velvetwhip (and Happy Birthday, dear) asked: Name the worst book you've ever read.

50 Shades of Grey by E L James. I read it last year because I felt I needed to have actually read it to be able to discuss it. It was actually more awful than I thought! I found Mr. Grey extremely creepy. He stalked Ana, and consistently pressed her to agree with him. Ana herself was a rather unpleasant person who constantly got angry at her friends when they cared about her. The reader was constantly told how Ana was as a person, but her actions didn’t tell the same story. The portrayal of BDSM as something a person is drawn to if they have been abused, like Grey, or something a good girl is more or less forced to endure in the name of love, was rather disturbing. Actually, you can meet the type of man Grey is in the BDSM community, but I for one has always backed away very quickly. They are scary!

Also, the language was horrible and a woman can only take so much of the repeat of the word crap until she starts to giggle every time she read it… And despite all the fanfare of BDSM sex, well, I have read much better depiction of that in fanfic that isn’t ashamed for being fanfic. Boring at the best, outright dangerous as the worst. I cringed when (in a dream sequence, but still) Ana gets whipped with a horse whip down there. I’m completely certain the author has never, ever felt what it that really feels like, even on a much less sensitive part of the body. I really, really hope no one thinks it is a good idea to try, because I’m certain it could be actually harmful.