Against ‘Guilty Pleasures’
Most of these posts are about music, and shockingly some of my favorite musicians are named in the guilty pleasure category. That's really neither here nor there, I've known for quite some time my secret love of Ace of Base means that I have terrible taste in music. I'm okay with that, and I've come to terms with it. However, I wanted to address this topic when it comes to books.
A few weeks ago, I asked my Twitter followers about their guilty pleasures. The answers ranged from Harry Potter fan fiction, Archie Comics, and bodice ripping romance novels. I once had a professor admit that she drove 20 miles out of her way to a bookstore in another city to buy romance novels. She said she did this because the local bookshop was where she ordered all of her PhD material, and she didn't want to face the sly smiles from the staff. In my estimation, that's a bit much, but I can understand the concern and the judgment faced from peers. Having a respected opinion about certain aspects of literature, politics, or science means that an image has been created. Finding out that a person who's life work has been studying feminist literary icons, and also likes Fabio style romance novels lends itself to some small chuckles. Although, the Kindle makes that easier now.
I have recently discovered that my guilty pleasures aren't all that bad. My love for Young Adult literature is well known. My readers understand my love of comic books, dystopian fiction, science fiction and fantasy. For a long time I thought I was alone. Turns out, I am very much not. My concern is when we label something a guilty pleasure we may be shoving some out of literary conversation. Now, I may not care for a pink covered romance novel, but to discount that desire to read? That is a bad idea. That energy and passion can be easily transferred to a child. A new reader can be born. Lets take the guilty out of it and just spread the pleasure of reading.
I have recently discovered that my guilty pleasures aren't all that bad. My love for Young Adult literature is well known. My readers understand my love of comic books, dystopian fiction, science fiction and fantasy. For a long time I thought I was alone. Turns out, I am very much not. My concern is when we label something a guilty pleasure we may be shoving some out of literary conversation. Now, I may not care for a pink covered romance novel, but to discount that desire to read? That is a bad idea. That energy and passion can be easily transferred to a child. A new reader can be born. Lets take the guilty out of it and just spread the pleasure of reading.
(I couldn't resist)
No comments:
Post a Comment