It was recently recommended to me to read 50 Shades of Grey, and while I was hesitant the way I always am about popular books, I started in.

The first thing that struck me was just how conversational in tone it is. It is written in first person (which is another reason I’d never planned to read it – I hate most first person fiction), but it’s something more than that. It’s something I’ve noticed in a lot of fiction lately, and that is the tone of writing is very informal. The protagonist narrates in a very easy, conversational tone; it’s almost like listening to your friend tell you a story about her day as it happens.

I am so embarrassed, damn my clumsiness. I have to steel myself to glance up. Holy cow – he’s so young.

The use of slang makes the entire thing seem so casual. It’s easy to read because it mimics our spoken language so well. There’s no fumbling over large and unfamiliar words, no heavy thinking required.

There’s just this overwhelming feeling that the book is asking very little from its reader. Just sit back, read, and enjoy. It’s not asking you to find hidden meaning, or to decipher Anastasia’s true feelings via her actions and words. The author tells you what she’s feeling and thinking every step of the way, so you don’t have to wonder. There’s no vagueness about it.

“Do you feel that you have immense power?” Control Freak.

And that’s not a bad thing. It’s obviously not a bad thing. No matter how I feel about the book, or how other people feel about the book, 50 Shades of Grey is a top seller. It’s made erotica popular and pushed it into the light. It supposedly was the start of a sexual revolution for women, and no matter how minor, it has gotten people talking about sex and fetishes. It’s gotten more people to accept sex toys into their bedroom life, and opened the lines of conversation between other women about sex and desire.

Regardless of how good or bad the writing is, this book has a powerful following, and I think at least some of that is due to what some people say makes the book bad. It’s an easy read. It has a conversational, friendly tone that makes it easy to follow. It’s written in first person which is immensely popular right now. It’s a romance, at its core, despite the fact that it doesn’t follow the typical plotlines.

I can only hope that people continue to explore and be interested in the erotic genre and that it brings more sexual fantasies and delights to the public and out of niche stores and hidden corners. Sex is more of a part of our every day life than violence is, but we secret sexuality away and glorify violence. It’s time to reverse those standards.

Like this post? More at Femmedia:

Anastasia Steel – Mary Sue? – You might not like her, or understand what Christian Grey sees in her, or feels that something in 50 Shades of Grey wasn’t really what you wanted it to be.

Taboo Erotica – I also want the freedom to read erotica that pushes the boundaries of multiple taboos. I want the freedom to be aroused by things that are illegal outside of fiction.

Cybering vs. Erotic Roleplay – Erotic Roleplay (ERP) is the exploration of a character’s sexuality through text between two people, simply put. It is the development of a character within sexual scenes. Some of these scenes are important, some are not, but all can be immensely satisfying and arousing for both writers.