Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy

Warning: These books are HIGHLY smutty! They are not for the easily offended. SERIOUSLY. If they were a movie, they would be whatever is two ratings above R. So don't cry if you read them based on my recommendation and are offended. Okay? Okay.

I loved these books! I read all three in less than a week. The first one (Fifty Shades of Grey) is available in print and ereader versions, however the last two (Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed) are only available on ereader type devices. Print versions release on April 17th.

So, I loved these books. Don't judge! I saw an article about the first one in Entertainment Magazine or some other rag and it peaked my interest.  The story is of Anastasia Steele, a recent literature graduate who does an interview with Christian Grey, an extremely wealthy entrepreneur based in Seattle. He has a very painful past which he copes with using controlling behavior and sexual habits. They fall in love; steamy romance and conflicts ensue.

They are fairly quick reads at 356, 373, and 456 pages respectfully. The biggest thing that bothered me with these books was the repeated expressions and thoughts of the main character. She seems to use the same descriptive words continually through out the books and that does get a little irritating, but since it's a smutty romance novel so you can't really expect profound terminology. Also, I didn't even know they were a trilogy until the last page of the first book. Side note: everyone should be proud of me for not reading the last page first. I almost always do.

I set a Goodreads Goal of finishing 12 books this year. To some that may not seem like many, but I have set the same goal in the past and failed horribly. I am happy to say that these books put me at 7 so far for the year, 4 books ahead of schedule! Go me go!

2012 Reading Challenge

Meagen has read 7 books toward her goal of 12 books.

hide

7 of 12 (58%)

view books

Unbearable Lightness

While I was in California in February I read Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi. I really liked it. It's the memoir she wrote during her severe struggle with anorexia and bulimia. She discusses how her desire to be healthy and fit quickly became a full blown eating disorder and how she got down to a shocking 82lbs. She also describes what it was like being gay and working in Hollywood during a time when it wasn't opening accepted.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read at 272 pages and while I found a few grammatical errors (which drive me nuts) I enjoyed the content. You can purchase the book here through Amazon.

The Gargoyle

*So this is a review I posted on a different blog I had about two years ago, but I got a request to do some book reviews (Hi Laci!!) so here's a repost (with some tweaks) until I put together one of a current book I've read.

My 2nd favorite book (after To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee) is Andrew Davidson's, The Gargoyle. I really love this book! The Gargoyle would be a perfect airplane read. I can get completely engrossed in a book when I am on a plane. I think it's because I have absolutely no interest in talking with the strangers around me and do my best to tune them all out. But back to the book. The beginning is a little brutal. Not because it's boring or difficult to read, but because it's so descriptive you can almost feel the words. The first part describes a car crash that the narrator experiences and if you can make it through that you won't want to put it down. The remainder of the book is the narrators experience with burn recovery and addiction and a woman named Marianne, whom he meets in the hospital. Marianne is a psych patient that has been recently released and tries to convince the narrator they met and loved in a previous life. She is awesome. And crazy. I loved each of the stories Marianne told because they kept my attention. I couldn't wait to continue reading to hear the next part of each one. I also liked the way the narrator goes back and forth determining whether she is totally insane, or if they really happened. I love how they all tie in to one another, and in the end when he tells Marianne Engel he loves her. Aww. So sweet. Here's a excerpt from that part.

"...I spent my entire life waiting for you, Marianne, and I didn't even know it until you arrived. Being burned was the best thing that ever happened to me because it brought you. I wanted to die but you filled me with so much love that it overflowed and i couldn't help but love you back. It happened before I even knew it and now I cant imagine not loving you..."

I recommend reading this book if you are in the mood for a love story and can stand reading a little human suffering. Side note, I am not really familiar with writing book reviews, or any reviews for that matter so I apologize if this one kind of sucked. Maybe I'll improve in the upcoming attempts. Click here to see what I am currently reading.

The Time Traveler's Wife

"She followed slowly, taking a long time, as though there were some obstacle in the way; and yet: as though, once it was overcome, she would be beyond all walking, and would fly." -from Going Blind, Rainer Maria Rilke

I finished reading the Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger tonight and my favorite line from the book (above), isn't even from the book. Ha ha, but I still really enjoyed it none the less. The story is of a librarian, Henry, that has the ability to time travel. He spends most of his time with his future wife, Clare, in her childhood. She loves him all her life, literally, and I find that sooo romantic. The book discusses their married life together and the struggles they have with Henry's constant disappearing to travel, Clare's loneliness, and their inability to have children. It is an interesting read, there weren't any dull parts, but it is a little difficult to get used to the constant time changes.

I know I was all amped up to see the movie when it was released, but I'm not sure if I will see the movie anytime soon. The reviews for it have been awful. And I can imagine how the scenes where Henry is old (late 20's-mid 30's) and Clare is so young (10-18) could be a bit creepy. Maybe I'll rent it when it comes to DVD. I love Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, so how could that be bad?

Side note: I am going to be moving a few of my book reviews (like 2) from my resolutions blog over to here. I don't use that blog anymore, but I'd like to keep the reviews. So if you see a random post or two show up, that's why.