A week or so ago I followed a link from somewhere to an article about our attitude to certain books and why we happily dismiss things we enjoy as trashy. I'm rubbish at bookmarking things so can't remember where I saw the article, who it was by, or even all the points it made, but it did make me think.
Guilty pleasure is a term I have a bit of a problem with, I want to think that no pleasure (as long as it's basically legal) should induce feelings of guilt, but in truth there are lots of things I do which I know I probably shouldn't and don't want others to know about. These include, but are not limited to, a liking for take away fried chicken wings (and not even with the excuse of having been drinking), eating giant chocolate buttons with tea so they melt in my mouth (best done in total privacy, and not with the lapsang souchong or Russian caravan tea I drink when people are watching), a love of super hero films (I'm a grown woman for heavens sake), and occasionally binge reading Mills & Boon.
It's taken me 3 days of thinking about it to be willing to admit to any of those things in a reasonably public forum, not because any of them are particularly terrible, but because non of them feel like things I should be doing (fried chicken is not healthy, and they're certainly not organically reared high welfare standard birds - and so on) and obviously that's part of the pleasure. Also, no guilt would probably mean no self control whatsoever and that's not good.
The one that I've really been thinking about though is the book question. The article (if anybody can identify it please tell me - it was probably in The Guardian, but might not have been...) questioned why we were so ready to dismiss as trash books we clearly enjoy, and suggested that we stop doing it. Trash invariably refers to genre fiction of one sort or another, and nothing is considered trashier than romance. I picked up the Mills & Boon habit from my grandmother, she devoured them by the carrier bag full from the market, inevitably I ended up reading piles of them too. And around this time of year, which I find difficult (I really dislike the beginning of autumn, winter I'm fine with) I find I crave those books.
The reason I'm not overly keen to take any sort of pride in this, or reclaim it in any way, has nothing to do with the literary merit (or otherwise) of these books, and everything to do with why I read them. Everything else I read, including all sorts of (now vaguely respectable) pulp type fiction, is about engaging with the world, exploring ideas, understanding past attitudes - all sorts of things, but all of them outward looking. With M&B books it's the opposite, they're about not thinking, about shutting everything out for an hour or two, and generally retreating. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I am sure after writing this that they will, for me, remain a guilty, trashy, and essentially a secretive pleasure, in times of stress - and are all the better for it.
A lot of things called guilty pleasures are certainly not morally wrong, and that includes reading Mills and Boon books. Though a lot of junk food is certainly wrong in a nutritional sense, and I have eaten plenty of that. I have to admit I have never read a Mills and Boon book, though there are plenty of books and movies I have read or seen that could be called trashy. Though what is considered trashy does seem to change over time.
ReplyDeleteThe time thing is so true, all those nice penguin or OUP editions of sensation novels, or the gothic horrors that Jane Austen made fun of...
DeleteIt is all a matter of time and perspective I believe; what might seem trashy twnty years ago might not seem so now. You enjoy yourself, no-one can do it for you!
ReplyDeleteI read Shirley Conran's Lace when it was reissued a few years ago. Undoubtedly trash, but brilliant with it, and so many interesting things going on - I have no guilt about that kind of book at all. Others bother me more though the content isn't really so very different.
DeleteI think there is sometimes snobbery around books and reading choices. Nothing wrong with M&B when you are in the mood. My own guilty pleasure is Jilly Cooper!
ReplyDeleteI love Riders/Polo/Rivals era Cooper, but have found her more recent books fairly awful. I really got angry with Jump - though someone said the latest is a proper return to form... Anyway, when she's good, she's very good. I don't want to knock M&B because I don't agree with the snobbery that implies, but I think I'm uncomfortable with my state of mind when all I want to do is binge on very formulaic romance - it's generally when I don't want to deal with, or think about, anything at all.
DeleteI drink Lapsang Souchong even when no-one sees me. *smug*
ReplyDeleteMy equivalent of your M&B is easy-watching television and sometimes films - I hardly ever watch anything of real quality because when quality of idea is combined with quality of visuals it becomes almost unbearably good; I can't handle the brilliance. At the same time I have low tolerance for pretentious shite pretending to be anything better than the other rubbish on telly. See True Detective for reference. Anyway, my point is that iZombie and GOT is the most challenging thing I ever watch on TV. Shut out the world and don't overthink anything, that's my TV motto!
I know exactly what you mean about quality of visual and quality of ideas becoming to much sometimes, and my TV motto is much the same, but I find it very hard to just watch TV and do nothing else - it's not as immersive as a book. Also it's great to finally 'meet' a fellow Lapsang drinker, I know they're out there but most of my friends prefer coffee and won't touch tea. They don't know what they're missing.
DeleteI'm also a dedicated tea drinker and it has to be leaves in a pre-warmed teapot for the very best tasting drink. Nilgiri is the standard daytime brew of choice, with a whole variety of different teas making an appearance evenings and weekend afternoons.
DeleteI definitely distinguish between good piffle (eg Fanny Flagg - good story, easy to read, possibly a bit sentimental but certainly well-written) and just piffle (eg Jodie Picoult - I've only read one so may be being unfair, but it was unconvincing and boringly written).
ReplyDeleteYou can't escape into something if it fails to convince you on any level.
DeleteI have to laugh because this past winter I got addicted to rather erotic romance novels and can't stop reading them. My past reading has always been 'literary' or biographical, but after a move to another state, and suddenly feeling quite randy at my advanced age, I found these 'guilty' pleasures to be the best escape from loneliness. The happy endings, the fairy tale exposition of the stories and the existence of many extended series set in a a convivial place all make it easy to enjoy. There's some good writing in the genre, some funny as hell books, with great sex scenes that can be a real turn on. That said, I guess I do consider them guilty since I don't add them to my goodreads profile.
ReplyDeleteAfter my chocolate and tea disclosure I'm wondering where the line is between guilty and private pleasures. Everyone always says the best thing about living alone is coming home and being able to lock the door on the world and not be disturbed, but whilst I love having my own space, I really don't like living on my own that much, so I've never really felt that. On the other hand watching rubbish on TV, sometimes reading trashy novels, not always doing the washing up straight away - and nobody commenting on it - those are all good things.
DeleteIts a question of balance; if you only ate fried chicken wings they would be very detrimental to one's health, but as an occasional meal they're OK. I think the same applies to reading: a few Mills and Boon now and then, fine, but to read nothing else would be, to my mind, boring. I'd also feel that I'd be missing out on a lot of other more enjoyable and interesting reading.
ReplyDeletePrecisely, and that's where the guilt comes from, and why I think it's a good thing. I'mnot a fan of over sharing but if you don't want to share at all you need to question what you're doing.
DeleteOn the Guardian Online there is a books blog (TLS) that regularly discusses the relative merits of reading. Each time the comments clearly divide into two camps - those that believe reading should always be of the sort to enhance and improve life & that every other sort of reading is a frivolous waste of time; and those that read whatever they fancy without regard to its' supposed value. Personally, I am in the second camp, as a little of what you fancy always does you good and there is a good chance that it will also include a little of the former camps' choices of 'good literature' too!
ReplyDeleteYes! I agree completely. Whenever someone tries to get me to 'get serious', I just say that reading is a pleasure, no matter what I read.
DeleteI have no problem with frivolity, which enhances and improves life too, and very little patience for the snobbery attached to genre fiction, or the value placed on some literary fiction. Who has the right to really judge someone else's reading preferences?
ReplyDeleteI think it's entirely acceptable to want to escape sometimes (ALL the time might be worrying!). I am depressed at my paucity of guilty pleasures, and in fact your whole post and the comments have inspired me to write a post on the subject - I hope that's OK (I'm linking back here).
ReplyDeleteIt's fine! And great post :)
ReplyDelete