We all know why moms are obsessed with Fifty Shades of Grey. It's not because the sex scenes or the plot are realistic, that's for sure! It's because they're so unrealistic. It's called FANTASY -- the exact opposite of doing laundry and getting your kids to clean up their rooms.

But this Fifty Shades parody is too hilarious -- and true -- to ignore. Fifty shades of... reality! is the story of an average couple's sex life: Two parents so worn down by their kids and by life in general that they can barely manage to do the deed. It's gone viral all over Facebook but sadly without the author's name. Whoever you are, you're an even bigger genius than E. L. James! Read it and weep, moms, after the jump.

One of my favorite books when I was younger was Irish author Maeve Binchy's Circle of Friends (remember the move version, starring Chris O’Donnell and Minnie Driver?). I was utterly engrossed in the story and went on to read several more of her books as a teenager. Odd as it may sound, I completely identify with Alison Flood of The Guardian: "Together with Stephen King, Binchy is the author who, for me, bridged the gap between childhood reading and adult."

Yesterday brought the sad news that Maeve Binchy -- author of Circle of Friends, Light a Penny Candle, Tara Road, and more -- has died at the age of 72.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny referred to her as "a national treasure," and Ireland's president Michael D. Higgins said, "She was an outstanding novelist, short story writer, and columnist, who engaged millions of people all around the world with her fluent and accessible style."

In honor of Maeve Binchy, here are 10 memorable quotes from the well-loved author:

When travelers search for the best hotel reservation, they look for things like the right price, the right location, a clean bathroom, and oh yes -- some soft-core porn on the bedside table. Forget the Bible. A hotel in England has replaced their Gideon's Bibles with copies of Fifty Shades of Grey. Because that's what you do now if you want your guests to truly feel at home.

Owner Jonathan Denby felt that in this secular age, it was "inappropriate" to keep religious materials in bedside tables. He decided to stock his tables with something else and figured, "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."

While we're waiting for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, there's another way you can get your Fifty Shades: Via audio book. Yes, spend some quality time with your vibrator, Christian, Ana, and the sexy vocal stylings of Fran Drescher -- (record player scratch sound) WAIT. Who?

Oh, Fran Drescher is not the ideal narrator for a Fifty Shades audio book? Well then, how about Miss Piggy? SpongeBob SquarePants? Herbert from Family Guy? Welcome to my new favorite game: Worst Fifty Shades Audio Book Narrator. If you look now on Twitter, you'll see a hilarious list of the LAST people we'd ever want to hear say the words "nipple clamp." Like ... Stephen Hawking!

So tell us: How do you feel about Fifty Shades of Grey? Love it? Hate it? Hate to love it? Sick to death of it? So many people are STILL arguing over this book that it's forced some to start singing their commentary.

That's right, it's come to this. Fifty Shades of Grey: The Musical. May God have mercy on our souls.

Yes, a brilliant group of artists have gathered three of the dominant opinions on this famous book and set them all to music. What was once the cacophony of passionate debate has been woven into the sweet, sweet harmony of an old-fashioned Broadway musical. Put on your jazz shoes and have a listen.

I know, I know, you're tired of articles about Fifty Shades of Grey. Trust me, I'm with you -- at this point they could cast a couple of alpacas in that much-discussed movie and I'd be like, OKAY WHATEVER LLATERS LLAMAS PLEASE GOD LET'S TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT PORN NOW. But this particular piece of 50SoG news was just too interesting not to share: E.L. James' husband has his own book coming out this fall.

Niall Leonard, the husband of the Fifty Shades author, has published a book? The mind BOGGLES, does it not? Could it be the much-hoped-for story from Christian Grey's point of view? Is it more steamy smut, but for men this time? Are we going to start hearing the execrable term "Daddy porn" now? (Nooooooo!)

As it turns out, Leonard's book isn't of the dirty variety at all ... but it IS aimed at an almost equally rabid book audience.

Fifty Shades of Grey may be the hottest book in America, but it's also good for a few big laughs. Not everyone can take lines like "You are the state lottery...the cure for cancer and the three wishes from Alladin's lamp all rolled into one" seriously. My fave? "I don't remember reading about nipple clamps in the Bible." Really, where does E.L. James get this stuff?!

With banter like that, of course pranksters like Jimmy Fallon and Ellen DeGeneres are going to poke fun at this over-the-top erotic tale. 

Take a look at the 7 bests Fifty Shades spoofs floating around the web:

Image via arahdetruit/Flickr

Maybe you haven't read it yet, but chances are that you have. Fifty Shades of Grey has been building up some serious record-breaking buzz lately, and I'm not just talking about its readers' vibrators. (HEY-oh!) The relatively discrete ebook version of the X-rated novel was popular enough, but now that that word of mouth has been augmented by media coverage, printed books have been flying off shelves at a jaw-dropping rate.

As in, it's now the UK's fastest-selling novel -- not just of the year, but of ALL TIME. Unbelievably, the paperback edition of Fifty Shades has left Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Da Vinci Code in the dust in terms of book sales, and E.L. James is officially the first author ever to see three of her books sell more than 100,000 printed copies in just one week.

Based on these numbers, it seems likely that Fifty Shades will soon be one of the most read books in the world. You know, right next to a little publication known as THE BIBLE.