Regarding the June 11 editorial “Fifty shades of popular demand”:
I agree that a library system should carry books that are in demand, but the Howard County system’s purchase of 100 copies of “Fifty Shades of Grey” is excessive. When I requested the book, I was No. 847 on the list, so I bought a copy and will pass it along to anyone who is interested, along with my belief that pure hype is driving the popularity of this novel. I will also mention to any takers that I will not read the second or third books in the series.
What happens to all those library copies when the hype is over? Why is a library system using its undoubtedly limited resources on so many copies of this type of novel? It reminded me of those trashy romance magazines I used to read as a teenager. It certainly doesn’t represent a “tectonic shift in post-feminist fantasies.”
Jude Ferraro, Elkridge
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The editorial on “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which described the best-selling novel as “quasi- pornographic,” raised the question of why we have public libraries. Is their function to alleviate the boredom of people who don’t have enough to do or to expend funds in pursuit of such antiquated ideas as civic virtue and raising the literary standards of those too poor to buy books?
Sol Schindler, Bethesda
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