# Classic Trashy Novels Month **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028 "2007-11-28T14:58:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/21 "2007-11-28T18:33:55Z")
I was all set to be snotty and dismissive about _Valley of the Dolls_, until I read [this review](http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6820731) on GoodReads. Now, I’m going to have to go reread the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/22 "2007-11-28T18:35:09Z")
The first two vampire books by Anne Rice - “Interview with a Vampire” and “the Vampire Lestat” are actually fun, trashy reads. It’s only in the third book of the series that Rice’s egomania began rearing it’s ugly head, and the stories became increasingly schizophrenic and self-important. Also worth checking out is the “Erotic Adventures of Sleeping Beauty” that Rice wrote under a psuedonym - A.N. Rocquefort. And there’s always “the Happy Hooker” by Xaviera Hollander. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/23 "2007-11-28T19:31:54Z")
Oh man, I knew I could count on you guys to come up with some real trash. 😃 I’m printing out this thread and heading over to the used book store this afternoon–keep 'em coming! So far with quick scans on Amazon, _Mandingo_ is **exactly** the kind of thing I’m looking for, and Kathleen Woodiwiss, Sidney Sheldon, and Harold Robbins all look like excellent candidates. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/24 "2007-11-28T19:45:08Z")
For unbelievable class ridden, English, utter, utter trash there are the Jilly Cooper books - Riders, Rivals, and Polo. OK - my girlfriend loved them. That’s my sole defense. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/25 "2007-11-28T23:53:07Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Also worth checking out is the “Erotic Adventures of Sleeping Beauty” that Rice wrote under a psuedonym - A.N. Rocquefort. [/quote] This is only worth checking out if your idea of “trashy” is S&M porn, and I don’t mean soft bodice-ripper porn, I mean hard-core porn, with much spanky. Not being judgey, but it’s worth noting that’s what Rice’s _Beauty_ books are, because some people might not want to buy them. Or may want to buy them right away. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/26 "2007-11-28T23:55:43Z")
[QUOTE=Veuve\_ClicquotNJ] Wow - another Earl Thompson fan. Glad to know there are two of us 😃 VCNJ~ [/QUOTE] The books you mentioned in your first post are all favorites, so I’m not surprised you’ve read Big Earl T. Another trashy page-turner is Celebrity by Thomas Thompson – it’s not pre-70’s though, more like late 70’s, I think. I took it with me to Lincoln Park one summer day and put the kids in the pool. Didn’t let them get out until I’d finished the book. Could not put it down. The kids were quite wrinkly. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/27 "2007-11-29T01:40:45Z")
Damn, somebody beat me to God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell. I haven’t read it since high school and I still remember the male character who was so irresistible that his wife’s teenaged sister had sex with him and his wife, her sister, forgave her because he was just so _manly_ that no woman had the power to resist him. I think Erskine Caldwell was in love with the character, too. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/28 "2007-11-29T02:07:28Z")
Hey, how about _Candy_, by Terry Southern? IIRC, it’s got a dumb blonde, loads of goofy sex scenes _and_ a handy 70s-style guru. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/29 "2007-11-29T02:09:56Z")
If your still in the mood after Woodiweis, try Shirlee Busbee’s Gypsy Lady (not any of the other countless Gypsy Girl, Gypsy Woman, Gypsy Pirate. . .). Trashy smut? My Secret Garden compiled by Nancy Friday. Not a novel and definetly erotica. How about The Kent Family Chronicles starting with The Bastard by John Jakes? Man, this is making me miss trading books with my girlfriends in high school. Not that I was in high school in the '70s. Well, not all of high school. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/30 "2007-11-29T02:43:26Z")
Why 70’s and earlier only? I’m currently reading a fantastically trashy fantasy author (M.J. Putney), who has hot love scenes every other page, and is a very engaging writer (she’s going to become a classic trashy novel writer, I believe). Her stuff is current, though. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/31 "2007-11-29T02:55:16Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Why 70’s and earlier only? I’m currently reading a fantastically trashy fantasy author (M.J. Putney), who has hot love scenes every other page, and is a very engaging writer (she’s going to become a classic trashy novel writer, I believe). Her stuff is current, though. [/QUOTE] I can’t really explain. I think mostly it’s a stylistic thing, but partly novelty factor, and partly because all through the next month I’m working in a public place, and it’s fun to see the reaction when someone sees you reading a trashy book they recognize but haven’t seen someone reading in a decade or two. That’s why it’s “_Classic_\* Trashy Novels Month” and not just “Trashy Novels Month” 😉 \*Is “vintage” a more apt qualifier? I dunno. I don’t want just old, but old and famous. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/32 "2007-11-29T03:57:15Z")
For horror, John Saul. Marilyn French also wrote “The Women’s Room” - classic trashy FEMINIST novel. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/33 "2007-11-29T04:18:30Z")
I didn’t even think about horror. _Flowers in the Attic_ then. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/34 "2007-11-29T04:21:50Z")
Robinson isn’t exactly good. But pretty dang trashy, in a hardback without scantily clad people on the front, kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/35 "2007-11-29T05:58:28Z")
I read a good smutty book years ago, I think it was called _The Tutor_, about a Regency-era country home, IIRC, and all of the hanky-panky among the lord and lady of the manor, their young daughter and the servants. Anybody else remember it? Haven’t been able to find it online anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/36 "2007-11-29T23:28:43Z")
Just thought of another fun read described as a “minor classic”. IQ 83 by Arthur Herzog. The United States is struck by a virus that makes everybody dumb. I’m also posting here because I wanna see more trashy classics. Please? ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/37 "2007-11-30T02:04:48Z")
[QUOTE=Gala Matrix Fire] Damn, somebody beat me to God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell. I haven’t read it since high school and I still remember the male character who was so irresistible that his wife’s teenaged sister had sex with him and his wife, her sister, forgave her because he was just so _manly_ that no woman had the power to resist him. I think Erskine Caldwell was in love with the character, too. [/QUOTE] God, I love that book. How can you not like a book where they capture an albino down by the swamp and keep him in a pit, hoping he’ll bring good luck? And doesn’t Ty Ty at one point claim that a truly sexy woman makes you get down on your knees, bark like a dog and want to lick something? Beautiful stuff. _Pop. 1280_ by Jim Thompson is another good one. Every kind of comical lechery, gluttony, sloth and violence imaginable. As Jodi points out, _Wifey_ is a great trashy read, although make sure you get _Wifey_, because most of Judy Blume’s stuff is for children. If you really want shock 'em, get _La vie sexuelle de Catherine M_, an explicit biographical piece by noted Parisian art critic Catherine Millet. Recently translated, I believe. Not trashy, really, but a fairly shocking read. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/38 "2007-11-30T02:27:06Z")
[QUOTE=Biggirl] Just thought of another fun read described as a “minor classic”. IQ 83 by Arthur Herzog. The United States is struck by a virus that makes everybody dumb.\ [/QUOTE] Is that fiction? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/39 "2007-11-30T04:52:09Z")
[QUOTE=Lunar Saltlick] God, I love that book. How can you not like a book where they capture an albino down by the swamp and keep him in a pit, hoping he’ll bring good luck? And doesn’t Ty Ty at one point claim that a truly sexy woman makes you get down on your knees, bark like a dog and want to lick something? Beautiful stuff. [/QUOTE] …Sounds like another trip to Smith Family Books is in order 😃 I went today and for $15 picked up eight pieces of absolutely value-less reading–_awesome_. Well, actually one’s _Lonesome Dove_, I’m not sure where that fits in, but I’ve never read it and it was two bucks. Also _The Executioner’s Song_, by Norman Mailer, because, well, what the hell. I also didn’t find _Mandingo_, which I really wanted, but I did pick up another book by the same author, which had this on the back cover to recommend it: > [@The Tattooed Road](#): > > SHOCKING! > LUSTY! > ROMANTIC! And claims to be: "MORE TERRIBLE, MORE WONDERFUL, THAN THE UNFORGETTABLE **MANDINGO** I picked up _Memories of Another Day_ by Harold Robbins, _The Sands of Time_, Sidney Sheldon. I also discovered that there are two new books in the _Earth’s Children_ series, joy! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028/40 "2007-11-30T13:32:43Z")
Nobody’s mentioned the classic: Erica Jong’s “Fear of Flying.” The novel that gave us the term “Zipless Fuck.” That says it all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-trashy-novels-month/428028.md?page=3)