Discussion: Science Fiction/Dystopian Genre

Upon starting university, there was the inevitable question when getting to know people you don't know of the favourites, particularly favourite film. While some of my newly acquired flatmates mentioned The Notebook, The Dark Knight - some of the modern popular classics - I ended my answer with Back to the Future.

I'm a bit of a major fangirl when it comes to science fiction. I'm not entirely sure why. But I've always liked anything sci-fi or dystopian, be it books or films. It probably all stemmed from being forced to watch Doctor Who and Star Wars when I was younger by my dad, both of which I love now. As someone who loves books, cats and whose wardrobe consists of a mixture of jeans and floaty skirts and dresses trying to possess some kind of vintage style, it may be a little weird that I'm such a sci-fi geek.

I know many who dislike the science fiction genre, I've never been sure why. A friend of mine defined it as: 'Why would you look into the future and make disaster out of that when you can look into the present and sort out the more immediate problems of today?'
Which is a question that I totally understand. I like a lot of contemporaries for their immediacy and the fact I can sit there and shout 'yes I've experienced this too!'
But for me, a lot of literature is about challenging boundaries and adapting the meaning and values of literature, so by delving into the future and the things that could face us, doesn't the science fiction genre do just that?

I guess I like the whole question of 'WHAT IF?' that defines this genre.What if we had a time machine formed by a car? What if there was a world where society was separated into factions? What if there was a weather problem and we had a second Ice Age? What if aliens invaded and died because of our atmosphere? I certainly feel that some of the movies I've watched and books I've read would prepare me in some way for some of these scenarios.
The thing is there is something unpredictable about this genre which means you can't really work out what is going to happen eventually (debatable in some dystopian but whatever). Think about some of your favourite genres. In historical fiction, there is going to be some social or cultural element involved that is unique to that time. In contemporary romances, there is going to be a misunderstanding, the couple break apart but then come together again. But when it comes to science fiction, the world that is built and essential to the narrative also, means that the ending and the twists and turns along the way are entirely unpredictable because the world is so special to that book or movie. And that uniqueness and unexpectedness is what I love.

Let me know what you think about science fiction and dystopians. Do you like them and why? Do you not like them? What are some of the science fiction films/books you've seen/read? 

Discussion: Why I Don't Write

A question I get asked from a lot of posts on this blog is 'Do you write stories? Do you write fiction?'
I'm never quite sure why I get asked this, perhaps because a large majority of book bloggers also write as a hobby/living, perhaps I come across as if I would, not sure.

Simply, the answer is no, I don't.

However, that's not entirely true. Because everyone writes. I write reviews, articles, tweets. But when it come to stories, fiction, tales - everyone at some point has written that story, the story based on something true, a way for your emotions to let loose. Or for that stage where you want to be an Author (the capital was on purpose). Every child has gone through it. Every teenager may have gone through it. And they always will.

In English, when we were asked to do creative writing, the idea didn't quite excite me as it did for others.
When I did have to write something fictional, I based it on other people's work (yeah, plagiarism) or of my own experiences.

I have only ever created one story seriously with the intention of perhaps it being published. When I was in Year 9, I found an old notebook where I had loosely written a story a few years before that basing it about this guy I liked. Now, I cringe greatly even at the thought of my 11 year-old self actually doing that and just hope to God, that neither him or any of his friends find this post (I highly doubt they will but guys, if you have, please don't tease me - I was 11!). Ironically, the guy I had based it on was actually my boyfriend when I found this notebook, two years after being written.

The story was really bad. Like seriously bad despite being written by an 11 year-old. It was set in a school with the characters having the same names as my friends at the time. The girls I didn't like were written in there too as Emma (the main character) started new at a secondary school, became friends with this guy and everything grew from there until his angry ex-girlfriend (part of the group I didn't like) appears and then, things got complicated. Not quite Jane Austen.
The story, while reading though, reminded me of Sarah Dessen. An author that I hadn't discovered in Year 8 and I think this is one of the main reasons I love her. I once wrote stories similar to hers, no wonder I would then love her work.

Anyway, when I found this, I was going through a time when I was bored. I had nothing to do and I needed something to fill the time so I didn't think about this boyfriend, which wasn't going as well as I imagined in my story, my not-so-amazing friends at the time and to fill the time that I should have been out enjoying myself.
So. That is the only time I started to write a story. A novel. A book based on this original story I had found (but severely altered) with a few scenes that eager Sarah Dessen fans would spot instantly. It was a story of loss, friendship and love.
I got quite far into it. I got the end, the beginning and the majority of the middle. But the bit between the middle and end was left blank, a confused 14 year-old Rebecca not quite sure what to type next. That day I got stuck, I left it. And forgot about it. It was only until a couple of nights ago I found the file when I was going through some folders on my laptop saved under 'My Random Story'. It was 98 pages long, a length I couldn't believe and never have achieved on Word before. I started reading it and to be honest, it's not as bad as I remembered. There are parts I have to skip for different reasons such as too much based on reality and bring back memories I have buried, too badly written, or just pure cringe.

For the record, that time of my life is not a period I look back at fondly in hindsight. It was a time where I was too naive, too trusting and thought everything would be perfect if I believed it was. My love life has never been that much of a highlight of my 18 years for numerous reasons and I think comparing what I thought going out with someone was like and what it was in reality show that perfectly. Let's just say I've been a lone wolf for a while now. I may post part of this story one day, but I don't think I'm ready yet to let the whole Internet know.

So I guess the purpose of this post is to clear that up. Yeah I do write. Articles, posts, essays. Yeah I have written a story. It's just something I'm not into now. I would love to finish this story, there's just an infinite amount of endings. Hopefully I'll find one, one day.

Judge a Book By Its Cover

Covers are something I don't think most of us realise are that important. But it is sometimes the cover that makes you judge a book, be it negatively or positively. They are sometimes featuring people, an illustration or sometimes the most effective are just plain. Sometimes simplicity pays.
Some of my favourite covers have included (links to image of cover) the US version of The Forsaken by Lisa M Stasse, The Luxe by Anna Godbersen and all the UK versions of Sarah Dessen's novels - they are divine. Here are some different covers I pulled out of the YA book world to compare.

ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS BY STEPHANIE PERKINS

The left cover is the original cover with the right being the new covers that Stephanie Perkins announced last week. I have to admit...I hated the original cover. The creepy smile of the girl and the awkward black scarf (is it just me or does it kind of NOT fit?) and then the casual creepy hand reaching across...it didn't scream READ ME. However, I love the new covers - they're pretty, appealing and I think look much more sophisticated than the original. I'm glad they kept the Eiffel Tower on there! (My review)

Verdict: NEW COVER

THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER BY SARAH DESSEN

The left cover is the UK cover while the right cover is the newer US edition of this book. I love this book a lot, it's my favourite of Sarah Dessen's writing so I KNOW this book inside out because of the amount of times I've read it. The US cover is interesting and I think definitely better than the original US covers. I like the colours and the simplicity of it, it shows the book well in a sophisticated matter. My only problem is the significance of the bracelet. There is no bracelet in the story so it seems a little weird to have that on the cover - although the wishbone IS relevant to the story.
The UK cover is pretty and I love that the rest of Sarah Dessen's book match. It's interesting to look at and you get a feeling for some of the issues and themes explored in the story from the images inside the heart.

Verdict: UK COVER.

DELIRIUM BY LAUREN OLIVER

The left is the current UK cover (which I believe is being changed soon to incorporate the different covers for Pandemonium and Requiem) while the right is the US cover. Well, well. I don't really know what to think about these covers because neither are particularly spectacular in my eyes. I have a thing about book covers having models staring straight at you on the cover, it's a bit scary or off-putting sometimes. I like the colours for the right US cover, the mixture of blue and green that go well with the nature in the novel (from what I can remember). I dislike the UK one a lot, with the girl I think looking waaay too young to be Lena. The US cover model I can totally see as Lena. (My Review for Delirium) (My Review for Before I Fall)

Verdict: US COVER

THE OTHER COUNTESS BY EVE EDWARDS



The left cover is the US edition and the right cover is the original UK cover when this series was first released. It was then changed to match the other two books in the series (have a look here). What I liked about the UK cover was the plain indication that this was set in Tudor times because of the dress. I also liked that the model was exactly as I imagined Ellie to be like - it just looked like a historical novel to me. The US cover I guess does too but the dress is a little less obvious to show that. I like the sophisticated look of the US cover in the lettering - it's just really the pose of the model that annoys me showing both plainly this is a romance novel but also showing Ellie as a little...I don't know, submissive? If this makes any sense, I think the UK cover makes her look a little bit more independent and stronger - yes, it seems the feminist is coming out of me. My only thing is that the UK cover LOOKS like a typical YA novel when the US cover could be mistaken for adult - which I like. (My Review)

Verdict: Not sure...

What do you think about these covers? Which one do you prefer? What are your thoughts in general about covers? 

Discussion: Libraries

*I'm not someone who write discussions naturally but after a few bloggers saying they would like to see more of them on Rebecca-Books, I thought I would try and improve. So this is the first one of hopefully many in 2013!*

As a book blogger, I don't think I would have read as many brilliant books as I would have done had I not had access to a library. There is something truly brilliant when entering a library, sometimes multiple stories, devoted entirely to books. That you can bring home with you, for free! There is a lot of stick about the whole library system, about the cleanliness of the books that go in and out of homes constantly, whether the library is still somewhere people visit still or if it's money wasted that could be put more effectively into things like heath care or education. I can see the cons of libraries but for a reader and someone who has to stop herself grabbing every book I see, the pros are far more dominant and far more important than money.

Libraries, like reading itself, are technically a form of entertainment. But for some it's an experience. From a young age, my Nan, a person I spend a large amount of time with in my childhood because both my parents worked full time, encouraged me to venture to the library frequently, be it somewhere to drop me off while she went food shopping in the summer holidays, browse the books for the next exciting thing to read or to go to one of the many activities or workshops my local library hosted. It's fair to say libraries have been a central part of my childhood and grown up with me.

Throughout my younger years, I always visited the same library, not realising there were others I could go to. This library was so small but most of it was taken up by computers and the children's section. I loved rifling through the books, always avoiding the 'Teenage' section on the right hand wall. I loved looking through the DVD's although I only took one out on occasion (in my library you have to pay to take out the DVD's). I liked sitting in the silence absorbed in a book, I liked the temporary ownership of a book that you didn't need to buy necessarily, you could spread the love of the book to strangers. Let's face it, the book that was the most popular was always the one with the ripped pages and pages upon pages of stamps dating back 5 years or so. This single library blossomed my love for literature, introduced me to the teenage genre after I'd read nearly all the good books in the 9+ section. It's where I remember discovering authors such as Patrick Ness, Sarah Dessen, Caroline Lawrence, Jane Austen, Anna Godbersen, Mary Hooper and N.M.Browne who I all still love and cherish their books today.

When I was about probably 13/14 (so like 4/5 years ago), I suddenly discovered the library system out of this single library in the other nearby towns. They were in much bigger, elaborate buildings - an old government building and an old school - and with that they had bigger 'Teenage' sections and a better selection of books. I abandoned the original library I frequented for these others because I was older and they had better selections in both the 'Teenage' and 'Fiction' sections. I always knew about my old library and did consider revisiting several times but I thought I would never find anything I wanted to read having read most of the good books there already. A couple of years ago, in my area they modernised the libraries, having new cards (although I STILL use my original library card I've had since I was about 5), new systems and in turn, these machines to replace the librarians that you borrow, return and check your account from. Ironically, I can go to the library without talking to a single person because of the introduction of these self-serve machines. The two libraries I visited got refurbished and I was accustomed to that, I guess always assuming nothing would happen to the library I originally visited in my younger years.

That was until last week. I got off the train at a different stop, a stop that my train stops at less frequently but is closer to my house. I was earlier having been allowed to miss my last lesson. I was in a good mood, it was the start of half term and I didn't want to face my mother sooner than necessary. I found myself wandering through the charity shops, walking down the alleys I visited when I was younger, buying something in the local Tesco's and then suddenly, my feet found themselves outside my old library. My first library in a way. On walking in, I was in a little bit of shock. There used to be a huge circle desk in the middle, meaning you had to walk entirely around it before you reached the Children's section. There would always be 4 or 5 librarians working at the desk, talking to you as you walked in, getting one more person to sign up to the library. Although from the outside it looks the same as it did 10 years ago, the inside is completely different. It's much more open plan, more spacious with a small desk with one librarian I didn't recognise in the corner with three of these self-serve machines surrounding him - on guard in a way. I glanced in the children's area. Now, that was completely UNCHANGED although with the addition of some noisy secondary school kids talking about who they love and who they hate. I looked at the 'Teenage' section which, although with some newer books, still had the books I had borrowed years ago, still ripped from love, still with their plastic covers attached. It was a real blast from the past.

I wasn't going to get anything out of the library after exploring it for about 10 minutes. Until I came across a 'Young Adult' section near the door. It was then something came to mind. This library isn't the most popular and I would be surprised if I learnt it was at danger of closing down. But this is the first library where I've seen a completely separate 'Teenage' and 'Young Adult' section. It struck me how much this library must care or know about the current book market, they understand the difference between YA and Teenage books which I don't think even at work they do. Sometimes I feel ashamed, being 18, and still reading teenage books, I feel I should have moved on by now but I can't tear myself away. But on seeing this, I know there is a difference between the two and it was heart-breaking in a way to see that a library, I hadn't loved for years, understood that more than a bookshop or any of the bigger libraries. To me, it showed they were trying to accommodate for young people such as myself, helping us read books for our interest and age. There was a mixture of books I know were YA and books I would have thought would be in the 'Fiction' section.
I'm not sure why I had such an emotional response to finding the 'Young Adult' section in my local, neglected library - I guess the building just means a lot to my childhood and to my contribution to the blogging world.
The icing on the cake really was when I was leaving. I saw this lady who I did recognise talking to another librarian. She turned around and caught my eye and I remembered her from working part-time at the library, part-time at my nursery and had known my Nan well. She looked so surprised to see me that she actually hugged me. She exclaimed 'Rebecca! How are you? How old are you now?' I replied I was fine and I had just turned 18. The look on her face was just pure shock, probably remembering a 7 year-old Rebecca charging towards the children's area. Then, she said 'I haven't seen you here in a while, what's happened? Have you gone off reading?' I think it was my turn to look shocked, I told her I was reading more than ever and briefly mentioned the blog which she was delighted to hear about saying she'd check it out. I left with my library books, looking forward to going back and seeing her again, amazed she remembered me after so long.
My encounter really just shows the value of community on libraries and bookshops and how although we've had libraries for as long as many of us can remember, they aren't stuck in the past - they move with it. And something like that vale of community you will not find on Amazon.

UPDATE: A day after writing this, I was speaking to my assistant manager about the teenage section at work and he suggested putting a Young Adult section in!

To (I hope) enhance what I'm trying to say about libraries, I asked Lucy from Queen of Contemporary to tell me a little bit about what she thinks:

"I can't remember a time when I didn't enjoy going to the library. From a young age, I was encouraged to pick up as many books as the library allowed and then would spend the afternoon reading them with my mum. So, you see, I have been an avid reader from day one. Why should we support our libraries? That's an easy question to answer, for me. Libraries aren't just there for people who like silence or old, dusty tomes; they're there to help people who don't have enough money to buy books themselves or don't want to splurge out on a book they're only going to read once. I know that a library local to me runs lots of events for both readers and writers and I am going to be fortunate enough to attend two of these next week. More of us should be going to the library because otherwise they'll be shut down. I know a lot of libraries in England are losing their funding and are having to close and there are a lot of people who feel passionate enough to campaign and really do something to make a change. Of course, libraries don't only contain books. They also have DVDs, music and audio books on offer and some even have internet access for you to use. So we really do need them in more ways than you could think."

When Did Blogging Become Cool?

There was a time, at the beginning of the creation of Rebecca-Books, when if someone I knew personally followed me on Twitter, the blog or even just mentioned the blog in passing conversation, I would have filled with embarrassment, trying to steer the conversation away from THAT topic while cringing to myself.
Now, although I'm not the type of person to tell anyone and everyone that I do in fact run a blog, I'm not so pressurised into hiding the fact I have one and certainly, am more open in what I blog about.
I remember a friend in my old Media class last year. She'd found out I had Twitter and wanted to add me. I remember coming out with this explanation of why my username was Rebecca-Books, why there was a URL and why on the 'About Me' page there was a big fat picture of myself. Having confined in my friend of the blog, I was on the verge of expecting a weird look, a furrow of the eyebrow and then an 'okay then...' and that would be the end of our short friendship.
So when she said 'Oh really? That's so cool!' I have to admit I was little dubstruck. Hang on, roll back time, did she just freaking say that a blog was cool? Not just any blog, a BOOK blog. Although now, some readers could be like 'Urgh, why is she so obsessed over the idea that having a book blog is weird?' Well, from personal experience, being a teenager, the idea of openly loving books as much as I do is classed as a no-no in the rule of adolenscene. Even now.

When I was 15/16, in my 'form time' I didn't talk to anyone. I was THAT girl. The one in the corner trying to amuse herself for those dreadful 20 minutes each day. The one that would listen into conversations around her. The one that would be the first to volunteer to somehow get out of that misery. I had friends, sure, but just not in my 'form' class. So when I came up with the idea of being a book and reading in that time and wow, people were amazed that I did that. There was this one girl who I wouldn't have thought liked books or reading but every time I had a new book, she'd always ask me about it, with what I think was a genuine interest. Anyway, I was known as a 'neek' then anyway so this just enhanced that. So that was a full-on experience how reading is associated with geekiness and being a little bit weird.

And so was blogs. Or so I thought. Remember all those TV programmes with the science/math geek who always had a blog, they would say 'I need to put this on my blog'. It just seemed like something people with (and sorry for the stereotype) glasses, braces, fizzy bad hair, bad social skills and amazing at like everything would have. Which is probably why I think I joined (I think anyway) just before BC (Blog Coolness) arrived, waaay back in 2010. I remember having the reaction I described above at the end of Year 11, beginning of Year 12 when a few friends found out about the blog.
So where am I going with this?

Well. While perusing through the latest Company magazine and hearing that the next issue is about the 'Super Bloggers', it struck me that people think blogging is a really really cool thing to do now. Flocks of girls from my college will rush to get this new Company magazine, get a subscription to a magazine that has suddenly focussed on becoming a blogger. It sort has become any blogger's bible to how to be successful like many other bloggers before them. Why the sudden amazement in bloggers? Well, look at some of THE fashion bloggers - Susie Bubble, Bipling, Carrie from WishWishWish - they've almost become huge celebrities in their own right, most teenagers know who they are, they feature alongside Hollywood actresses and models in fashion magazines and they have a lot of influence in the fashion world. It's amazing really that they were able to achieve that from doing something that they love plus something that was always associated with being uncool and geeky.

So I'm talking more about fashion bloggers making blogging cool these days but we have to have a look at book bloggers too. What blogger hasn't heard of The Story Siren? Or The Broke and the Bookish? They were like some of the first blogs I found. At work, I look at the reviews and praise section at the front of books and more often now, I see book bloggers quotes from a review - a lot of the time blogs that I follow myself. I remember times when this praise would be 'James Smith from The Telegraph' (made-up by the way) saying now amazing said book was. But now, when I see a quote from 3 or 4 blogs I love? I'm actually more inclined to want to read the book due to THEIR enthusiasm for said book. I know I've said this but I'm just in awe of how blogging has evolved from 2010 when I started Rebecca-Books. Now, there's so many people out there blogging about anything and everything and everyone's like 'Sure, that's cool!' when in 2010, the weird looks would be piled high in my direction.

One last point I think that has made blogging so cool and hip in the invention of Tumblr. Now, I think those that count Tumblr as a blog are wrong. Blogging is typing and writing your thoughts on life, books, fashion - whatever. Not posting countless pictures that are just pretty or mean something to you. IT'S NOT BLOGGING (as you can see I have personal opinions on this issue).
So nearly every teenager has a Tumblr and those that don't at least know what it is, or is supposed to be. It is a way to express yourself and it is this obsession or interest in doing so in a creative way that has really I think made blogging that much cooler. Tumblr is for those that are cool anyway (apparently...) or at least associated with those types of people so with these so called 'cool people' 'blogging' then everyone's like 'Wait, blogging's a good thing? GREAT'. It's something to think about, the way that's happened without anyone noticing really.

And that concludes my rant or discussion, whatever you would like to call it. I'm so glad that I don't have to feel embarrassed or flustered to have a blog as much as I did at the beginning of my blogging career but I do think sometimes we need to step back and think about wonder why these attitudes have changed, in teenagers at least.
I'm Rebecca, I'm 17 years-old and I run a book blog. And am proud.
Over and Out.

(Let me know what you think on this topic, I'm interested to hear!)

Is 'Fifty Shades of Grey' a good thing?

Fifty Shades of Grey.

I'm pretty sure it conjures up a mixture of opinions for people, myself included. I'm also sure it conjures up some amazement for numerous reasons, mostly to the fact it has sold a million copies for the Amazon Kindle alone and that it sold faster than any of the modern greats such as Lord of the Rings, Twilight or Harry Potter. I hear some of you cry, Harry Potter!? Totally true.
My question is: why is this book dubbed 'mummy porn' one of the fastest selling books of the 21st Century so far? And is this a good or bad thing?

I work in a bookshop, as I have said before. I remember a couple of months ago when the book was first released in the UK after the successful run in the US, so around March 2012. I was standing at the counter with my American colleague, Alice*. This middle aged woman with spectacles perched on her nose came to the tills, obviously about to launch into a series of questions for a book she wanted. Her question was: 'I'm looking for that book that's big in the US. 'Fifty' something? Do you know it?'

Funnily enough, I did. I pointed to the counter where a few copies had been placed as, well, we didn't know where else to put them. Picking it up, the lady looked at the blurb before asking us did we know why it was popular, what it was about and so forth. After a small conversation, she bought the book and then continued on her way saying she's heard it was 'life changing' from a friend therefore 'it had to be good'.
Ah, the innocent public then. Intrigued to what it was about, Alice and myself were talking about what we'd heard about it which was, well, not much at this point. After a small bit of Googling, we found it was a 'romance bordering erotica' novel. We were pretty intrigued.
It was this moment we picked up the book on the counter and flicked through it. Alice looked at it first and from the horror on her face, it just said it all. So, that was how I found out about the series named 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. We flicked through for another few minutes before replacing it on the shelf and looking at each other in disgust. When I say, EVERY PAGE, I mean EVERY PAGE has some kind of sexual reference. 

For the record, I'm okay with sex in books. I'm 17, for Christ's sake, and sat through many awkward sex education classes with boys looking at the girls in fear with the knowledge they'll have to touch THAT and worse, girls can bear children? Shock! Horror!
However, there are extremes in books where the sex is just, too much. I want some real issues, not just an indepth analysis of the event. I can imagine this is what this book is like. For me, erotica fiction recalls the past memories of finding a massive box of Miles and Boon novels in the Oxfam I used to work in and the small half of a shelf at the end of Fiction in the bookshop I work in which is the 'Erotica' shelf. Needless to say, it's a genre that doesn't do too well.

So why the sudden phenomenon of Fifty Shades of Grey? I think we need to realise what this series started out as. Which is fan-fiction of TWILIGHT of all books. Remember that big thing in 2008 when the first movie came out (I was NOT part of it)? This book started out on a fan-fiction website of Twilight. She was forced to leave for the, ahem, racy nature of her books and started her own website 50shades.com. An Australian publisher caught on to the series and made it into an e-book and then when the popularity increased, Random House bought the rights to publish it as a paperback. And the rest is history. Well, it is after a film company then bought the film rights. So, Fifty Shades, THE MOVIE, anyone?
I have a bias view as I find the book unappealing and slightly disturbing that this is the book that grips the world to buy more than Harry Potter or even the Hunger Games. I can certainly think of better literature to have sold a million copies on Amazon Kindle. I have always thought that, since that day in March when I discovered this series. Even when the first flocks of people came in to buy it, it never clicked this was the next 'big thing'. And even if it was, I was still never going to read it.

It was only until last weekend when I was working that I realised the extend of the popularity for the series. We opened at 11:30 with three shelves full right by the front door to the shop with the three books. At around 12:30 and after a huge rush of customers, my collegue at the time came up to the counter with an face of confusion holding a single copy of Fifty Shades of Grey proclaiming 'We only have one copy left'.
That's right, my bookshop sold out of Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker, the second book in the series. Which left us with 50-odd copies of the third book, Fifty Shades Freed. After looking on the system, there were 200 copies on order. 200! It was this moment when I was bewilderment at why this book was chosen by the English population to be one of the most fastest-selling books of this side of 2010 that I realised that perhaps my disgust is a bad thing.

No, I have not had a change of heart and want to read this series because, as many customers have told me, it is 'life-changing' (this is normally answered with a smile and nod thinking 'seriously?'). Despite the numerous times I am asked have I read it, would I recommend it, even by my friends, my answer will always be 'Well a lot of people have been buying it...'
However, in some ways I can't hate this phenomenon too much really. A bookshop is starting to fade from existence with the use of Amazon. Borders have disappeared in America. Waterstones have resorted to an alliance with Amazon to sell their Kindles (my thoughts on that are a totally different blog post). The bookshop, believe it or not, is dying sadly with a cheaper alternative of Amazon taking its place. People are tight with their cash these days so no wonder Amazon is always the first look place when looking for 'that book you want to read but don't want to spend too much'. I admit, I use Amazon but if I can, I try not to.
Anyway, this book has mostly done well online; unsurprisingly with the subject matter, I don't think I'd want people to know I was reading it. But as demonstrated at my work, it also has done well in bookshops with the physical form. So perhaps E.L.James is all we needed to keep the bookshop alive right? This is encouraging more and more people to go outside and buy the book in their local bookshop. I understand the opposite argument would be 'But a million hits online?'. True, but the way I see it, people jump on bandwagons. All the time. People want a book that other people have recommended it, more than just one person.
Could it be said that Fifty Shades of Grey is really what was needed to get people back into reading? From this, they discover new books, perhaps related, go to bookshops, buy from publishers and overall, keep the physical book alive instead of the increase the e-book. I know some people read e-books religiously but in reality, it is keeping them reading and, the way I view this, if that means they keep reading, they encourage others to keep reading which helps the publishers, which helps the bookshops - either commercial or independent. I want to work in the publishing industry, a career I am always told will never last by the time I get around to getting a full-time job. So something like this has to be a good thing to keep a centuries old profession alive in times like now, right?

So what am I saying? I'm saying that despite the fact that most of us turn our noses with disgust thinking the most used book of the London commuters is this erotica fiction rather than some light-hearted romance or dense historical novel, despite all that - this book is keeping the idea of a good old book alive. It is keeping it going for the foreseeable future in my opinion. Because although the whole Fifty Shades of Grey thing will end by the time 2013 rolls around, people still have this book on their shelves or their computer reminding them 'Hey, what about some other books, some company on this shelf?'
I will never read this series. But I have lift my hat up to E.L.James for getting the nation, and the world, reading again. Thanks for securing my future.


Write what you think about Fifty Shades of Grey below or tweet me at @rebeccabooks - I really want to know what you guys think. 


*this isn't her real name but you know, it's not fair to proclaim her name on the internet - she's so nice.