Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

This thread is for dropping ideas, questions, resources, comments, and discussion about Task 21: A Book You Would Consider A "Guilty Pleasure" (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over!)

Not so much a resource as an encouragement: http://bookriot.com/2013/02/19/stop-a...

Don't believe in guilty pleasures, but I'm going with The Lies of Locke Lamora.

This one is probably the hardest for me to grasp, too, since I'm pretty comfortable with owning whatever I like to read. However, if I think of it as something I'd be least interested in discussing with library patrons, it's probably erotica. :D

I'm gonna cull 23 of the 24 from my existing tbr so I'll save my 'guilty pleasure' for a new release that I purchase spur of the moment (guilty bc no self control but pleasure bc I'll have a new book in my grubby lil paws)

Last year I did a reading challenge of books that became miniseries, stuff in the Jackie Collins vein. Since I've already read Hollywood Wives I picked Scruples by Judith Krantz for this one.

I'm going to read the Velveteen Rabbit. Somehow I missed this one in my childhood and I have heard it referenced periodically through the years. So, I'm going to use my guilty pleasure to finally read this classic.

Malvina wrote: "I'm gonna cull 23 of the 24 from my existing tbr so I'll save my 'guilty pleasure' for a new release that I purchase spur of the moment (guilty bc no self control but pleasure bc I'll have a new bo..."

Great idea... I read mostly new releases and ARCs this year, so I was planning on trying to read only books I already own for this challenge. But one new release won't hurt.

Never feel guilty about reading anything, but I suppose Voluptuous Panic: the erotic world of Weimar does somewhat fit in the category.

I plan to read Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick which I just received as a gift.

I'm going with Choke. Not that Chuck Palahniuk makes me feel guilty :D.

Typically I'd say romance counts as a "guilty pleasure" for me, but since it has its own category this will definitely be going to Vicious, and any other PLL books that follow in 2015.

I would classify chick lit or erotica as a guilty pleasure. I'm sure I can find something racy :P

I'm against the idea of pleasures causing guilt, but, inspired by this list, I'm going with some classic trash, maybe Peyton Place or Valley of the Dolls.

@Terri - I love those books.

I'm probably going to put a middle-grade book here. Since they're so quick for me to read, I always feel a little guilty that I didn't take more time.

I'm gonna go with Outlander for this one.

I'm going to go with either I Hate Myself and Want to Die: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You've Ever Heard, or one of the exquisitely awful, so-bad-they're-good works of Amanda McKittrick Ros, most likely Irene Iddesleigh, since it's the most readily available.

I'd put an airport/train station read in there as well -- alas I didn't have enough time this trip around.

I was having a tough time coming up with what I was going to do for this task because I generally don't feel guilty about any book I choose to read. I even checked out what books are commonly shelved as "guilty pleasures" on Goodreads and discovered I've read more than half of the top 50 without considering any of them as such. Then I read a comment above about using an impulse buy and thought I might use that idea, especially since I don't usually buy books for myself but just for my classroom library. I've also been considering that I haven't given myself much time for rereading favorites lately, so that might be an even better idea.

Daisy I was struggling with this category until you mentioned rereading a favorite. I know the perfect book now, Podkayne of Mars or another of Heinlein's young novels.

Daisey wrote: "I was having a tough time coming up with what I was going to do for this task because I generally don't feel guilty about any book I choose to read. I even checked out what books are commonly shel..."

I was also struggling here, but I love the idea of a re-read! I might try re-reading a childhood favorite, maybe Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.

I had previously been considering a Nicholas Sparks, or finding some chick lit. I'm proud of my romance reads, especially PNR, so I can't say I'd feel guilty about that! But I would put Nicholas Sparks in the guilty pleasure category.

Malvina wrote: "I'm gonna cull 23 of the 24 from my existing tbr so I'll save my 'guilty pleasure' for a new release that I purchase spur of the moment (guilty bc no self control but pleasure bc I'll have a new bo..."

That's actually a really good idea! I think I might steal your idea!

I'm going to go for The Deception of the Emerald Ring. I love these Lauren Willig novels, and used to sneak them in college when I should have been studying, so they bring up the guilt of reading something out of turn.

Many people I know have no use for the Jan Karon Mitford Series - too sweet and fluffy. I loved every minute of it, so my guilty pleasure is going to be her new one, Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good - the advance reader copy my daughter brought home from the bookstore last year!

I, too, have had difficulty figuring out what I would read. however, if I think of a genre that I would be embarrassed to admit I was reading, it would be erotica. Now to find a book.

The books I label my guilty pleasures are either urban fantasy or romance with a bit of erotica thrown in. Not that I feel guilty reading them. But they are just fluff and given a snowed in Sunday I could read 2 or 3 without much effort. They are the jujubes of books. I'm reading What the Lady Wants" for this one.

This one was easy, and my first read of the year, The Andy Cohen Diaries - nothing but celebrity gossip and fun.

Romance has its own category, but it's my guilty pleasure. I also like the previously mentioned idea of rereading a well-loved book. There are a few books I've read more times than I can count. Some of them I'll read several times per year.

Tamara wrote: "The books I label my guilty pleasures are either urban fantasy or romance with a bit of erotica thrown in. Not that I feel guilty reading them. But they are just fluff and given a snowed in Sund..."

I like 'jujubes'! I've been calling them 'tasty wordsnacks' for similar reasons.

Went with erotica for mine - MacRieve - as other people have said, not exactly a 'guilty' pleasure but also not something I include in my 'currently reading' jabber when I'm asked, so I think it counts!

Hmmm...guilty pleasure. I don't feel guilty about *reading* anything. I only feel guilty about not reading as much as I could, used to, etc. I'll probably save this until the end and re-read a comfort book of some sort.

I was originally going to go with erotica as I never really read it/would feel "guilty" reading it in public. But instead, I ended up using the book Nobody is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey for this task as I stopped reading everything else (even a book for an assignment for school...oops) to read this book. Which was pretty "guilt" inducing and also just really fun. I recommend doing something like that for this category if you're not sure what to pick!

Not exactly a guilty pleasure, but an author whom I had decided not to read anymore due to a previous disappointed read .... just finished Archangel’s Shadows by Nalini Singh.Archangel's Shadows

I think that I'm going to use Batman as my guilty pleasure read. It's ridiculous. It's literally the book version of the Michael Keaton Batman movie...meaning the movie came first. Ha ha

LOL @Alice I love it.
I used to love movie novelizations when I was a kid. I'd get all excited when I found places the movie and the novelization were different. /always a nerd

I'd like to say that I never feel guilty about anything I read, but I know that there are certain books I wouldn't read in public. I guess it would enter into the spirit of the category if I chilled at my favorite coffee house or in a doctor's waiting room with a Choose Your Own Adventure. I haven't read one of those in ages. :-)

I read Behind the Bell by Dustin Diamond for the " book with bad reviews and book based on tv" under the popsugar challenge. I just felt guilty. no pleasure.

I'm going with by Bernard Cornwell for this task. I don't normally go for action-y, testosterone-fueled books with lots of blood, but for some reason I've (secretly) enjoyed this series.

Nicole wrote: "I read Behind the Bell by Dustin Diamond for the " book with bad reviews and book based on tv" under the popsugar challenge. I just felt guilty. no pleasure."

Uh oh I guess that one isn't recommended...?

I'm counting Still Life With Murder as my guilty pleasure because it's not great literature and was at times melodramatic and predictable but I really enjoyed it.

Keeks wrote: "Alice wrote: "I think that I'm going to use Batman as my guilty pleasure read. It's ridiculous. It's literally the book version of the Michael Keaton Batman movie...meaning the movi..."

OMG I'm laughing so hard! That's amazing! :)

I was not sure what to read for this challenge since I don't feel guilty for my selections. I was planning on using a book I buy likely on impulse but then I remembered a friend had recommended Laurell K. Hamilton's series. The first book is called Guilty Pleasures. I like how the title is the same as the task objective.

I had no idea what I was going to do for this challenge until I completed it- I was going through a stressful week and found myself re-reading Joanna Bourne's Spymaster series. I thoroughly enjoyed sinking into her complex interconnected world but 1) I'm re-reading with all the books out there in the world to read and 2) While I do love myself some romance, I am always aware of a vague sense of shame when a set of them pile up in my completed queue. And then, a lovely "Aha!" moment where I realized that THIS was my guilt pleasure. And decided to embrace it.

Notorious Nineteen - Janet Evanovich

My guilty pleasure is the Stephanie Plum series mainly because of the amount of food that gets consumed in the books, I wish I could eat as much food as Stephanie without putting on any weight, although I would not like to be chasing down criminals to burn off the calories or constantly have my cars/house blown up broken into.

I love these posts . I am laughing myself silly at the recommendations .

Guilty pleasure for this reader - love and romance . Welcome February . The English Patient and Pablo Neruda poetry. Maybe Landline by Rainbow Rowell .

Erin wrote: "This one was easy, and my first read of the year, The Andy Cohen Diaries - nothing but celebrity gossip and fun."

I'm listening to the audio book right now. Andy Cohen is such happy person. Contagious.

For this category, I'm going with Molly O'Keefe's Crazy Thing Called Love. It's a guilty pleasure for me not because it's a romance novel, but because I only got interested in it when I saw the male lead was a hockey player. As if my hockey obsession weren't already vaguely embarrassing! /o\

Checked off this one with "Saint Odd" by Dean Koontz. I've been devoted to Odd Thomas and this was a fitting ending to the series.

It took me a while to come up with what I would consider my "guilty pleasure" but I ended up going with those trivia books that you always tend to see in someone's bathroom, so for this one I'm reading The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees.

My guilty pleasure read was "Deadly in High Heels" book #9 of "The High Heels Mysteries" by Gemma Halliday! It is chick-lit at its finest! It is pure entertainment! Mystery, comedy, romance, and fashion all rolled into one! If you want something light and easy I recommend Maddis Springer and her crazy sidekicks!

Erotic Fantasies by Suzy Ayers.

There are many books that are a pleasure. There are types of books and I would feel guilty for reading but not find any pleasure in them. My choice for a guilty pleasure is A Voice In The Wind by Francine Rivers. I don't feel guilty for rereading it for the ?th time, it's excellent book! I do however feel guilty about all the things I neglect when I lose myself in this book.