Guilty as Charged
Ever been caught reading or watching something that made you instantly flush with embarrassment at being caught? No, not that. But something you’d try to hide from the world because it is either too ridiculous or cheesy to admit you have an undying love for the subject matter?
Guilty pleasures, we all have them. Whether it be a food, activity, television show, or book. It is something we absolutely love yet keep tightly to our chest for one reason or another (typically because of the cheese factor). I will confess off the bat that one of my biggest guilty pleasures was My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding. It was like Jersey Shore meets gypsies meets the Kardashians. It was trash TV and I LOVE IT! But only when no one is watching me watch it. Now that I have shedding my secret for all to see, let’s talk about a few books that can satisfy a good guilty pleasure, but we will not likely see on a best seller list anytime soon. (Feel free to send suggestions and/or your own guilty pleasure)
Trashy Romance novels: these are books I would always see my grandmother reading. You know the ones that have a gorgeous blonde and buff man on the cover and partially nude woman in his arms, yeah, these guys. I personally am not big on these, but I have been known to crack one open from time to time. And rom coms. I am a die-hard cynic, so for me to admit reading anything with any form of romance is painful. But there it is.
Books about the devil or hell that are satirical: okay, this is oddly specific, but I seem to have a serious love of these types of stories. The Circles in Hell series by Mark Caine are just hilarious to me. A mesh of various theologies smashed together all told from the point of view of Steve Minion and his silly antics as he carries out his tasks of being Hell’s super intendent. Then there is the Clovenhoof series by Heide Goody and Iain Grant. The devil gets fired and forced to live among the people of Birmingham, England. Of course, this is just a recipe for disaster and silliness. The import part of reading books like these are a reminder to me to not take things to seriously. If you like the show Lucifer, you may enjoy these series.
Young adult books: these are fantastic, even for adults. Especially if you want a bit of an easier read, nostalgia, or if you simply enjoy the genre. It is kind of odd to me that this is considered a genre all its own, when any genre can be young adult. And that is the thing about books, they are ageless. They offer a glimpse into the secret world of teenagers. Like I will never stop re-reading Harry Potter and the Hunger Games. Though an unpopular opinion from me, I will leave Twilight behind. The only vampires for me are those of the worlds of Anne Rice and Taika Waititi.
