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Fifty Shades too much? Now the magazine

September 4, 2012 @ 6:13 pm (Updated: 9:09 am - 9/5/12 )

There's popular, and then there's too much.

The erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" has captured the imaginations of millions of readers. The first three books in the series have been on The New York Times bestseller list for 25 weeks. They've sold more than 25 million copies, generating $145 million in revenue for the publisher, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Author E.L. James is writing a fourth book, a Hollywood movie is in the works, and now, Barnes & Nobel is selling a magazine based on the books. It's called: Fifty Shades of American Women who Love the Book and Live the Life.

50ShadesMagazineThe cover features a poll that proclaims "93 percent of women want to spice up their relationships with role play."

The magazine has reviewed "20 books even steamier than Shades."

It has 80 pages of advice to help women "release your inner goddess."

While most women's magazines are loaded with advertising pages, Fifty Shades is slim with only 82 total pages and only a handful of ads.

Fewer ads should be appealing because that means more content. The articles are a bit sketchy with most of the stories using pseudonyms or incomplete names.

The masthead of the magazine lists Bob Lee and Tony Romando as founders. Seven other men are included as editors of some sort, but none of them put their names to this description of the magazine.

"Fifty Shades of Grey is much more than a book. It's a movement. From online-only sensation to global phenomenon, it has kick-started a sexual revolution and its' the catalyst for a national conversation about lust, love, erotic fiction and the give-and-take that occurs in any successful relationship. It's also hot as hell. Fifty Shades is a dominant force in the culture, and like you, we're more than happy to submit to it."

What follows on the glossy pages are rules for being a flirt and sexting and a fitness article on how to have "Buns of (Anastasia) Steele."

All women's magazines need to have a recipe section. This magazine includes cocktails inspired by the novel, and suggestions of how to "eat like a sex goddess." Who knew asparagus is an aphrodisiac?

Fifty women from around the country are also profiled telling their "real" stories of why they connect with the book and how it's changed their lives. There are also tips for 50 ways to release your inner goddess. Here are five of their hints:

  1. Take a spin class - On a lean, mean biking machine you can burn 800 calories in only 45 minutes. They point out it's a great way to "build up your (ahem) stamina."
  2. Straighten up - Individuals with good posture are more confident and positive-minded than others.
  3. Seek sunshine - The sun's rays benefit the sleep cycle and our moods. The book was set in usually cloudy Seattle, in case you missed that.
  4. Hit happy hour - It's an excellent way to show the boss you're a team player, and will help you manage your reputation at work, so "bottom's up" they say.
  5. Get comfortable with yourself - Strip down in front of a mirror and repeat to yourself "I am unique and beautiful."

I just saved you $6.99

By LINDA THOMAS

Photo, cover of the Fifty Shades magazine published by Topix Media Lab

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (11)


  • Add A Comment

  • Keitho wrote...
    Women are pigs!
    September 4, 2012 9:08 pm
    All they think about is sex! :-) Dont complain about us men ladies LOL
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ElenaT wrote...
    I hate this book so much
    September 5, 2012 6:26 am
    I read all 3, because I finish what I start. My mom insisted that because I enjoyed Twilight, I would enjoy these. I admit that Twilight was a guilty pleasure, but I know my literature, and 50 Shades is simply beyond the pale. The characters are awful human beings, the scenarios completely unrealistic, and the sex not even erotic. There were a few hot scenes, but I either flipped through them or read them imagining that it was anybody else. You can just tell that it's an old fat chick trying to write a hot young skinny character (I ONLY bring this up because Ana's eating habits are such a big part of the story and annoying as hell). This magazine looks retarded. I think that's my point. "Live the life?" BDSM is NOT bedroom play...
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    release your inner goddess...
    September 5, 2012 7:06 am
    wasn't that the whole selfish beginning of the new millennium idea of women being "goddesses" finally killed with charlie sheen's flaunting of HIS goddesses?

    it's very much the whole "i'm a princess" idea just taken to an older (not necessarily more mature) audience.

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  • Oly80 wrote...
    "I just saved you $6.99"
    September 5, 2012 7:09 am
    thanks for taking one for the team, Linda! :)
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Nickatnyt wrote...
    Just what our relationships need...more trifling fantasy.
    September 5, 2012 10:43 am
    My g/f read these books and every time she tried to talk about the story with me I would tell her that the whole story was made up by some repressed woman's fantasy and that there is not one guy like Christian Grey. End of discussion.
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  • mnpat wrote...
    "What follows on the glossy pages are rules for being a flirt and sexting and a fitness article"
    September 5, 2012 11:58 am
    Don't want to sound negative but.........that pretty much sums up most of what I've seen in the hands of women in regards to literature these days....but of course this confuses most if not all men as non of today’s women or women’s movement want to be construed as a sex object in any way…..and we have learned long ago they dress provocatively because it makes them feel good about themselves.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    "and we have learned long ago they dress provocatively because it makes them feel good about themselves."
    September 5, 2012 2:13 pm
    AND, they can call themselves degrading things like sl*ts, but don't you DARE suggest that they maybe should cover up!

    you're totally right mnpat, the message of the "women's movement" or, the way modern women want to be treated is very confusing. a LOT of mixed messages.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • jpetro wrote...
    50 Shades of
    September 5, 2012 2:39 pm
    Stupid
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    Penelope Ash was a much better writer.
    September 5, 2012 8:30 pm
    All you young folks can now go google Penelope Ash
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    After the first sexual encounter...
    September 5, 2012 8:38 pm
    Even the sex is boring in this book. And has anyone else noticed that the Jon Hamm charactor in "Madmen" is the worst lover of all time. 45 seconds and he is done! Just like El Guapo, he doesn't know the meaning of foreplay.
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  • Moondoggie wrote...
    Elana T
    September 5, 2012 8:48 pm
    Try this idea I can up with. I will invest an hour reading a book, but then I force myself to evaluate the situation, and either cut bait or go fishing. A James Michener novel may have 300 pages of set-up before the story gets rolling, but you can tell from the quality of his writing that it will be worth it. Fifty Shades was so bad I quit 30 pages from the end and I have no regrets.
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