Positive Project #10: Not Reading 50 Shades of Grey

Even though I may be a little bit of a book snob personally, I am a librarian. It's part of my job to believe that everyone has the right to read whatever they choose. I believe that every book has a home. And I don't believe in censorship.

That being said. Women of America, please stop reading this:

I say this not because I don't think you have the right to read whatever the hell you want. I say this not because I don't respect self-published, e-book only works.  I only say it because you deserve better.

We are women of the 21st century. We don't need to read Twilight Fanfiction. We don't need to have a book labeled as "mommy porn." Because we're dimensional creatures. We shouldn't be pushing works like this to the NY Times Bestseller list because we deserve more.

And listen, I get it. I get that many of us feel like we aren't respected in our relationships. We all have sexual fantasies that may not become reality because of our own hangups, our partners wishes, our lack of confidence, or just plain lack of a partner. But instead of reading books about wimpy Bella, or even worse, books inspired by a teenage girl who gives up everything for a man why don't we work to make our lives better? Or at least work to reading books that titillate and challenge us.

So today, I'm choosing to see not reading 50 Shades of Grey as a sign of positivity in my life. Things are going right.

And I leave you with 3 books to consider before you think about picking up the latest buzz* I encourage you to pick them up for free at your local library. But however you want to read them is fine with me.

Tess of the d'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
A censored book even in its day. It has sex before marriage, a woman despised by society, gossip, love. When I read it in college I remember thinking it had to have been the romantic smut of its day. And then you can get your English accent fix and watch the steamy movie.

Straight Up and Dirty by Stephanie Klein
I'd recommend Chelsea Handler's My Horizonal Life but she's super famous now and everyone has read it. So give Stephanie Kleinn a try. Recently divorced from a man who was "fitting her like a noose" she goes off the deep end a lot....but hilariously. But instead of just tales of sex, she also explores what happens to us when we are left high and dry.

Lolita by Vladmir Nabakov
The "orignal" story of a young girl and a skeevy older man. The classic erotic novel. An unhappy marriage, a man obsessed with (quite literally) younger girls, lies, control, death, paranoia and oh, so much more. It's the book you'll want to throw across the room, but the book you'll keep close to the nightstand for more. And then, not so quite shockingly, there is a movie to go along with it.



So dear readers, go check out something other than what the media is telling you is the next big thing. And let's make something quality the next big thing.

*Disclaimer: I did order this book for my library. Because well, there is a public need, a popularity, and a whole bunch of circs.