Fifty Shades Of Grey, E L James | featured news

Here's a list "Fifty Shades of Grey" was destined to make: The books most likely to be removed from school and library shelves. On Monday, E L James' multimillion selling erotic trilogy placed No. 4 on the American Library Association's annual study of "challenged books," works subject to complaints from parents, educators and other members of the public. The objections: Offensive language, and, of course, graphic sexual content.

The story of 2012 in publishing was the story of "Fifty Shades of Grey," in more ways than one. E L James' erotic trilogy was easily the year's biggest hit, selling more than 35 million copies in the U.S. alone and topping bestseller lists for months. Rival publishers hurried to sign up similar books and debates started over who should star in the planned film version. Through James' books and how she wrote them, the general public was educated in the worlds of romance/erotica, start-up publishing and "fan fiction."

Every day brings news of more and more projects hanging onto Fifty Shades of Grey‘s coattails (or cat o’nine tails). You can’t blame any of the bandwagon-jumpers, though. E L James’ S&M trilogy is quickly joining the likes of Twilight and The Hunger Games in terms of sales, and Amazon UK has reported that the books have become the best-selling books in the website’s 14-year history, overtaking the Harry Potter series in just four months.

Bibles in nightstands are a familiar amenity for hotel guests, but travelers seeking to read their favorite verse at one establishment will be in for a big surprise. The Damson Dene Hotel, which touts itself as the perfect destination for a “peaceful break away from it all” in England’s picturesque Lake District, is making quite a noise for replacing the Bible with “Fifty Shades of Grey” in its 40 guest rooms.

The crowd at Barnes & Noble on Friday night is excited but disciplined. Oh, they know all about discipline. . . . These are the feverish fans of E L James’s “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the erotic novel that brought S&M out of the closet and into the suburbs. Spawned last year in the dark waters of online fan fiction, “Grey” has grown into a mega-selling trilogy, topping e-book and paperback charts. Newsweek ran a cover story last month about the series. On TV and op-ed pages, cultural pundits and feminists argue about what it means.

They're young and old, doctors and churchgoers, gay and straight - and those are just the MEN who have devoured oh-so-naughty "Fifty Shades of Grey," an erotic trilogy that has earned millions of women fans in a matter of weeks....

The “Fifty Shades” trilogy’s success is more about its old-fashioned Cinderella fairy tale and less about its kinky sex.