When was the last time you read a Bible at a hotel? And when is the last time you read or were tempted to read Fifty Shades of Grey? The widespread and overwhelming popularity of the steamy trilogy has led a hotel owner in England’s Lake District to replace all of the bibles in his 40 guest rooms with a copy of E.L. James’ book, in order to appeal to that second group of people who would pick it over the traditional copy of the Gideons Bible.

The owner bought the hotel from a Methodist group 10 years ago and said he’d been thinking about replacing the Gideons Bibles with some other form of literature for awhile. His view is that in a modern secular society, it was “wholly inappropriate” to keep a religious book in people’s private bedrooms, so the began casting about for an alternative option, reports NBC News.

“I was thinking originally of putting in a book by Ayn Rand — Atlas Shrugged was my first thought,” he said. “(But) because everybody is reading Fifty Shades of Grey, we thought it would be a hospitable thing to do, to have this available for our guests, especially if some of them were a little bit shy about buying it because of its reputation.”

He adds that even though he hasn’t read the book himself, he’s all about defending the right to have it in his hotel. There are still Bibles available at the reception desk as well.

“People in the States feel much more strongly,” he said of the feedback so far. “We’ve had quite a few e-mails quoting the scriptures to us and suggesting that it would be a good thing to put the Bible back.”

Let’s just hope a guest seeking solace in the pages of the Bible isn’t too upset when he or she happens upon pages filled with graphic sex, bondage and sadomasochism. Could be quite an unwelcome surprise for some — or a rather enjoyable one for others. If that’s your thing, of course.

Hotel replaces Bibles with ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ [NBC News]

 

 

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