It's been awhile since I've done one of these. This week's topic is books you deny having read, guilty pleasures you keep secret, books you pretend you've read, and other literary activities about which you have not been forthright. In no particular order:
8. Fan fiction
Believe it or not, some of it is damn good.
7. Star Trek books
I've never really hid this per se but I don't advertise it either.
6. V.C. Andrews
Let's make this clear: I DO NOT READ THESE BOOKS ANYMORE. That was a high school anomaly! And they wasn't even the original ones that she actually wrote - it was that formulaic crap churned out by ghost writer Andrew Neiderman. I cringe whenever I think about it.
5. Sweet Valley High series
I WAS ELEVEN OKAY???
4. Jean Baudrillard
French postmodern philosopher, theorist, cultural critic. I've talked about his ideas several times on this blog but I've never actually read him. I confess: all my information about Simulacra and Simulacron comes from Wikipedia.
3. Bentley Little, The Return
I bought this book in high school while on vacation. It was awful. Absolutely horrible. And yet - I occasionally come back to it. In retrospect, it was actually my first introduction to Lovecraftian horror, and I think what intrigued me about The Return is everything I've come to love about the Cthulhu Mythos: madness, ancient horrors, depraved cults worshiping godlike monsters, the vast unknowingness of the universe. So yeah, it's a cheap, silly ripoff, but one of an author I'm quite fond of.
2. Yaoi
I read, like, five mangas. And then I realized how stupid and problematic it was.
1. The Vagina Monologues
This one I feel guilty about. Even as a feminist, I have to admit I'm uncomfortable with it. Not because of the subject matter or the word "vagina" itself but because it sounds like Eva Ensler is just doing what misogynists have always done: reducing women to a sexual body part. I got into an argument about this in college and actually lied about reading it. I ended up bluffing my way through. Feel free to hate me.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers' answers. Everyone is welcome to join. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Don't worry if you can't come up with ten every time . . . just post what you can!
French postmodern philosopher, theorist, cultural critic. I've talked about his ideas several times on this blog but I've never actually read him. I confess: all my information about Simulacra and Simulacron comes from Wikipedia.
3. Bentley Little, The Return
I bought this book in high school while on vacation. It was awful. Absolutely horrible. And yet - I occasionally come back to it. In retrospect, it was actually my first introduction to Lovecraftian horror, and I think what intrigued me about The Return is everything I've come to love about the Cthulhu Mythos: madness, ancient horrors, depraved cults worshiping godlike monsters, the vast unknowingness of the universe. So yeah, it's a cheap, silly ripoff, but one of an author I'm quite fond of.
2. Yaoi
I read, like, five mangas. And then I realized how stupid and problematic it was.
1. The Vagina Monologues
This one I feel guilty about. Even as a feminist, I have to admit I'm uncomfortable with it. Not because of the subject matter or the word "vagina" itself but because it sounds like Eva Ensler is just doing what misogynists have always done: reducing women to a sexual body part. I got into an argument about this in college and actually lied about reading it. I ended up bluffing my way through. Feel free to hate me.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers' answers. Everyone is welcome to join. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Don't worry if you can't come up with ten every time . . . just post what you can!
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6 comments:
Thanks for being honest!! I'd never judge for reading Sweet Valley High, bescause then I'd have to turn that judgement back on myself-weren't they marvellously catty and silly!
I've never read any fanfic, I've always wanted to but I've never been sure where to go and where to avoid all the erotic fanfic (I do not want to think of Lupin and Sirius together in that way!!)
I've read some pretty good fanfiction in my day. I love that people can known characters so well that they write their own story, and it feels pretty much like the real thing.
I totally hear you on The Vagina Monologues. One of the sororities at my alma mater hosts a performance every year. I never went, because I think it's pretty stupid. Plus I was always incredibly offended that they were selling "P*ssy Pops" outside the cafeteria "to raise awareness of abuse." The only thing it promoted was mockery, and I preferred when another group on campus ran a clothing drive and took the proceeds to a local women's shelter.
Hi! I saw your blog listed on the Top Ten Tuesday Linky and loved your blog's name so I thought I'd stop by. Great list! I won't judge you for reading any Sweet Valley books. Did you read Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later? I thought it was a horrific train wreck...
Grace @
feedingmybookaddiction.blogspot.com
(new follower)
Sweet Valley High = awesome. No shame in that.
Come check out The Scarlet Letter's Top Ten Tuesday
+JMJ+
I know what you mean about some Fan Fiction being excellent. (Shall I send you my own Terminator inspired FF? ;-) LOL!) There is one epic inspired by the G.I. Joe cartoon that I still swear by. The writer really made me believe.
And I read heaps of Sweet Valley myself when I was eleven. =) The books don't really stand up now that I'm an adult, but you know what? The Baby-sitters Club books (which I didn't read as a child) are turning out to be pretty darn good! So now I'm reading those and feeling no shame! =D
Love the list. I laughed because we all know how it feels to be embarrassed about something we are reading. That's the great thing about e-readers, no one knows what you are reading.
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