Fifty shades of ... what the heck are they doing?

Who would have thought a book about ties could generate so much interest, let along movie that's the most anticipated film for some folks — mostly women — since Gone With the Wind. ... Oh, it's not about ties? Well, not exactly.

I guess the mask and the handcuffs on the covers for the two sequels probably should have been a clue that the Fifty Shades trilogy isn't exactly Tolkein.

I haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey, at least not yet, despite all the hoopla about the romance novel with a little added uumph, but after seeing the movie trailer for the film version I might just have to break down and check it out. When I first heard the title I thought it might have been a Civil War novel, but then I found out while it has lots of action, it's not of the battlefield variety.

For those who have spent the last three or four years in some equatorial jungle, Fifty Shades of Grey is the first in a trilogy about the romance between billionaire Christian Grey and student Anastasia Steele (great names, by the way). Only it goes a little beyond the bodice-ripping, bosom-heaving kind of romance that once were the standard for racy romance novels. Suffice to say unlike your traditional Harlequin romance novel that stops at the bedroom door, apparently this story goes through the door, across the bed, down the hall, out the window and into the wild.

Women passed dog-eared copies of the books around like members of some secret sorority sharing secrets. I think they even developed secret handshakes and sly grins to show fellow readers that they, too, are among the enlightened.

Sonny Garrett

And women loved it.

The series has been on the bestseller lists since it came out, and probably will climb the charts again as the Valentine Day debut of the movie version approaches. In one fell swoop, writer E.L. James broke records, became a millionaire and earned a spot in pop culture history with her kinky little love story.

As might be expected reactions about it are mixed. Lots of folks are aghast that such a thing could be published, let alone made into a movie. They long for the days of Forever Amber when books such as this just weren't acceptable and were condemned if not outright banned. Of course, even as in those good ol' days, I suspect more than a few of those folks sneaked a peek at it between brown-paper-wrapped covers. Or on a Kindle, which lets people surreptitiously read anything without others knowing what you're reading.

Others, again mostly women, passed dog-eared copies of the books around like members of some secret sorority sharing secrets. I think they even developed secret handshakes and sly grins to show fellow readers that they, too, are among the enlightened.

Amazingly, while a lot agree the writing left something to be desired — other writers and would-be writers gnashed their teeth and cursed E.L. James' luck — I hear the story is hotter than a cat on a hot tin roof during a long, hot summer. I've heard it was so hot it caused some readers to reach for something to fan themselves and a cold beverage to help cool down, and made others look at husbands and frown.

Lots of folks were surprised that the series proved so popular among women readers. Even women who hadn't read a book in years became engrossed with the Fifty Shades books. It was, indeed, a writer's dream and definitely hit a chord with the ladies.

It should be an interesting time, except for the hype, as it gets closer to Valentines Day and the opening of the movie. I suspect while women will get candy and roses and tickets to Fifty Shades of Grey, I'll be curious to see if ties become popular Valentine's gifts, too.