Guilty Pleasure: "Bad" Books & Why I Read Them II

By Kristin Bivens

If you've read my previous post, you know I like my bookshelf to make me look like a cool cat.

Well, here's an honest confession, and that is…

I have a lot of books that most people would consider LAME sitting on my shelf. I typically put those on the bottom shelf, where the cool people that wander into my office, can't see.

You know Sara's post about her guilty pleasure of reading Twilight? That was my doing. I made her read that book, because I finally gave into the craze, though I held out as long as I possibly could.

And don't worry, all four Twilight books are sitting on my shelf, displayed. For everyone to see.

I usually will confess to someone that I read some "awful" books. But admitting it is half the battle, in my opinion.

I have some pretty hefty, classical literature sitting on my bookshelf, most of which I have gotten around to reading. But the books that really do it for me, the ones that I just can't seem to get enough of are Young Adult books. You got it. I am now twenty seven and I still read books made for teenagers. And, frankly, I'm totally okay with it.

Because those things are good reads.

I think a book should take you somewhere else. It should get you interested in people that are both like and unlike you, lives that are similar and yes completely different than yours. I like the easy flow of young adult books. I like the ability to actually understand what is going on the first time I read the book (ahem: Wuthering Heights made more sense the second time around). And the covers, what really draws me in at the bookstore, are usually pretty bright, colorful and quirky.

I'm not even going to lie, Sarah Dessen takes up about a whole shelf worth of my bookshelf. I hide her books if I take them out in public, and a lot of them have similar story lines, but dammit, I get attached to her characters and her stories. Although, her covers, I am not a fan of at all. It's her stories, not her covers that draw me in there.

Oh, and I may be completely in love with the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Those books were some of my favorite books. The scenery of the south, all the strong women in the story. I'm a huge fan of Southern set literature. I try to keep that series on the down low, though, mostly because I feel like people automatically think of the movie (which, I liked) and that looks to be set for old women. I am not an old woman, though twenty seven I may be.

I just think guilty pleasures tend to be easier to read. They may not always be the most intricate writing or story lines, they may not win awards or by hailed on the NY Times Bestseller's List, but someone wrote them. Someone put their time and heart and sweat and tears into them, and they deserve to be recognized for it.

Guilty Pleasure: "Bad" Books & Why I Read Them

By Sara E Thompto

I enjoy reading a wide range of books. Most books I read out in the open, with no hesitation. However, throughout the years there have been a few books I'd rather not be seen reading. I've perfected holding the cover down low, dodging questions by co-workers about what I'm currently reading, and taking off dust-jackets to take away easy recognition. 

But, why read these books if they're so embarrassing to read?

There's really only one answer: Because they're a guilty pleasure. 

My balance between guilty pleasures and what I think society deems as actual good literature is a fairly 50/50 mix. After all, I think the number one reason why I read is for a sort of escapism effect. Diving into another world far from my own is something I enjoy, because many times, the more serious literary pieces I read tend to touch home in some way or another. And, sometimes, you just want a break and it's easy to jump into someone else's world. 

Take Twilight for example; teen vampires that sparkle in the daylight, and a human who ends up forming a fairly unhealthy relationship with one of them. In that one sentence synopsis that seems to be thrown around a lot by Twilight critics, it's not particularly something I would think would grab my attention nor something I would typically find as "good literature." But, during my sophomore year in college, when my friends started telling me I just had to read it, I decided to give it a go. 

Although while reading the books I hid them under my desk while in class, covered as much of the cover as I could while on the train, and tried not to get into any conversations about the books while in public... in the end, I loved the story of Bella and Edward.

I've never quite been a Twi-Hard. I just can't bring myself to defend the series that much. But, as someone who is a sucker for true love, and is a hopeless romantic in her heart of hearts... I have to say I actually love the series. With my rose colored goggles on I don't see their relationship as unhealthy, as much as  it is beautiful. Of course, the key phrase here is "rose colored goggles," because, as I said before, it's a guilty pleasure. 

I think another key reason why I like some books that are fairly embarrassing to admit to read, is because they're so different from what my personality actually is in real life.

Gossip Girl, a series I read throughout middle school and high school, was a fun way to look at another world. One in a large city, not rural Iowa. One where rich, well dressed people partied in hotels and famous clubs, not at a place outdoors on a back gravel road. It may have been completely outlandish and nothing close to reality... but it was also one of the books that made me think "what else is out there." A thought that has stayed with me ever sense. 

There was hardly any substance, and it was basically a teenage magazine in the form of a fiction book, so it was most definitely a guilty pleasure. But, I don't think that just because a book is a guilty pleasure, it also has to mean the book has to substance. 

The more I think about the books I read that fall into the guilty pleasure category, the more I think about how important they are in the world of literature. They're a release, and they might even offer new insight or help push your boundaries. 

Every book you read has some sort of value, somewhere within the pages, guilty pleasure or not.