Recently the subways have gotten a little hotter. And  it’s not the temperature in the cars, it’s the item you can catch in a woman’s hand on any given day; her book. It seems like almost every person, or every other is reading something on the subway. And the secret not so secret obsession as of late- the unexpected 50 Shades of Grey.

The most amazing thing about 50 shades of Grey is almost as much the subject as it is the writer. EL James is a nice, average british housewife, and yet has managed to write maybe the most risque novel since lady chatterly’s lover…

Among a certain group of my friends we bear no shame in Grey. It’s our book club read of the month, in fact. And yet, a funny thing has happened. The book has spread like wildfire, like a good rumor around a circle of friends, and lets just say, everyone has had their say.

But rather then dissipate, it seems to be just growing stronger and stronger, and the books will hit new found fame and fortune, a la hunger games when the books hit the big screen. It’s the same thing… If katniss was a 23 year old mousy virgin, and Gale was an older business man hunter who made her have sex all over the district.

This week, between book club, and reading a few pages every day, I’ve been obsessed with Shades all week.  And it would seem, the rest of the world is also. Or at least, talking about it. 

1) The Book. (But don’t say I didn’t warn you- click below to buy it on Amazon for $9.57)

2) The Woman behind the Book. Click here to check out everything EL, read about the books, and find out more info. I clicked, and found out that James is doing a book tour with 50 shades. I can’t wait for May 10th at Barnes & Noble. Log on to see when she’s coming to your city.

3) The Movie. It is inevitable in this day and age, that something which comes from nothing, and blows up to be incredibly successful, either monetarily or not, would not be capitalized on within a short amount of time. You see it time and time again, and the formula never changes. You know it’s mainstream, when Ellen is reading excerpts from it. And now, talks are swirling all over the internet about the upcoming movie. Who will play Christian, and Ana? What will the rating be? How will these words translate on a screen even?

4) The Casting. This newly heated, and much discussed topic is probably one of the most important conversations, not only for the book, but for the success of the future PR machine franchise. Christian Steele is a new character with a new set of rules for a new day and age; a hero that is not exactly likable. Deciding who plays the gorgeous, 27 year old wealthy control freak, as well as Ana’s journey from naive college grad to apprehensive vixen is not an easy feat, but it’s certainly one that everyone has an opinion on, from the blogosphere to reality.

Between Ian Sommerhalder( who?), to Christian Bale (a fav, but way too old!), to Ryan Gosling (Amazing, but I don’t think the right fit), to talks of Zoey Deschanel as Ana (NO WAY! way to quirky and can’t picture her being sexual), everyone has input on who they  think should jump off the page, out of our bedrooms and into our movie theaters.

Personally, I love Zac Efron for it. I don’t really have any real justification for this except that I want to see Zac Efron under those circumstances. Oh right, and he’s a terrific actor. Or even Colin Egglesfield, from Something Borrowed. He definitely has the much talked about eyes for it.

WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD PLAY CHRISTIAN AND ANA?

5) The Music. And the Clothes. If you click on the EL JAMES website (as listed above), there is a link to music, that actually has the 50 shades soundtrack. Which I didn’t even know existed! But it brought up an interesting question, and got me thinking about the movie soundtrack. Again, this can sometimes be the life or death of a movie, and the right soundtrack can make something good, into something amazing.  WHAT SONGS CAN YOU IMAGINE IN THE MOVIE?

The other thing I was thinking about, from a marketing perspective is the clothing. Ana is pretty non descript, but Christian’s clothing is mentioned so gratuitously that it could be another character in the book. From the crisp white shirts, to the casual wear of his jeans, to his blazers it makes me wonder how whoever plays him, is going to wear the clothes. And which clothing company will reign supreme will be yet another topic of heavy discussion.