grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

50 Shades of Ridiculous

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just a quick update….

I am having a very difficult time reading 50 Shades of Grey. After all the hype, I jumped on the bandwagon afraid I was missing out on THE great summer read. So far I’ve been disappointed. Maybe because of all the talk, I expected too much?

It reminds me of my experience with Twilight. Although my friend Jenny and I loved the first book, we  laughed all the way through the movie while everyone else in the theatre seemed to be completely captivated by odd looking, sparkling vampires. Everyone knows that vampires DoNotSparkle. They just don’t.

Maybe I’m too quick to judge – I’ve only made it to page 145 of 50 Shades.But, it is full of laugh-out-loud cliches. How many times will Ana refer to her inner goddess?

Christian is way more creepy than hot. And apparently he’s too skinny as his pants hang on his hips every time he’s described, on every other page. Or maybe he needs to buy a smaller pant size? But, of course, his pants must accommodate his throbbing triple-extra-large-you-know-what… Pul-leaze.
Poor Ana is truly spineless and a completely unbelievable character. If she was a real person, I would be compelled to slap some sense into her empty head. Of course she would like that.
Apparently something is happening (or not happening) in our society causing women of all ages to queue up to buy this book like cheap crack cocaine. It’s a strange pop phenomenon.
What am I missing? Maybe I have no inner goddess.
talya



Musical Pairings:


Sex on Fire, Kings of Leon



 

50 Shades of Grey

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Ok so I ordered it. After a brief discussion in book club, I ordered it. Someone had read it and that someone’s husband was reaping the benefits….

Of course what happens in book club stays in book club, so I’ll not say anything else about Friday night. Other than it is a veryfunbookclub, and afterward I was tired from laughing. But not too tired to place an order on Amazon.com with one quick click.
My mother has read it. She was behind in my blog because she couldn’t stop reading it. She provided a very colorful and descriptive review of the book to my friend and me a few weeks ago.
I’ll keep you posted.
You know I will.
Of course you’ve probably already read it….

talya

Musical Pairings:

I’m on Fire, Bruce Springsteen

Seeing and Being Seen

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Friday night.

John: Do you think we see ourselves as others do? John had just returned from an afternoon of 105 degree golfing…

Me: Absolutely not.

John: That’s what I was afraid of.

Me: Why do you ask?

John: Today at lunch I saw a guy having his 50th birthday party, and he looked so OLD! Then I thought that’s probably how I look too…

Me: No you still look good…

John: Well, you don’t look 50 either.

Me: Well I’m not. Not for 10 more days….

John: True.

I just finished reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog for book club. LOVED IT. It made me think about each person’s invisible side. That hidden part no one really sees. That part we automatically tuck away deep inside, out of fear or pain or some other reason.

Is there any other reason?

And we aren’t capable of seeing others clearly due to our own limitations. The stereotypes we buy into. Our prejudices and preconceived notions. We inadvertently assign roles to individuals based on job titles or skin color or neighborhoods.
This book was not a light, sinful 50ShadesofGrey beachy pina colada read. It is meant to be savored and read slowly, and re-read to really get it. The language pulled me in, made me think. It made me see.
I laughed out loud. But it was sad. And profound.
There was a two-and-half-page RANT about a misplaced comma. What’s not to love!?
It was about seeing and being seen.
talya

Musical Pairings:

Mozart’s Confutatis

“… they have never seen you … I would recognize you anywhere. ” 
― Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!