FIFTY SHADES OF OUTRAGE

Dare to be... an independent business in the UK?

(Thanks to The Perts)

Comments

[nursecindy]

I haven't read this book mainly because I've heard it's poorly written and I'm easily embarrassed. I normally bring my own books with me when traveling. Now if they had some really good books by Dave, Ridley, or Mitch Albom I would be interested.

[Omniskeptic]

Hmmm. If one were a truly devout christian (such that one would be upset by this switch,) wouldn't one have already read the bible and/or be carrying one's own copy? Why would you depend on the hotel supplying the good word?

[Meanie the Blue]

No room at the inn?

BTW, "Puppets of Satan" WBAGNFARB.

[Clankie]

" Filthy Shades of Grey "...? I don't get it.

[The Minx]

Omniskeptic, the big reason I see a truly devout Christian being upset over the switch is if they were on a family vacation and their young kids got a hold of the book without their parents knowing it.

I read some other hotels have removed the Gideon Bibles in the rooms and replaced them with Kindles pre-loaded with the Bible and other religious literature. If the hotel guest wants to read something else on the Kindle, they can for a small fee. That seems to make more sense to me, although it would be more expensive up front.

[Omniskeptic]

I would be more upset if my kids, assuming I still had youngsters, got a hold of the bible. With the Fifty Shades thing, I could say, "Ignore it: that's a piece of mass-market, pop-culture mind candy that no one will remember or talk about in two years." With the bible ... it would be much trickier to explain without getting into metaphysics, libenter homines, and Chick-fil-A.

[MikeyVA]

Many, many people going to hell here. Gotta sharpen the pencil...

NOTE TO SELF: Get a bigger basket.

[Jeff Meyerson]

Personally, if I were going to be offended it would be by the hotel chains here (they know who they are) who put The Book of Mormon in the bedside table.

[Meanie the Blue]

Shotgun!

[Steve]

I confess that I've read the Bible in motel rooms only when I couldn't get to sleep.
Face it, religious people, if you're not into that particular religion, the Bible is boring, boring, booooring.
It is the second most boring book in the world, running a close second to "The Complete Book of Composting"; a 500 plus page treatise that my father left in his estate.
I believe it may have bored him to death.

[Captain Spoilsport]

As a practicing, Bible-reading Roman Catholic Christian, I agree, parts of the Bible are dull. But it's not intended to be a snappy little novel, and it's not placed in hotel nightstands as a sleep aid.

Which is why the hotel thing does offend me. Were they to have substituted the Bible with the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, or some other devotional text revered by millions for centuries*, it would be less obnoxious. Swapping it out for pop-culture smut is almost certainly meant as an insult.

*Yes, even the dreaded Book of Mormon.

[RossM]

NC if you get a Kindle, no one can tell from the outside what book you're reading.

They might just be able to guess from your expression...

[Siouxie]

I dunno. I have all 3 of the 50 Shades books loaded on my Nook and see nothing wrong with this. Parents should train their children to NEVER look inside the nightstands. God knows what mommy's toys evil books are in there.

[Not My Usual Alias]

Walking into a hotel, I guess I should have my toothbrush and my Bible. The latter I don't mind sharing.

[KG_in_SJ_CA]

What I haven't seen in these comments is that the Hotel Manager is replacing a 'donated copy' with a purchased copy of a book. I think his argument referring to the fact that there are people who are offended is a straw man, because from most of the posts I have read on this, many people would be offended to find 50 SoG in their rooms or worse, their children. Instead of removing the Bible, just leave it there, most people I know don’t use the night stands for anything except a lamp stand and alarm clock holder. The drawers are mostly left alone. What they should do is put a check box which says "I would like all religious materials removed from my room during my stay” and then one that says something similar about popular reading material. This guy has taken something that does not cost the hotel 1 penny (or tuppence) and have replaced it with something that is more expensive, (especially because of the negative press). What happens when this book becomes obsolete? He will then have to go out and buy another set, replacing stolen, lost, or damaged copies, etc.
His arrogance comes through in the articles that I have read about him.
Oh well, the owner has the final say I would assume, but this all seems like a publicity stunt to get on the map, the only problem is, he has offended a percentage of his clientele who will not return, how damaging or large that will be is difficult to judge right now.

[DrPat]

KG, I would certainly be dismayed to find my children in the drawers of a hotel night-stand (not least because I don't have any children TIKO).