We can argue the quality and whether or not “Fifty Shades of Grey,” by E. L. James, was worth reading, but one thing we cannot argue is the bottom line. 

The popular book series has spent the majority of the year on the New York Times Bestseller list in one form or another. It is currently numbers 1, 4, and 5 in paperback trade fiction, and has sold over 35 million copies in the United States alone.

In a previous post, I mentioned that even though I was surprised Random House chose to publish the book there’s no doubt they’re glad they did. And not only the high level employees, but now everyone has reason to celebrate the success.

According to this New York Times article, because of the success of “Fifty Shades of Grey” along with a few other notables like “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn and “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed and “The Racketeer” by John Grisham, “Markus Dohle, the chief executive of Random House, promised employees — from top editors to warehouse workers — a $5,000 bonus to celebrate a profitable year. The cheering went on for minutes, according to people in attendance.”

All I can say is Wow!