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'Fifty Shades of Grey:' Another series that is not for this mom

Fifty Shades of Grey, a recent best-selling trilogy, doesn't impress this mom – the book's target audience.

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Denis Poroy/Invision/AP
"Fifty Shades of Grey" author E.L. James signs a copy of her book during the first day of Comic-Con convention held at the San Diego Convention Center on July 12, 2012. One mother doesn't see what all the fuss is about.

Alright, here we go again. Yet another book series that is wildly popular and I just don’t get it. Out of sheer curiosity, I downloaded a sample of "Fifty Shades of Grey" to my Nook. (Side note: I love that I can download samples. At the end of the sample, if I am wondering what’s going to happen next, I buy the full version. If I’m kind of like, meh … I won’t bother. 'Tis brilliant, in my opinion.)

So, I read the sample and honestly, the writing seemed very amateur-ish at best. The storyline did not hold my attention at all; in fact, I was skipping many of the pages to see what all of the hype was really about. I never got to it and therefore, won’t be buying the book.

I don’t understand what the media frenzy is really all about. The New York times called it “mommy porn” but it still doesn’t explain what is so special about this particular series. There are plenty of erotica novels out there – there have been for years. This is not a new concept, so if it isn’t the writing, what sets this one apart from the rest?

And I have just come to find out that Universal Pictures bought the rights to the entire trilogy: Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed. Really? Are they going to release it in the theater? I don’t know that I’d want to see that play out on the big screen with crowds of women, who have gone insane for this series.

Dear Universal: Since you already spent seven figures on the rights to this series, I highly recommend that you release this trilogy immediately to DVD. Since millions of women enjoyed reading them from the privacy of their own homes, it may be best if they also watched the movies from the privacy of their own homes. I’d imagine the theater employees would thank you. Just saying.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best family and parenting bloggers out there. Our contributing and guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor, and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. Lauren Parker-Gill blogs at Spill the Beans.

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