50 Shades of Curiosity

So lately, I've been hearing a lot about the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy.  Apparently, they're bestsellers.  They also supposedly began their existence as a Twilight fanfiction.  Here's what I'm thinking.  They can't be good.  Period. 

My sister and I, out of sheer curiosity, picked up one of the books and turned to a random page.  We both laughed aloud in the middle of the store based on what we read.  Hint: It was about sex.  Now I enjoy a good romance novel.  Heck, I've read all but two of Nicholas Sparks' collection of girly, sappy novels, but that's a whole other blog post.  But what I saw on that one page... it was enough to make me cringe and laugh at the same time.  I put the book back on the shelf, fully intending to forget it existed.  Something inside, however, couldn't let it go.  I am so genuinely curious what it is about these books that have women thinking they're so amazing and men calling them shameless pornography.

Here's what I know about the books.

1) They started off as Twilight fanfiction.  In fact, the only things that separate Bella from Anastasia (Anastasia?  Really?) are their age, occupation, and names.  Bella is a plain, klutzy, Oh-I-Just-Don't-Fit-In high school student whereas Ana is a plain, klutzy, Oh-I-Just-Don't-Fit-In college student.

2) Women, even feminists, love these books, even though Christian supposedly "buys" Ana's existence, basically giving him authority over everything she does.  Feminists argue that it's great that women are being encouraged to explore their sexuality and get a little kinky (these are BDSM novels).  Now I'm no bra-burner, but I definitely don't adhere to the perfect housewife image.  I guess, as always, I'm pretty moderate.  Anyway, I can't imagine what it is about these books that make feminists believe anything about them are good ideas.

3) They're currently trying to turn it into a movie.

Here's what  kind of want to do.  If I can find some way to get these books for free (I don't want to buy them... especially in public), I want to read them and write a critical essay.  See, I just graduated with my Masters.  I can do that.  In fact, I love sharing my opinion on things.  It's one of my favorite past times.  I want to know if the books are worth the hype, if the feminists are any sort of justified in thinking this is a good, empowering series, and just how many similarities I can draw between them and the Twilight series.  If they turn out to be fantastic, Earth-shattering novels, I would be happy to admit it.  However, I'm afraid based on the short excerpt that I've read on my Kindle, that's not going to happen. 

If I find them at the library, I'll let you know.