do you ever feel selfconscious about the books you are reading?

[ficklefaye]

i wonder sometimes because my taste in books ranges and i usually end up with chick books just to unwind, but sometimes i''m embarassed to show others, is this strange?

 

[radiantquest]

I have a broad range. Right now I am reading Elegant Universe which is about super strings, black holes stuff like that. All about gravity and the universe. Oddly enough I am also reading A case for faith. This is a former athiets interviews with people to answer the though questions about Christianity.

I also like to read book that are funny, off color and overall strange. I have never been ashamed or embarassed to tell someone what I am reading. If they don''t like my taste in books then they shouldn''t read it. Simple as that. My favorite author is Augusten Burrows. I have all his books. He is a homosexual that was odd as a child. His different books talk about different times in his life and they are always entertaining.

 

[junebug17]

Yes!!! I like true crime books, (love Ann Rule) and my family thinks it''s morbid and creepy...but I find the crime-solving process fascinating...I''m trying to expand my horizons and read some classics here and there. I really should read books with more substance.

 

[ficklefaye]

hehe, i know i shouldn''t be embarassed about my book choices because to each her own, but the book i''m reading now ''almost single'' is awfully pink

 

[packrat]

Date: 7/29/2009 11:06:33 PM
Author: junebug17
Yes!!! I like true crime books, (love Ann Rule) and my family thinks it''s morbid and creepy...but I find the crime-solving process fascinating...I''m trying to expand my horizons and read some classics here and there. I really should read books with more substance.

I like true crime books too! It drives my husband bonkers, but I can''t help it. They''re fascinating! And, Ann Rule is so good at what she does!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''m a technical editor, so most of what I read during the day is really brain-heavy. When I want to unwind or check out for awhile I go for mass market paperbacks. I love romance novels, chick lit, vampires, and archaeo/biblical/historical fiction. Sometimes I get a little self concious about reading bodice-rippers on the train.

 

[somethingshiny]

Absolutely!

I read a lot about different religions, including Wicca and other "off" religions. People always look at me like I''m going to snatch their kids!

I also read a lot of true crime, I also love the process, and people think it''s creepy.

Then, I read a lot of "kids" books like Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, etc and people look at you like you''re not quite right.

I figure they''re reading something "worse" so I don''t let it bother me.

OHHH, I read some of everything like I said, but once I was reading a book called "overcoming anorexia nervosa" (I''m a curvy girl just for reference) A woman walked by and saw what I was reading and just laughed! I guess I can''t blame her...

 

[Haven]

Only when I''m reading Ayn Rand around other English teachers.

 

[monarch64]

Absolutely not. I read a variety of books, and I read things that I''m interested in. I don''t care what anyone else thinks of my list, I choose to fill my brain with what I want. I remember my 5th grade teacher signing my yearbook with this gem: "May your life be as great as a Sweet Valley High novel." Sarcastic, much? Backstory on that one: 5th graders at my school participated in a reading contest every year, the student who read the most pages won. I won that year, but some of the books on my list were the Sweet Valley High series and The Babysitters Club. I didn''t really "get" that he was being sarcastic until my mother read his comment in my yearbook and got really ticked. She made a bigger deal out of it than it actually was...I guess I could''ve taken it as a dig and become self-conscious about my choices in reading material, but I was too young to think that someone would even care whether a 5th grader read books of substance!

If you love to read for pleasure, then read what interests you and serves your purpose, whether it is unwinding or to educate yourself. Who cares what anyone else thinks?

 

[Magpie09]

Date: 7/30/2009 4:51:29 PM
Author: monarch64
Absolutely not. I read a variety of books, and I read things that I''m interested in. I don''t care what anyone else thinks of my list, I choose to fill my brain with what I want. I remember my 5th grade teacher signing my yearbook with this gem: ''May your life be as great as a Sweet Valley High novel.'' Sarcastic, much? Backstory on that one: 5th graders at my school participated in a reading contest every year, the student who read the most pages won. I won that year, but some of the books on my list were the Sweet Valley High series and The Babysitters Club. I didn''t really ''get'' that he was being sarcastic until my mother read his comment in my yearbook and got really ticked. She made a bigger deal out of it than it actually was...I guess I could''ve taken it as a dig and become self-conscious about my choices in reading material, but I was too young to think that someone would even care whether a 5th grader read books of substance!

If you love to read for pleasure, then read what interests you and serves your purpose, whether it is unwinding or to educate yourself. Who cares what anyone else thinks?

I used to read the Sweet Valley and Babysitter''s Club Series in High School too and loved them. I would feel selfconscious if i pulled out one of those on the train now and people would look at you strangely.

 

[Magpie09]

Yes i do feel a little self-conscious when i pull out Harry Potter or Twilight as they are targeted for children (well Harry Potter mainly) even though these are very popular books. Sometimes i just feeel like i should be reading something of more substance when looking around at what everyone else is reading but it doesn''t phase me too much..just a random thought that in the end doesn''t matter as i don''t really care what people think of me and i will continue to read books that i enjoy.

 

[April20]

I brought a book into a restaurant last month when I was eating alone. An older gentleman at the bar asked me what I was reading when I walked past him. I told him "trash". It wasn''t complete trash, but it was reading junk food (which I completely enjoyed). He got so tickled by what I said and was afraid he''s embarassed me and bought me a drink to compensate! Gotta love that!

 

[kittybean]

My DH makes fun of me for reading trashy books--I often read some that have very pink covers! I used to always read books of substance, but once I started law school and had to read one appellate opinion after another, I could no longer handle reading a complex book in my spare time. Now I''m trying to incorporate the real literature into my reading list again, but I still like to kick back with a trashy novel sometimes, and it is a little embarrassing to be reading Confessions of a Shopaholic when DH is reading his umpteenth huge biography of some important historical figure.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 7/31/2009 10:52:10 PM
Author: kittybean
My DH makes fun of me for reading trashy books--I often read some that have very pink covers! I used to always read books of substance, but once I started law school and had to read one appellate opinion after another, I could no longer handle reading a complex book in my spare time. Now I''m trying to incorporate the real literature into my reading list again, but I still like to kick back with a trashy novel sometimes, and it is a little embarrassing to be reading Confessions of a Shopaholic when DH is reading his umpteenth huge biography of some important historical figure.

I''d rather be seen reading Sophie Kinsella than a bodice ripper any day!!! I feel like people see the cover and immediately think "That woman needs to get laid, STAT." Actually, I probably shouldn''t be as self conscious about it now that I''m married....

 

[Lady_Disdain]

All the time. My reading material ranges from heavy literature, light novels, sci-fi, fantasy, non fiction and even encyclopedias. I feel selfconscious when reading children''s book, light fluff, some fantasy and sci-fi and some classical literature (people stare when you tote around a book with all three volumes of Les Miserables!)

 

[Elmorton]

Oh, I''m horribly embarrassed most of the time! I majored in English and teach composition, so people expect me to read really in-depth, meaty stuff...but I don''t. And, I feel like everyone is always asking me I''ve been reading, but the truth is that I read to unwind and for pleasure, which means I like to take my time and read things that you don''t really need to be a brainiac to enjoy. I mostly read memoirs (of "everyday people" varieties), but some chick lit for kicks, and the occasional humor writers - I just like a good story.

I feel more embarrassed when my students reference literature that I haven''t read. My lit classes in college tended to shy away from the old canon and were more "new canon" (so a lot more lesser-known writers and fewer dead white men), which was definitely cool when I was a student, but frustrating now. I know I could pick up some of those dusty dead white men books if I really wanted to, but without a discussion group and reflection writing, I gotta be honest - there''s not a whole lot of motivation for me. Last summer I was assigned to teach a section of "Introduction to Literature" which was a blast - most of what I assigned to my students I was reading for the first time. They must have thought I was nuts, because I was probably just a tad enthusiastic since it was all new and glorious to me.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 7/30/2009 4:17:20 PM
Author: Haven
Only when I''m reading Ayn Rand around other English teachers.

I LOVE Ayn Rand! So rare to find another Rand lover these days!

So, who is John Galt anyways?

 

[kama_s]

Date: 7/30/2009 1:23:31 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
I''m a technical editor, so most of what I read during the day is really brain-heavy. When I want to unwind or check out for awhile I go for mass market paperbacks. I love romance novels, chick lit, vampires, and archaeo/biblical/historical fiction. Sometimes I get a little self concious about reading bodice-rippers on the train.

Same here. I usually read hard-core pharmacology/toxicology articles non-stop, so when I need to unwind I can''t read anything that needs too much attention. Ficklefaye, I''m totally embarrased carrying a ''Something Blue'' book in my hand!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

I normally don''t care -I tend to read a mix of historical fiction, contemporary, chick lit and sci-fi/fantasy. But when I was in Tokyo I noticed that pretty much everyone uses book covers - in fact, the bookstores I went into gave you paper ones - one for each book. I ended up buying a pretty cloth one, and I actually really liked it, because on the train, my English book wasn''t a dead giveaway that I was foreign

Now I have the Kindle, so it doesn''t matter

 

[princesss]

Nope! Never. I delight in almost all forms of the written word, and honestly, I need a good bodice ripper or FBI murder mystery in my life sometimes. I think it''s funny when people (e.g. my ex-roommate) get super judgemental about only reading "literature." I love well-written books, but there''s something about brain candy that''s just delicious. I mean, you can survive on chicken and beans, but sometimes you need a little cotton candy, right?

 

[dragonfly411]

To give a little perspective from a literature and non fic snob... to us... those ARE the cotton candy

ETA: I walked out of an English class once b/c the teacher made a speech about "Formula Fiction" *i.e. bodice rippers and mysteries* that NORMAL people read Nora Roberts and John Grisham, and take those kinds of books to the beach, and if you were sitting at the beach reading War and Peace or Les Miserables (I had taken Les Mis to the beach the previous summer) then there was something wrong with your brain. That's the only time I've felt bad about what I read. I was sitting at my desk with religious philosophy

 

[VRBeauty]

Yes! I admit my enjoyment of lillian Jackson Braun''s books, or Margaret Truman''s, to only a select few (

). Not long ago I was on my way to return a book to the library when ran into the Chairman of the Board... my boss''s boss''s boss... and she asked me what I was reading. It was a book by Sophie Kinsella

.

What can I say... I''m in a lightweight phase!

BTW I give my mother a hard time about reading Ann Rule books, but only because it feeds her addiction to worrying.

 

[zipzapgirl]

I''m generally not ashamed of anything I''m reading, but Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was enough for me to be more discreet about who could see the book. A guy walking down the street made a comment on it!

 

[Mara]

....only when it''s fabio posing on the cover in some bodice-ripping tale.

 

[Bia]

FI makes fun of my chick lit, but I don't care - chick lit is fun and easy to read when your brain is tired!

I make fun of his nerdy chess books, so we're even.

 

[junebug17]

My son (17 years old) gives me a hard time about reading "crappy airport novels" aka bestsellers!!!

I don''t care, I love ''em! (well, some of them anyway!)

 

[Liane]

I used to a lot, but I''m slowly getting over it.

I still won''t buy romance novels in person though, because I am a big ol'' chickenbutt and despite knowing full well that neither the cashier nor anybody in the bookstore is going to notice, much less judge, what I buy... I''m a big ol'' chickenbutt, and I cannot take anything with a clinch cover to the register.

 

[Scarabnight]

Date: 9/17/2009 11:28:15 AM
Author: Liane
I used to a lot, but I''m slowly getting over it.


I still won''t buy romance novels in person though, because I am a big ol'' chickenbutt and despite knowing full well that neither the cashier nor anybody in the bookstore is going to notice, much less judge, what I buy... I''m a big ol'' chickenbutt, and I cannot take anything with a clinch cover to the register.

Hi Liane-

I work in a book store and trust me, bodice rippers are barely a blip on our radar. Almost all of the girls at my store read them. We even get guys buying them because they send them to our soldiers overseas.

Don''t worry, but what you like and you never know, we might even suggest something amazing

 

[ladypirate]

Sometimes I am a bit discreet if I''m reading something political or religious because I don''t want to get into discussing politics or religion with people.

 

[MonkeyPie]

I collect the Anita Blake series from Laurell K. Hamilton, and I was never self conscience of them until they basically became ****. (Around the 5th or 6th book into the series, when I was already hooked.) Now I tend to buy them in the middle of the night at Wal-Mart lol.