I am no snob when it comes to reading material.  In my teens I devoured Jackie Collins and Judith Krantz and even plowed gamely through Danielle Steel.  I've read my share of bodice-ripper romance novels.  I'll admit to a secret enjoyment of Laurell K. Hamilton's Meredith Gentry novels, also known as "elf porn."  Hell, I'll even read fan fiction if it holds my interest.  So when I heard about the phenomenon of "Fifty Shades of Grey," supposedly birthed as a "Twilight" fan fiction piece but with super-graphic sex, I figured I'd check it out.I will say that it's a page-turner--but not for the reasons EL James hopes for.  It's because I was absolutely horrified that something this badly written not only got published, but got popular.  If I hadn't known James was forty-something I'd swear on whatever you hold holy that this thing was written by a 16-year-old girl who's never been kissed.  The "hero", Christian Grey, is impossibly rich, impossibly handsome, impossibly well-endowed and, of course, falling in love with beautiful innocent virgin Anastasia Steele, who despite her virginity seems to get right into the whole whips and chains thing while uncovering Christian's "damaged" side and therefore immediately falling in love with him because she thinks she can save him.  The vaunted BDSM stuff is, in my opinion, fairly tame--the Sleeping Beauty series by Anne Rice was much worse, but then again it was much better written too.  The dialogue is ludicrous, as are the constant references to Anastasia's subconscious and inner goddess, who between them do so many gymnastics they should try out for the Olympics.In the end, "Fifty Shades of Grey" is a very typical romance novel disguised as BDSM porn and since the average romance reader is unfamiliar with that it makes the book OMG SO TITILLATING AND ROMANTIC.  In the hands of someone who could actually write, it might have been a better book, but EL James shows herself for what she is--a crummy fan fiction writer.  And we all know there's WAY too many of them. 

Question: How did you like the book?
Answer: it might have been a better book