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| You Have Been Warned! |
For some reason 50 Shades of Grey gets a lot of attention in the media these days. It's not like erotic novels are something new.
In fact, I'm pretty sure E.L. James was inspired by these other well-known novels before the censors got to work.
Me? I just like how these long-lost titles sound. But then again I snicker when I hear the word, masticate.
13 Popular Novels Gone Dirty
- The Son Also Rises
- A Tail and Two Titties
- The Great Gasping
- The Girl with the Dragon Taboo
- The Mount of Monte Cristo
- The Adventures of Sure Cock Holmes
- The Bi-Curious Case of Benjamin Butt-Man
- On Her Majesty's Secret Servicing
- The Lord of the Cock Rings
- Brave Nude Girl
- Alice Tugged
- A Midsummer's Night Ream
- Harry Potter and the Gobbler Gets Tired
Actual titles we have to live with:
1. The Sun Also Rises, 2. A Tale of Two Cities, 3. The Great Gatsby, 4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 5. The Count of Monte Cristo, 6. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 8. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (James Bond), 9. The Lord of the Rings, 10. Brave New World, 11. Atlas Shrugged, 12. A Midsummer's Night Dream, 13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
And a bonus: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Bone
Did I miss any?
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| Square-1 |
Perhaps you've heard the hype surrounding the recent phenomenon. Maybe you can't understand why it's so popular.
- Some say the quality is poor.
- Others point to its awkwardness.
- And is it really so original?
I'm talking about the Square-1 of course.
The Square-1 is a twisty puzzle. I like twisty puzzles.
When solved, The Square-1 ends up as a six-sided colored cube. Yep, I'm a cuber, keep going.
The Square-1 offers a unique challenge and it changes shapes when it's scrambled. Again, sounds like something right up my alley.
Yet, I don't particularly like this puzzle. But I don't hate it either.
The Square-1 is sliced through the middle on a diagonal axis that makes it rather different to solve than other puzzles like the Rubik's Cube.
I could appreciate what the Square-1 set out to do as a puzzle. You turn faces. You attempt to move pieces around the puzzle. And you try to match all of the colors on each side.
For me, it was a bit more painful to solve, but it had me intrigued. I was hooked. The Square-1 had that something to keep me at it until I was done with it.
And that was why I didn't set my Square-1 ablaze after I discovered it's not so much like the Rubik's Cube after all.
Let's move on to the recent phenomenon, 50 Shades of Grey, and see if there's something to appreciate in it, too.
Love it or hate it, this novel by E.L. James has become wildly popular.
I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon and write a scathing (or praising) review of the book. I really just want to point out there may be a lesson we can all glean from its popularity.
Sure the grammar may be awkward and the dialogue trying. And there are already scores of blogs and websites dedicated to bashing the book. But none of that academic stuff really matters. It's not the writing style. It's not the subject matter.
There must be something else between the covers that connects with so many people.
Identification
One of the biggest reasons for the popularity of this novel is character identification.
When you identify with characters in a story it's easier to suspend disbelief. It's easier to ignore minor author annoyances. You really just want to find out what happens to the characters. Am I saying everybody who loved the book is into Sadomasochism? No. To identify with a character is not the same as imitating the character.
But what woman hasn't felt undesirable at some point and think she's not beautiful? It can create a longing to feel desired and told you're beautiful.
Could this craving in Anastasia, the main character, be one of the things readers connect so deeply with?
And of course Christian Grey is a layered character in the novel -- it's called 50 Shades of Grey after all. He's controlling, but he wants to be accepted too. People can identify with these basic character struggles even if they do not share all of their specific traits or feelings.
I really think the lesson here is the character identification in 50 Shades of Grey is what strikes a chord that resonates so deeply with a lot of people.
Why do you think it's so popular?
