I'll admit it--I only read this because I was curious, and had access to a copy I didn't have to pay for. It's horribly written, yes. The narrator talks like a stuffy, middle-aged British lady who is trying--and not really succeeding--to find her youth once again through writing the novel, and her inexperience at writing really shines through. However, once you get used to her tone, it's addictive. It's Twilight all over again--it was originally written as fanfiction, after all. You can even see direct parallels to Twilight--the characters are clearly modeled after those in the popular teen saga, from Ana's parents to her guy friend who's in love with her even to the guy she works with. Though once you get past the beginning, it thankfully leaves Twilightville for something very . . . different. I'll be honest. I was just planning to read the first part, laugh at how horrible it was, then forget about it. However, that was before I witnessed the puzzling psychological study that is Christian Grey. He is just such an interesting character. Him and his . . . tendencies, I'll say, and the few glimpses he would give to how he ended up that way is what kept me reading. That, and the fact that Ana wasn't the completely hopeless character I thought she would be. She actually had a backbone, which I was thankful for, though her "inner goddess" bit made me question her sanity a bit. 
 Speaking of inner goddesses, the sex. Gotta mention that. I'm not really an erotica fan, so I kind of skimmed. It wasn't too graphic, since the author likes writing action over detail and prefers to call genitalia by anything but their names--"my sex," "the apex between my thighs," and "his considerable length" being just a few. 
 What really drove the book for me, though, was Christian and Ana's weird relationship. There's definitely humor in there, and this is not just some dirty sex book. It's because of that relationship that I'm planning to read the next one--horrible writing, inner goddesses, and all.