Fifty Shades Read

Now, unless you've been living on the moon for the last couple of months you'll have heard of the books by E.L. James charting the story of Christian Grey...

I love reading, I'll read most things, although I do have a bit of an aversion to anything overtly popular. I didn't pick up a Harry Potter book until The Goblet Of Fire was released as it was hyped up, although I'll admit the hype was worth it for those. So, when these books literally exploded in popularity I was very wary. When I started hearing the books were like marmite, I was even more wary of bothering with them. Eventually I figured I was just that nosey that I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about....(spoilers ahead if you are one of the 3 people who haven't read them..)


Basically the books are about the relationship between the stunningly handsome billionaire Christian Grey and the virginal, innocent college student Anastasia Steele. They meet, he wants her to be his submissive, she umms and aaah's about signing the Dom/sub contract he offers her whilst they have a lot of sex. She also bites her lips, talks to her inner goddess and subconcious. A LOT. A lot has been said about the "BDSM" sex the book contains, now there are elements of Domination and bondage, and some of the language Christian uses is quite authentically controlling, it isn't really anything much more than most people might indulge in now and again.

As books, they are laughably badly written, the characters are mostly one dimensional, the language is annoyingly samey and the storylines are threadbare and barely make much sense. The relationship flies along at breakneck speed and all subtlety is lost.

As erotica, they are not sure where they want to be, there is enough "kinky fuckery" to turn off the more inherently vanilla readers, in fact some reviews I've seen have called Christian's behaviour abusive and misogynistic. There are certainly lots of sex scenes, but they become dreadfully repetitive and, again, I've seen plenty of reviewers saying they were skipping the sex scenes. If you ARE into kink, whilst some of the language Christian uses is more than familiar, the scenes themselves aren't quite as deep into kinky territory as the blurb would have you believe, add into the fact that being into BDSM is portrayed as something only the most damaged of individuals partake in, and I can't see the appeal from that angle either.

So what is it? Is it the thought of a man who wants nothing more than to look after you completely and utterly? Is it the idea of being the one woman who can heal this broken and damaged man? Is in the mothering instinct coming to the forefront, with those readers just wanting to love Mr Grey? Are women REALLY wanting this kind of sexual adventure, complete with spanking, cuffs, blindfolds and floggers?

For me, even after reading them, I have no idea of the appeal. I've read many, much more gripping reads. I've read erotica that genuinely has me squirming away, and I've read love stories with much more depth. Yes, they're fluff, yes they're throwaway beach reads, but these books have become a phenomenon and I, for one, would LOVE to know why, so if you've read them (and I know many of my friends have) please, please leave me a comment as to what the books did for you?

The Yearly Debate

It's that time of the year again. Early spring, which brings with it daffodils, bright skies, Easter and FA Cup semi-finals. It also brings the most debated sporting event in the calendar (in England anyway). The Grand National.

I'm sure many of you have already decided what this blog will be about, knowing I'm a soppy, animal loving vegetarian. However, I'm probably going to prove you wrong! As always, Twitter and Facebook have been alight with calls to ban horse racing due to the devastatingly sad news that two horses failed to survive the race this year. Despite safety changes being made every year to the course at Aintree, yet more horses have sustained injuries that cannot be treated. I hate this fact, I hate than any animal has to die.....but.....those horses were doing what they were trained to do. They were doing what they loved, running alongside other horses, being part of a pack.

Whilst I can be upset at this news, I am confused as to the amount of people calling for the sport to be banned. I'm confused as to the difference between this "cruel" sport and the eating of meat. Purebred race horses are bred to race. They are looked after, nurtured and cared for by trainers who want the best for their animals. These animals are there because of the racing industry. If racing was banned, those animals would either be put to sleep, or put out to pasture, despite being bred to run and race and jump. Isn't that more cruel to those magnificent animals?

How is the tragic fall of a racehorse, who is then attended by vets and only euthanised if the injury is untreatable (as is often the case with broken limbs), and even then, is treated with dignity, shielded from the crowd and put to sleep quickly, more cruel than the death of a cow, pig, lamb or chicken destined to end its life in a slaughterhouse? Part of a production line with hundreds of others, dealt with as a commodity to satisfy the taste for fresh meat?

Perhaps I'm oversimplifying, but how is the value of one animal decided? Is it how cute they are? Is it the fact that horseracing is a spectacle, broadcast for the world to see whilst animals destined for plates are dealt with away from prying eyes, only reaching view when in palatable little plastic trays, devoid of their "cuteness"?

Before deciding that something is cruel, perhaps a deeper view is needed. People in general will never, ever agree. It's our very nature to provoke and debate. However, much as I don't eat meat, wear leather and try to be responsible in the products I use I would not call for the eating of meat to be banned. It's an industry, like any other, that contributes to our economy and the same goes for horse racing.

If you ban horse racing, do you then ban halaal meat? What about battery eggs? Non free range meat? Feeding mice to snakes? Where do you draw the line?