Spill your guilty reading pleasure. Mine is those awefully trashy historical romances. The ones where the impossibly modern minded girl goes against society and runs off with a pirate or prince or something. They are actually pretty funny, although i dont think they are supposed to be, and they generally put me to sleep in a chapter. what is yours.
I have no guilty pleasures. I read what I want to read, openly admit it, and don't feel once ouce of shame. Nothing shameful about reading Superfudge.
I'll admit it- sometimes I do go back and re-read the books from my childhood. I recently read the 'Naughtiest Girl in the School' series. I guess what makes it REALLY shameful is that in order to do this, I steal these books off my nephews and nieces...
I read everything over and over, harry potter, I read to my daughter, I have no shame in what I read. It helps me understand what I am writing with my story, what not to do what to do ect...
This may not count as reading, but once in a while I like to take down my old Where's Waldo book and try to find that bugger. It's pretty fun.
Stephen King I know he projectile vomits words all over the shop, and his uncut editions are pretty self-indulgent, but I love his characters. His goodies are gritty and interesting and his baddies, no matter how detestable, always have something that means you can relate to them.
First Contact Sci-Fi You probably couldn't sell a first contact story today if your mom were the owner of the publishing company, but I love them. My favorites are the Sector General novels by James White. The earlier ones are better then the later ones.
My guilty pleasures are those badly written teen romances. The ones that you can predict after the first chapter.
I found one of those books in my dad's bookshelf a long time ago and I loved it. I don't remember the name, but it was the one where the landmasses of a planet were actually creatures. Another one for me was First Lensman how can you possibly go wrong with diesel powered stealth spaceships?
I also like to buy trashy romance novels (also known as lady porn) now and again. I don't know why. Usually I'll get the cheesiest, absolute worst ones I can find. Partly for comedic value, and also partly because I kinda feel bad for authors who put their time and energy into such trash. At Goodwill, their paperbacks are $0.25 each. I bought one a couple months ago that had a really racy cover. The guy ringing me out looked at it and said, "Well, someone is going to be getting down and dirty tonight." It was rather uncomfortable.
I don't think we should have "guilty" pleasures. We feel guilty when we've done something wrong. Reading doesn't hurt anyone, and only in very rare cases does it really say anything bad about you, especially if you're reading just for fun.
I loves me some Twilight. And I don't feel guilty about it at all. I agree. You should never be embarrassed about something that you enjoy.
You know, if you think about it, Twilight is actually geared for the younger audiences, and so was the movie. I don't understand why the adults who have *such* a better reading list, dis it, when its obviously for someone younger than they are. Its a trashy romance without being trashy enough to scar those little minds for life. Some people actually enjoy it. I know I do. And even though I hated the movie, I watched it just because someone cared enough about the book to make it into a movie that some girls live by. I'm sorry, but I just don't understand why the people who don't like Twilight just butt out of the Twilight fans business. And yes, that is my guilty reading pleasure : Twilight & the House Of Night series.
Since when does the age of the audience determine the quality? When I critisize it, I compare it to books in the same demographic, which I frequently read. Besides, what makes a book good doesn't change with the age of the audience. Generally speaking, all the same factors apply. Anyway, back on topic. We shouldn't feel guilty about what we read, or make others feel bad about it either. If you don't like Twilight, voice your opinions in the right place and the right time, without putting down those who do enjoy it.
No need to feel bad for us, duckie. Most of us who write them know we aren't writing great literature, but we are reaching an audience (a growing audience, at that). The royalty checks are amazingly comforting.
I have some really poorly written manga on my bookshelves. The art is fabulous though...! Edit: Oh, and I own the Twilight series. Flat characters and a trite plot (and in my opinion, some very conservative and gender specific characters)? Check. But if there's one thing Ms Meyer can do, it's write coherently and keep a good pace. I'm not ashamed of owning the series; I dont even consider it a 'guilty' pleasure... If it reaches and touches you in some way, it only means that it's satisfying some sort of need you have. I read the second book, New Moon a lot during January and February, the first few months after a particularly sore breakup.
I agree. Sometimes a book doesn't have to be perfect to touch a person. If you enjoy something, you enjoy it. There's no need to feel bad or guilty about it. Everyone has different tastes. I did the same thing with New Moon when I broke up with my ex.
There is no better companion, crying shoulder, than a good book. (Or, good enough book. ) I think why that series became so popular is because it does take you through the ups and downs of a relationship, which people can relate to --and on a fantasical level, which inclines people to read it over another book.
