Guilty Pleasures Books

[kitty_kitty]

Books which are your guilty pleasures, what books are you embarassed about reading or which books do you put on the book on the shelves that are not in full view of everyone in your house.

My guilty pleasures are:

Marian Keyes - I love her books but i hate chick lit
Dennis Wheatley - due to the titles of the naked ladies on the covers

I will have a think for the rest

[Nici76]

I don't think I have any! I will give this some thought...

[Janet]

Marian Keyes - I love her books but i hate chick lit
Snap!

Probably my Jeffrey Archer ones too - his earlier ones, that is! (Kane and Abel, Shall We Tell The President?, Not a Penny More, not a Penny Less...)

Also, the 'Mrs Pargeter' series by Simon Brett - they are a bit like a Mills & Boon style detective series!

[Icecream]

I don't think I have any either.

[Rosie]

Ssh...... Rebecca Shaw, Judy Astley and Jilly Cooper:roll::blush:

[aromaannie]

Jilly Cooper for me too:blush:

[Janet]

Ssh...... Rebecca Shaw, Judy Astley and Jilly Cooper:roll::blush:
Oh yes, I've read all of Judy Astley's too! I normally take them to read on holiday as they don't require much thought! I've never 'met' anyone who has ever read/heard of her before!

Someone bought me a Jilly Cooper for my birthday - it has over 1000 pages. :o

[wrathofkublakhan]

My guilty pleasure books are Dragonsinger and Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey.
It's about a 12 to 14 year old girl. It's all emotional icky girl stuff -- I've read them a hundred times!

On DVD, I've Mulan, Parent Trap, She's the Man, Ice Princess -- all go into the bottom drawer when the boys come over to play poker and scratch themselves.

[Kell]

I don't thin I have any "guilty" pleasures - mine are all out there on my shelves for all the world to see,, and I take whatever I happen to be reading at the time everywhere with me in my bag, which I then openly read in public.

Dale seems to think I read a lot of "naughty" books though and looking through my titles there seem to be a fair few with either steamy sex scenes in them, or are renowned to be steamy ni one way or another:

Maia by Richard Adams
Savages by Shirley Conran
Girl with a One-Track Mind by Abby Lee
The Sexual Life of Catherine M by Catherine Millet
Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence

And that's just off the top of my head - there are certainly more. I'll be getting a reputation if I carry on like this!

[Sofia]

I have a few.....ahem....'erotic' books I keep in my room;)

[KW]

I have only one: Exit to Eden by Anne Rice. Her writing is, as always, right on and the rather erotic nature of the story is addicting, combining literature and fascinating plot into one great read.

:smile2:

[Kylie]

I like to read Trixie Belden mystery novels. :mrgreen: Trixie's a kind of younger version of Nancy Drew. I'm still trying to collect them all.

[wrathofkublakhan]

I'll be getting a reputation if I carry on like this!

Getting? The word I'd use is "building" a reputation!

:lol:

[Icecream]

I have a few.....ahem....'erotic' books I keep in my room;)

Actually I do have a couple of those. I don't think people would know that from looking at them on my shelf though.

[Maureen]

Oh yes, I've read all of Judy Astley's too! I normally take them to read on holiday as they don't require much thought! I've never 'met' anyone who has ever read/heard of her before!



Pleased to meet you Bagpuss! Sorry, but I haven't. What am I missing out on?


Probably my Jeffrey Archer ones too - his earlier ones, that is! (Kane and Abel, Shall We Tell The President?, Not a Penny More, not a Penny Less...)



Have all these. Loved them when I first read them, which is ages ago - but I certainly don't hide them. Just lent them to a friend actually.

[Sofia]

Actually I do have a couple of those. I don't think people would know that from looking at them on my shelf though.
they would for mine:lol:

[lovesreading06]

bagpuss i know people that heard of judy astley but i haven't know many people to actually read them. My mum got one i let you know she get on with it.

i don't think i have any guilty books.

[Fiona]

Heehee, I had one guilty pleasure. The Passionate Pirate! :blush::blush: shhhh!!

Erm - guilty pleasures now though? I don't have any. I read kids books but that isn't a guilty pleasure.

Oh, but I have a kinda want for a guilty secret.

I want to read Darcy Takes a Wife by someone. I just ahem... don't want to pay for it or be seen buying it! Or seen reading it. Or aheh. It is a um, rather erotic sequel to pride and prejudice. I've read extracts *snigger* Elizabeth and Darcy have sex and he has a big thingy. Mmm Colin Firth.

[wrathofkublakhan]

Heehee, I had one guilty pleasure. The Passionate Pirate! :blush::blush: shhhh!!

Erm - guilty pleasures now though? I don't have any. I read kids books but that isn't a guilty pleasure.

Oh, but I have a kinda want for a guilty secret.

I want to read Darcy Takes a Wife by someone. I just ahem... don't want to pay for it or be seen buying it! Or seen reading it. Or aheh. It is a um, rather erotic sequel to pride and prejudice. I've read extracts *snigger* Elizabeth and Darcy have sex and he has a big thingy. Mmm Colin Firth.

That's a laugh-out-loud posting, fiona! Thank you for that, you've added at least a year to my life. :D

[Janet]

Sorry, but I haven't [read any Judy Astley]. What am I missing out on?
Not a lot really! They are pure fluff - sort of family sagas - but an easy read and perfect for if you don't want to concentrate!

Have all these. [Jeffrey Archer] Loved them when I first read them, which is ages ago - but I certainly don't hide them. Just lent them to a friend actually.
I don't hide mine either - they're on the bookcase in the lounge for anyone to see! I just think they're the sort of books the some people wouldn't admit to owning!

[Oblomov]

I read a lot of different types of books and while some people might raise their eyebrows at certain aspects of my "taste", I can honestly say that I personally have enever been embarassed about admitting the indulgence. For example, I have a big collection of 'Silver Age' American comics which I still read and enjoy; likewise, I am a fan of old (1950s & early 60s) Science Fiction short stories, often edited by the likes of Groff Conklin or Judith Merrill. I am unashamedly addicted to the very sexist and gloriously politically incorrect thrillers by James Hadley Chase - a legacy of growing up in India in the 60s.

[~V~]

Just between you and me ...

What books do you enjoy but wouldn't read in public? You know the sort of thing I mean. Go on, I won't tell ;)

[~V~]

I'm not reading the Alexander McCall Smith ones in public.

Not because I'm ashamed to be reading them, but I'm ashamed I've come across them so late and don't want to be seen as jumping on the 'Post-TV' bandwagon. I would hate to be thought of as being on a bandwagon

[~V~]

Thanks Michelle. Not sure how I could have missed that, not like me :blush:

[prospero]

I don't thin I have any "guilty" pleasures - mine are all out there on my shelves for all the world to see,, and I take whatever I happen to be reading at the time everywhere with me in my bag, which I then openly read in public.

Dale seems to think I read a lot of "naughty" books though and looking through my titles there seem to be a fair few with either steamy sex scenes in them, or are renowned to be steamy ni one way or another:

Maia by Richard Adams
Savages by Shirley Conran
Girl with a One-Track Mind by Abby Lee
The Sexual Life of Catherine M by Catherine Millet
Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence

And that's just off the top of my head - there are certainly more. I'll be getting a reputation if I carry on like this!

Might I recommend Sleeping Around (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleeping-Around-Secrets-Sexual-Adventuress/dp/0719563518/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206882580&sr=1-1) by Catherine Townsend? I quite happily read that on the bus; it made me feel a bit naughty. It's never bothered me, reading erotica in public. :D

I'm not reading the Alexander McCall Smith ones in public.

Not because I'm ashamed to be reading them, but I'm ashamed I've come across them so late and don't want to be seen as jumping on the 'Post-TV' bandwagon. I would hate to be thought of as being on a bandwagon

Me too. I get embarrassed at the thought of being caught reading books with 'movie covers'. In fact, if I have a book which is then made into a film, I avoid reading it in public for a while after it comes out in case of the accusations of, "You're only reading that because the film's just come out." Why it matters to me I don't know but you can safely say I'm a book snob.

I always read the book before the film (except in the case of Notes on a Scandal and I see they Hollywoodised the ending of that one too by Making sure Sheba was seen to be punished, rather than ending the film at the same point as the book, where she was merely awaiting trial). This is because I'm a great believer in the book always being better and I want the author's pictures in my head, not the film director's and whichever one I experience first stays there.

I got The Kite Runner out of the library this week and it's the movie-cover edition. I'll read that at home, I think! ;) I prefer to read books because I want to, not because they're popular (although I've fallen for hype before; mea culpa) and I too get hives when I think of jumping on any passing bandwagon.

But back on topic. My guilty pleasures? There aren't that many books I actually feel bad about reading - I've always loved children's books and one good thing JK Rowling has done for the industry (!) is make kids' books cool. Adults can read them too.

I'd feel embarrassed as hell if someone caught me reading a genre romance so I avoid them like the plague anyway - although I do have two M&Bs on Mount TBR as it's the company's 100th anniversary this year I believe so I thought, "Hmm, might give them a go and they're only a couple of quid each." I wouldn't read them in public though. ;)

I must admit that if I'm going on a long journey I'll choose a book with a bit more substance to it, so that if I come over all weird and get chatting to a stranger, we'll have something of note to discuss rather than, "Ooh, I like Harry Potter too! Did you like the part where he-" But again, for example, when JS&MN came out, I avoided reading that in public in case people thought I'd hitched a ride on the nearest wagon du bande.

[~V~]

JS &MN is the foundation stone on my Mount TBR.

I must say, it has the whitest pages

(Glad to know it's not just me who would hate to be thought of as a bandwagon jumper)

[prospero]

My copy of JS&MN has a lipstick mark on the edges due to SOMEONE we both know flicking through the pages and sniffing the new paper. ;)

[supergran71]

:blush::blush:JS&MN - What is that please? Sorry for my ignorance

[prospero]

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathan-Strange-Norrell-Susanna-Clarke/dp/0747579881/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206899926&sr=1-1)

[supergran71]

Thank you :D

[prospero]

I believe it's on my chunky challenge list. I've had it for ages and never finished it, and it's about time I did.

(Not that it's a guilty pleasure book - I'd happily read it in public now the hype has died down).

[Karen]

:blush::blush:JS&MN - What is that please? Sorry for my ignorance
I am so glad someone asked about this, because I didn't have a clue either. :mrgreen:

[Icecream]

I was going to say that there aren't any books I wouldn't read in public. There is only one though, and I can't even say on here what it is, but I will say I absent mindedly left it on the coffee table once and a friend noticed it. She didn't say anything though.

[prospero]

Mein Kampf?

[Nox]

Nothing, it's really nonoes buisiness what I read.
People often get touchy about certain books, but their closed mind is not my problem.
For example I have recantly read "The Satanic Bible" by Anton LaVey, it's a briliant book, the fact that some people might think it bad, probably many people on here as well, I really don't care.

[thelastwatcher33]

I know just what Prospero is saying about the whole-reading -on-the-train thing. I think its because I m always nosy about what other people are reading and what that could tell me about them and I therefore think that they are drawing some conclusion about me from what I m reading. Its probably ridiculous but anyway. Guilty pleasures,well I remember reading Riders by Jilly Cooper and trying not to be seen with it, bit of the book snob within coming out! I m proud to be a Harry Potter fan though, sadly I am a band wagon hanger-on in that regard. Didnt catch on to the whole craze until the movies came out.:blush: At least I feel bad about it though :D

[Kylie]

I know just what Prospero is saying about the whole-reading -on-the-train thing. I think its because I m always nosy about what other people are reading and what that could tell me about them and I therefore think that they are drawing some conclusion about me from what I m reading.

I feel the same. I like to have a stickybeak at what other people are reading, but I absolutely hate anyone else knowing what I'm reading (on the train anyway; I don't care at work). I always try to hide my book cover so no-one will see what I'm reading. And I don't really understand why I do it. :lol:

I also don't understand why I'm embarrassed to be seen reading Harry Potter on the train. Maybe it's because they're so popular or because I have the kids covers, I don't know. :blush:

I also don't think I'd read any books on the train that have nudie covers, such as Nana by Emile Zola and The Graduate by Charles Webb. I don't want people thinking I'm reading porn when I'm actually reading a high-brow classic or something!

[prospero]

If I went into business marketing Salman Rushdie and Kazuo Ishiguro covers for all your porn mags and erotica books, would you all buy from me?

[~V~]

I was going to say that there aren't any books I wouldn't read in public. There is only one though, and I can't even say on here what it is, but I will say I absent mindedly left it on the coffee table once and a friend noticed it. She didn't say anything though.

Mein Kampf?

I've read that. :blush: (Not in the original you understand. Ja?)

I was thinking maybe something more fruity than young Adolf's ramblings but you never know

[prospero]

The Secret Diary of Eva Braun?

[FishAndChips]

Slightly off topic but talking of hiding what you are reading in public, I sometimes have this awful fear that if I read a book I'm really loving in public, then someone, some random stranger possibly, will come up to me and tell me what happens in the end and ruin it. I know it's unlikely, but it's the main reason I don't like reading in public, or sometimes telling people what I am currently reading in case they say "Ah yes, great book, that's the one where so and so dies isn't it..." or something.