from his childhood. I love these control freak guys who actually really put their women first and thats what I think Christian is trying to do. Now I'm off to get book 2. Have to.
The good thing about this book is that while it does have some familiar tropes (all the guys love her), it also doesn't follow it in others.... he's not a complete jerk to her- he says no touching but he also says he will try for "more" emotionally. They actually communicate about what they are feeling bit by bit. The email exchanges were very well done I thought. Sometimes really meaningful and sometimes fun. I was also surprised that he didn't get her the publishing job. I thought for sure that was going to happen.
I thought the sex scenes were great. If Dr Drew has a problem with this book, he better not read Lisa Marie Rice or Maya Banks because his head will certainly explode. 
I haven't heard the latest on which Hollywood enterprise is going to get FSoG but I really wish it would be HBO. Theres a better chance they will get it right and they could do it in a miniseries form. I wonder too if in a movie, if they would somehow make it PG 13. That would be a shame as this is clearly for adults and not the Twilight market. I can't think of a guy who would fit the role but I could see Kristin Stewart as the girl. RP doesn't seem masculine enough but maybe I'm seeing him through the twilight viewfinder.
To me, this book is kind of old school romance but with something fresh about it too.
I'm glad to see some of you all like it too...Linda, xina (so far), mirole and likesbadboys. Estelle and pwm.. I'm looking into y'alls fanfiction suggestions. I think I've been missing out on a lot of good reading.
Did reading about the glider experience make any of you all want to do that? The whole time i was reading that part I was thinking there is no way in heck I'd ever do that. It doesn't have an engine!  |
Claire, what I have loved most about Christian and Ana is both their willingness to compromise. It's so refreshing! I have always loved to see a couple work together in romance to overcome obstacles and that is what these two do. They know they're quite different from each other but they love each other so much they work hard to meet each other halfway. Ana explores her sexuality with the 'games' and some she likes, others she doesn't, what she doesn't like Christian backs off and does not force. Christian knows he can be controlling and tries to back off but there are times he just can't help himself and Ana is understanding. They argue but it's not long until they make up.
The Gilder - I am afraid of heights and I'm sure I could never do it, I was admiring Ana's bravery, lol. I also wouldn't have gone up in that helicopter right away, obviously a billionaire pilot boyfriend would be wasted on me.  But that's fine, I like reading about characters that are different and do different things than I do, that's the fun of a good book.
Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner |
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Linda in sw va
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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| xina wrote: | I am on my 2nd read of all the books. *sigh* The first time I read them, I was really rushed with other books I had to read, so I sort of skimmed the 3rd book. I've really enjoyed them though. My only problem is that I think they could have been a bit shorter, but other than that, I have no problem with the writing or the story. I don't picture Kirsten Stewart though, but the visual is a small, dark-haired young woman.
Yes...the glider thing. I would be screaming. I wouldn't do that.
I really enjoy the inner goddess.  and I love the e-mails.
I'll be looking for more by this author. I like her style very much. |
Glad to hear you've enjoyed them Xina! I thought the emails were so much fun, I loved how the subject line would change with each one and how they would tease each other. I also loved how sometimes Christian would see something she'd written, take it quite seriously and come over. So sweet and funny. He's right, she did express herself better in writing and can't we all relate to that?
Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner |
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Claire
Joined: 01 Apr 2007
Posts: 1309
Location: around Atlanta
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| Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Claire, what I have loved most about Christian and Ana is both their willingness to compromise. It's so refreshing! |
Exactly! There were several times when she was about to do something in the red room when she was really scared but then decided to go through with it in the hopes that it would help him trust her. I liked that she had things that she was definitely against and wasn't afraid to say so. And when he was too rough with her at the end, I was glad she left him. Its nice to know theres a HEA eventually.
| Quote: | | I loved how the subject line would change with each one and how they would tease each other. I also loved how sometimes Christian would see something she'd written, take it quite seriously and come over. |
me too! It took me a while to realize he was changing his title at the bottom as well and that was quite cute. |
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xina
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 6630
Location: minneapolis
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| Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Linda in sw va wrote: |
Glad to hear you've enjoyed them Xina! I thought the emails were so much fun, I loved how the subject line would change with each one and how they would tease each other. I also loved how sometimes Christian would see something she'd written, take it quite seriously and come over. So sweet and funny. He's right, she did express herself better in writing and can't we all relate to that?
Linda |
Yes, I loved how the author picked up on that. She saw the truth in how some express themselves better in writing. Especially, to someone who may take over the space when face to face...Christian.
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mirole
Joined: 06 Aug 2010
Posts: 257
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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Xina, Linda and Claire: ditto to genius emails with changing subject lines and signatures and the willingness to compromise.
The latter for me was so refreshing in a BDSM romance (although I don't consider FSoG such but a lot of reviewers apparently do) because I read several books/novellas with innocent or semi-innocent (new to the lifestyle) girls who embraced it with such ease and so fast that it did not ring true to me. Although I do understand that from a perspective of a BDSM-practicing woman who maybe had such an experience of her initiation they all ring 100% true. |
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shelf
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 99
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| Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 10:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Linda in sw va wrote: | | shelf wrote: | | Linda, you're right, it was a sporting shop. But I'll trade that similarity with the excellent piano playing! Anyway like I said, they were the basic, obvious things they have in common but the plot itself is of course very far removed from Twilight. Also, I know that whole I think I'm plain but every guy adores me has been done many times but it did very much mirror Bella and she was written to view herself/how other boys treated her (and if this was fanfiction I'm guessing this was intentional on the authors part?) |
Shelf, of course possibly, I imagine if she was going to call it fan fiction she had to concede some similarities. When you read FSoG though you are not reading Bella and Edward as Stephenie Meyers created them, you might have a few small snippets that are similar but that's as far as it goes. There is far more that is different about Christian and Ana than is similar. E.L. James created her own story here and did a good job of it. Did you finish FSoG the entire book or just the sample chapter?
Linda
Unrelated note, is anyone else getting [/List] or img or other odd html tags next to their last word typed when they hit the submit button? I keep removing them but every time it seems another one shows up. |
No, I purchased and read the book in its entirety (I mentioned so a few posts back) and also said that, these things aside, the actual plot was very far removed from Twilight. I just didn't care for the book. |
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Linda in sw va
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 6:17 am Post subject: |
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| shelf wrote: | | [No, I purchased and read the book in its entirety (I mentioned so a few posts back) and also said that, these things aside, the actual plot was very far removed from Twilight. I just didn't care for the book. |
Ok, it just seemed that most of what you brought up was taken from the first chapter and some reviews, so I wondered.
Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner
Last edited by Linda in sw va on Mon Mar 26, 2012 6:24 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Linda in sw va
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 6:22 am Post subject: |
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| mirole wrote: | Xina, Linda and Claire: ditto to genius emails with changing subject lines and signatures and the willingness to compromise.
The latter for me was so refreshing in a BDSM romance (although I don't consider FSoG such but a lot of reviewers apparently do) because I read several books/novellas with innocent or semi-innocent (new to the lifestyle) girls who embraced it with such ease and so fast that it did not ring true to me. Although I do understand that from a perspective of a BDSM-practicing woman who maybe had such an experience of her initiation they all ring 100% true. |
Mirole, I so agree here, this was much more believable! I felt the way Ana embraced some but not all of it was presented in a realistic way and I didn't think that the BDSM was romanticized or made to be the 'cool thing' as you often see in romantica/erotica. Ana was honest in that some of it she felt was pretty f-ed up and she wasn't willing to go there but she was also brave to try new things and kept an open mind. I loved how for Christian it was all about pleasing her and once she didn't want something he backed off. Well done.
Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner |
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Linda in sw va
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
Posts: 4708
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 6:27 am Post subject: |
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| Claire wrote: | | Quote: | | Claire, what I have loved most about Christian and Ana is both their willingness to compromise. It's so refreshing! |
Exactly! There were several times when she was about to do something in the red room when she was really scared but then decided to go through with it in the hopes that it would help him trust her. I liked that she had things that she was definitely against and wasn't afraid to say so. And when he was too rough with her at the end, I was glad she left him. Its nice to know theres a HEA eventually.
| Quote: | | I loved how the subject line would change with each one and how they would tease each other. I also loved how sometimes Christian would see something she'd written, take it quite seriously and come over. |
me too! It took me a while to realize he was changing his title at the bottom as well and that was quite cute. |
Claire, it took me a while to spot that as well, I think when she picked up on it and used it in her next email. Cute.
I had mixed feelings about her leaving him at the end of the first. On the one hand, yeah his is fifty kinds of f-ed up and I don't blame her, on the other hand she asked him to show her the worst it would get and he did. I like the way it is resolved in the second.
Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner |
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LikesBadBoys
Joined: 11 Jun 2008
Posts: 126
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:40 am Post subject: |
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Chiming in to share my appreciation of the emails. Some of the longer ones felt like letters, which I love in novels.
I don't know if anyone in this thread has seen E.L. James' Twitter thread, but I saw it the other day and she was supporting another e-book called On the Island . It's on sale for 99 cents on Amazon and I bought it the other day because it was also recommended by goodreads. I really enjoyed it. It's not like FsOG in subject matter or anything, but I thought it was a really good debut from a new author.
| Quote: | | I thought the sex scenes were great. If Dr Drew has a problem with this book, he better not read Lisa Marie Rice or Maya Banks because his head will certainly explode. |
He should probably steer clear of romance in general, especially since he doesn't think women have the mental capacity to separate fantasy from reality. It's a wonder he thinks we are fit for the Harry Potter series. |
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xina
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 6630
Location: minneapolis
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:54 am Post subject: |
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| LikesBadBoys wrote: | Chiming in to share my appreciation of the emails. Some of the longer ones felt like letters, which I love in novels.
I don't know if anyone in this thread has seen E.L. James' Twitter thread, but I saw it the other day and she was supporting another e-book called On the Island . It's on sale for 99 cents on Amazon and I bought it the other day because it was also recommended by goodreads. I really enjoyed it. It's not like FsOG in subject matter or anything, but I thought it was a really good debut from a new author.
| Quote: | | I thought the sex scenes were great. If Dr Drew has a problem with this book, he better not read Lisa Marie Rice or Maya Banks because his head will certainly explode. |
He should probably steer clear of romance in general, especially since he doesn't think women have the mental capacity to separate fantasy from reality. It's a wonder he thinks we are fit for the Harry Potter series. |
I follow her on Twitter, although I don't read my tweet stream regularly. I will have to check out that book.
Yes..Dr. Drew obviously hasn't read a romance novel, because the sex in this book reads just like a romance novel. I find it interesting that his wife liked the books. Before I read them and heard his take on them, I expected something more erotic.
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Linda in sw va
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:53 am Post subject: |
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Can someone link me to her Twitter? I tried E. L. James and got lots of tweets with her mentioned but not her own account, as far as I can tell.
Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner |
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xina
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 6630
Location: minneapolis
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Linda in sw va wrote: | Can someone link me to her Twitter? I tried E. L. James and got lots of tweets with her mentioned but not her own account, as far as I can tell.
Linda |
Linda...Go to my account on Twitter. I follow her and just started a few days ago, so she is 2 or 3 down. (you won't have to look for her...she is right at the top)
I was just there checking to see if mentioned that Universal picked up the book for the movie. No mention of that on her feed though.
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~The Princess Bride |
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Linda in sw va
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
Posts: 4708
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 1:24 pm Post subject: |
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| xina wrote: | | Linda in sw va wrote: | Can someone link me to her Twitter? I tried E. L. James and got lots of tweets with her mentioned but not her own account, as far as I can tell.
Linda |
Linda...Go to my account on Twitter. I follow her and just started a few days ago, so she is 2 or 3 down. (you won't have to look for her...she is right at the top)
I was just there checking to see if mentioned that Universal picked up the book for the movie. No mention of that on her feed though. |
Got it, thanks!
Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner |
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LikesBadBoys
Joined: 11 Jun 2008
Posts: 126
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