Why is there so much talk about 50 Shades of Grey?

There has been a lot of talk about 50 Shades of Grey in the news today but why? How many different shades of grey could there possibly be?

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So how many shades of grey are there and why is it in the news?

Eh, well to answer your first question, there are at least 256 different shades of grey that are widely used by graphic designers, but you could argue that there is an infinite amount. Anyway, the reason that ‘grey’ is in the news has nothing to do with the actual colour.

So what’s it got to do with?

Everybody is talking about the book 50 Shades of Grey, and that’s why you’re hearing a lot about it.

Oh… sounds like a dark book (ba-dum-tish). What's it about?

Well the book follows a relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business lad by the name Christian Grey – not to be confused with Dorian.

That doesn’t sound so interesting. Why is it a hot topic?

Sex. As with everything in life, everyone wants a piece of the book because it’s steeped in sex (remember, sex sells). Many news outlets have dubbed it as ‘Mommy porn’ because it features some pretty full on sex scenes and quite a bit of BDSM – which we don’t think we have to explain to you lot.

Eh, what’s BDSM?

Sigh… BDSM is all your whips, chains, leather, spanking and so on. There’s usually one partner who is the ‘dominator’ and one who is more the submissive type.

And this is all in a book?

Not just any book, but the fastest-selling paperback of all time. As of this week, 50 Shades of Grey has surpassed the Harry Potter series and even the Da Vinci Code to become the hottest thing to read at the moment.

Erika Leonard, or E. L. James as she’s more commonly known, wrote the trilogy (Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed) and it looks as though she’s set for life as several of the big movie studios have already put in bids to make her books into movies.

Wow, fair play to her. So, with all this sex and whatnot, is it a book for blokes?

Well, we won’t tell you what to and what not to read, but sadly it’s pretty much aimed at women. However, E.L. James has been happily married for nearly 25 years to the Northern Ireland native and scriptwriter Niall Leonard who she says, reads every word she writes and doesn’t flinch.

Ah sure, who doesn’t like to read a good BDSM scene from time to time.

Not you? Us neither.