All About Books discussion

Do you have a reading secret i.e. an author who writes books quite unlike your normal reading scope?

A genre you'd rather keep to yourself? Do you read say soppy romances on the sly? Erotica?

Share with us your reading guilty secret. Maybe tell us how this differs from your normal reading.

My guilty secret author is Alice Hoffman. I like to think I read fairly serious books or books I can learn things from normally. Alice Hoffman is unlike any other author I read; she writes stories with a degree of fantasy in them. I indulge myself with her novels; they are my go-to books when I need a reading vacation.

My other secret is I've read and own Quiver by Tobsha Learner; a collection of erotic fiction which makes 50 Shades of Grey seem very tame.

Ohh Bette guilty one here. If I want a fast fix of utter rubbish or I want to up my word count it whatever I will pounce on a James Patterson :( Don't get me wrong some of his stuff is great rollicking and rip roaring but omy some is worse than abysmal !

I started reading this year to avoid guilty pleasures!! I know it's wrong to stereotype but I was thinking that maybe women prefer erotic fiction to men? Anyway maybe this is a topic I should have avoided :-)

The Brom books are pretty good because the artwork in the ones I've read by him are amazing and the stories are really dark. I've read his books The Child Thief and Krampus: The Yule Lord. They are both pretty good and would love to read more of his twisted works.

Jamie wrote: "I started reading this year to avoid guilty pleasures!! I know it's wrong to stereotype but I was thinking that maybe women prefer erotic fiction to men? Anyway maybe this is a topic I should have ..."

I'm not a fan, mainly because of the bad writing that is associated with them. I don't even like sloppy romances either.

I really can't work this one out! I mean, I know what you're getting at, but just can't find anything in my case!

It's probably because I'm so counter-suggestible that if anyone was surprised at me reading "x" then I'd think well why on earth not?! Stuff that's too complicated wouldn't be a guilt trip - except for a masochist! Stuff I look down my nose at? There isn't any! Stuff that's "too easy"? Ditto! In the right mood anything goes. Comfort reading for when I've got the 'flu maybe, but then again I feel vindicated because I've got the 'flu!

If I can recognise it's really badly written rubbish, then I'm likely to throw it across the room in annoyance, rather than it being a guilty pleasure.

So all I'm left with is the thought that sometimes I should be reading informative stuff about - oh I don't know - world affairs - when I'm actually reading my beloved Dickens or a crime novel... does that count?

(I may be overthinking this...)

I was thinking the same, Jean. I have different genres for different moods and change what I'm reading based on what else is going on in my life.

I'm sure I read trashy crime or fantasy which others might consider a guilty pleasure but it's still reading.

My main guilty pleasure is reading goodreads instead of reading a book!

Ah you've hit the nail on the head with that one, Heather! Me too!! :D

Jean wrote: "Ah you've hit the nail on the head with that one, Heather! Me too!! :D"

I think, at the minute it would be mine too.

Jean wrote: "I really can't work this one out! I mean, I know what you're getting at, but just can't find anything in my case!

It's probably because I'm so counter-suggestible that if anyone was surprised at m..."

I've been having exactly the same dilemma with this one!

And yes, goodreads is exactly that!

Well, so far , it seems Goodreads is a definite guilty pleasure. It's my other guilt-laden thing too; I can pend up to five hours each morning flitting around GR.

I do have some friends who are embarrassed to admit they read Mills and Boon novels and love their kindles as the covers are hidden from the public view.

LOL! I suppose that's equivalent to putting a book inside a newspaper - or a brown paper cover. Do they then delete them from their Kindles though, or are they sitting there for all to see?

Perhaps you could put them in contact with each other so they could get some support for their addiction? Or perhaps the point is, after all, that it is something forbidden in their peer group, hence the frisson. :D

Well, I'm not sure it's a guilty pleasure as such because I never feel guilty about it, but I love reading fanfiction, and yes, it's usually erotica :p

My brain candy of the last two years has been Jilly Cooper, of whom I've read the entire Rutshire Chronicles (Riders is the first book of the series, Wicked! my favourite): pure plot, full of intrigue and romance set in the English horse-minded countryside. I'm frankly sad that I've finished them all, and in desperate search of another brain candy :-)

Elisa wrote: "My brain candy of the last two years has been Jilly Cooper, of whom I've read the entire Rutshire Chronicles (Riders is the first book of the series, [book:Wicked!|618..."

I like your term 'brain candy'.

My main reading guilty secret over the years had been reading 'heavy' non-fiction for relaxation. I've tended to keep quiet about it to many of my friends. For instance, a few years ago I read The Structures of Everyday Life , all three volumes, and found it fascinating, but only had a couple of people I discussed it with.

I am getting into Bizarro fiction... the weirder, the better !

Bette BookAddict wrote: "Elisa wrote: "My brain candy of the last two years has been Jilly Cooper, of whom I've read the entire Rutshire Chronicles (Riders is the first book of the series, [bo..."

Thanks, but I am fairly certain that I cannot claim copyright, I must have heard it somewhere :-)

Twilight for me. I just love it.

YA: I've discovered that some of them are really nice!!!
I've started with Harry Potter - still love him! - and since then two or three a year are for me!

Gemma wrote: "Twilight for me. I just love it."

Same as my best friend. I can't read them anymore without getting really annoyed but the films are a definite guilty pleasure of mine.

Gemma wrote: "Twilight for me. I just love it."

Same for me! I've read each one multiple times (especially Breaking Dawn).

My guilty secret, if one can call it that, is that I am compelled to read many books at the same time. Usually 8.

Diane S. wrote: "My guilty secret, if one can call it that, is that I am compelled to read many books at the same time. Usually 8."

I have started doing that but my limit at the moment is three. I couldn't keep up with 8!

Diane S. wrote: "My guilty secret, if one can call it that, is that I am compelled to read many books at the same time. Usually 8."

Wow, that's a lot of books at once!! I struggle with two sometimes!

I am generally with Jean and Heather (that I don't have any "guilty pleasure" reading I am ashamed of) but if pushed, I guess it would be reading children's books (not YA but kid's books like Finn Family Moomintroll or Where the Wild Things Are). Parents get to indulge in this guilty pleasure by reading to their children, but the rest of us don't have that excuse...

Leslie - no excuses needed for reading fun books :-)

Leslie - I could not disagree more if I tried! :(

On reflection, though, we are maybe coming from the same area. Anyone would have to fight me tooth and nail to remove both those books from my bookshelves. As a class teacher I loved reading them to children too. Never would I feel the slightest bit guilty about reading quality work like this for my own pleasure ;)

I think the imaginative power of them transcends the description "kids' books" and - well if they are "kids' books" then I'd happily do without 99% of "adults' books"!

Sorry for the rant everybody! Maybe I just don't "get" guilt in a reading context? I do remember hating seeing children fobbed off with inferior material because they were "only children" and so people felt it didn't matter (!) when there's quality stuff like this around :)

Or maybe it's just because I'm a big kid at heart? Our neighbours think it most odd that Chris and I go off to a wildlife park without a child or two in tow. And when we get there, sure enough, there aren't many adults without appendages. Does anyone else actually enjoy this for itself, rather than as a family excursion? (Ooops sorry Bette - forgot we were on a themed thread here!)

Jean wrote: "Or maybe it's just because I'm a big kid at heart? Our neighbours think it most odd that Chris and I go off to a wildlife park without a child or two in tow. And when we get there, sure enough, the..."

I also go to fun parks without kids!!!!

Good for you, Laura :) Do you go on the bouncy castle too? :D

Of course what I'm really saying, Leslie, is that I defend your right totally to NOT feel guilty about reading such marvellous books! LOL!

Oooo they sound fun Lynne! I must look out for those! Was this secretly intended as a "recommendation" thread? LOL!

Jean wrote: "Or maybe it's just because I'm a big kid at heart? Our neighbours think it most odd that Chris and I go off to a wildlife park without a child or two in tow. And when we get there, sure enough, the..."

No problem, Jean, any discussion is fine:)

Now that you mention kid's books, I have quite a few May GibbsThe Complete Adventures Of Snugglepot And Cuddlepie books and there are no kids in my house.

Gibbs was an Australian author; the illustrations and color plates are simply superb.



How could you resist characters like these?

Guilty secrets oh no you can't ask that I have so many >.<

I read old manga from the 70s and 80s, like Glass Mask for instance:


The sparklier, the better!

I also adore bodice-rippers (shocking!) and fanfiction...

Bette - I have just ordered Meet Snugglepot and Cuddlepie from Amazon. (Only a 1p paperback.) Ooops! :D

Lynne - And ordered Enchanted: The Faerie and Fantasy Art of Linda Ravenscroft from the library.

Thanks both. I'm well pleased :)

Jean wrote: "Bette - I have just ordered Meet Snugglepot and Cuddlepie from Amazon. (Only a 1p paperback.) Ooops! :D

Lynne - And ordered [book:Enchanted: The Faerie and Fantasy Art of Linda Ra..."

Hope you enjoy them. I have heard some people cut out and frame the May Gibbs plates.

I confess, Anne of Green Gables and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are two books I have read several times and will probably read again.

I read 50 Shades and definitely will not go there again. (((Shudders)))

Caro wrote: "Guilty secrets oh no you can't ask that I have so many >.<

I read old manga from the 70s and 80s, like Glass Mask for instance:


The sparklier, the better!

I also adore bodice-rippers (shocking!..."

Is you avatar Candy Candy? I used to LOVE that cartoon as kid!!!

Judi/Judith wrote: "I confess, Anne of Green Gables and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are two books I have read several times and will probably read again.

I read 50 Shades and definitely will not..."

Anne of Green Gables serie is one I read every now and then, when I need to be cheered up a little. I find her extremely "spring" reading!
And also Betty's Smith book is one that I particularly love; I made it read to both my kids who didn't like it so much as I did ...

LauraT - no it's not Candy, the character is actually called Georgie but the artist is the same and they look very similar :) I adore Candy Candy but Lady Georgie has a much better storyline so if you have time you should check the anime out!! :D

Caro wrote: "LauraT - no it's not Candy, the character is actually called Georgie but the artist is the same and they look very similar :) I adore Candy Candy but Lady Georgie has a much better storyline so if ..."

I remember that as well! By Candy stays in my heart!!!
Now both my children are manga fan. But I don't know what they read ...

Looking at what you call old manga, reminds me of the craze for "moppet" paintings in the early to mid-1960's, so over a decade earlier. They were all over the place - a bit like the "Green Lady". Always elongated pictures of urchin-like street children or pierrots with big heads and enormous eyes. Anyone else remember them? Here are links to some :
first link
second link
third link

If you like Snugglepot and Cuddlepie - given to us in 1986 by my brother-in-law from Australia to read to our two young children - you might also try The Magic Pudding (Being the adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff), by Norman Lindsay, which we were sent at the same time.

Fantastic illustrations in both books. I'll re-read them shortly - without guilt!

These names are making me smile already, John!

Jean wrote: "These names are making me smile already, John!"

Jean, go steal yourself some little kids, get the books from the library and READ them. You will love them... actually, forget the kids!

The Magic Pudding . Norman Lindsay: what an incredible artist. I have visited his haunting home in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. His works of art, sometimes used as book illustrations are .... (I'm lost for words to describe).

I'm always reading children's books! Working in libraries and teaching meant I could always pretend it was work anyway, so I have never actually stopped! But we don't seem to get many Australian books over here. Another reason I like Amazon :)

Jean wrote: "I'm always reading children's books! Working in libraries and teaching meant I could always pretend it was work anyway, so I have never actually stopped! But we don't seem to get many Australian bo..."

I must confess I don't read many of Aust novels; I don't want to read about people/places I know, I like a book to take me somewhere. Plus, there seems to be a huge crop these days of those awful rural romances (girls inheriting sheep stations in the outback etc) and to me, they are as poor as Mills and Boon.

I know deep, deep inside me that I am a displaced Briton:P Give me green rolling hills, heather, real historical buildings any day of the week. Give me rain, a history that goes back further than 500 years...