My Guilty Reading Pleasures

Books and reading are a major guilty pleasure. If I pick up a book, I put everything off and get nothing done. If I enter a bookstore, I’m in there for at least 2 hours. Seriously, I have to reward myself with reading time in order to get anything done. Again, these are in no particular order.

1) Celebrity Magazines: I do not subscribe to these but I cannot pass them up in doctor’s offices or when one of my co-workers brings them in. I can’t resist reading about who’s boinking who, fashion do’s and don’ts, who bought what where, who broke up with who, who’s bitter and loud about it, denials, secrets exposed, lives all askew but attractively papered over with lots of money, and looking at pictures of people with lots of money but either they can’t or their stylists can’t dress them to save their lives. It’s total fluff reading, but very addicting.

2) SkyMall Magazine: I only get to read this when I fly to see my G-pa in Ohio. I grab my window seat and as soon as the stomach-turning ascent is through, I immediately start thumbing through all the goodies they offer. If I like the product enough, I even, confession time, rip that page out to save for when I come down from the higher altitude. I haven’t actually ordered anything yet, but it’s nice to browse and dream.

3) Blogs: My mother got me hooked on this one. Thank you Wednesday’s Child! Now when I eat my breakfast, I run through all the blogs listed on the side of my blog and get a daily fix. Sometimes I have to check multiple times during the day because the bloggers of choice haven’t posted yet. I love the times when I just laugh right out loud because of someone’s wording or a choice phrase.

4) Speculative Nonfiction: Now there’s an oxymoron. I love to read about the Bermuda Triangle, unsolved occult mysteries, ESP, “Phone Calls From the Dead” (this is actually the title of the book!), whether or not we descended from some old outer space civilization, UFOs, the Abominable Snowman, Loch Ness Monster, witchcraft, mysteries from our past civilizations (think of the “In Search of…” TV show, I loved that show), paranormal talents, Stranger than Science (this involves the stuff like rain of amphibious creatures, getting radio signals thru a filling, being in two places at once, the Lincoln/Kennedy similarities, boy lives with live ammo in head, and etc). You get the picture. Book crack for Sam!

5) Books from my Childhood: This never fails, when I get this huge hankering to go back in time, I gotta pick up one of these books. In fact, the used books from my childhood that I’ve been collecting even smell the same! Yes I can read these books in one short sitting, but it’s not just the book, it’s everything associated with it. The times, the houses I lived in, the libraries I visited, the schools, the people, the seasons, the games, the feelings and happenings that occurred at the time when I first discovered them. My clearest memories (and I have a major fuzzy sieve-like memory) are connected to books. Favorites include the LM Montgomery Anne series, all the Moomintroll books, Zilpha Keating Snyder books, Phyllis Naylor’s Witch series, Little House on the Prairie books, and the Andrew Lang Fairy Books (all colors).

6) True Crime: I am picky about which ones of these I read (I don’t like the books that have super large print to make the book all big and fat like it has lots of info and it doesn’t), but I love to read this stuff. Not because I’m some sick creep, but because I am fascinated by how seemingly normal people can go or be so wrong. I majored in ElemEd, minored in Psychology, and work with children, so I’ve always been interested in what makes people the way they are, especially how early experiences can tweak a person for life. And, of course, to thank my lucky stars I’m not them!

7) Re-reading Old Favorites: There are just certain books that I keep circling back to. I’ve read my paperback copies to pieces, destroy the hardback versions, and still cull the used book sales for more copies. Yes I know the plot, yes I’ve memorized lines and even paragraphs, and yes I know this makes me a bit strange, but damn it, there is just something about curling up with a book that is so familiar it’s comforting and visiting the characters who seem like old friends who haven’t changed despite the new tech advances and general overall crappiness of life. The plot sweeps you away from your life and because there are no surprises, you can savor the wording, the characters’ development, the clothes you want to make/wear/see/feel, the foods you can practically taste, and you can find things you’ve overlooked the last couple reads. Favorites include: “Three Women’s at Water’s Edge” by Nancy Thayer “Banners of Silk” by Rosiland Laker, “Anya” by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, “Crystal Singer” by Anne McCaffery, “The Shining” by Stephen King, “Napoleon and Josephine” by Frances Mossiker, “Fried Green Tomatoes” by Fannie Flagg, “Veronica” by Nicholas Christopher, and “Gloriana” by Michael Moorcock.

8) Ghostly Reading: I love reading about local and state haunted locations and the back history on how they became haunted. Total Book Popcorn!