Similar to the “Oh my god I can’t believe I got into…” thread - what things do you watch/read/listen to that you actually feel quite embarrased about? What things are you into that you know you really shouldn’t be given your intellectual capacity?
A few of mine: I really like Rhianna, even the umbrella song, although I swear I didn’t buy it! I like Terry Pratchett which, it must be said, is really not all that intelligent reading. I’m also into Tom Holt who’s a similar writer. I like some children’s lit even though I have no kids to share them with - I love the books by Jonathan Stroud, Eoin Colfer, Garth Nix, the HP books etc.
I’m sure there’s more that will occur to me later. What about yous all?
OK, its not Proust or Joyce or anything like that, but there are a lot of references in there (and in Holt’s work too) that are very subtle and require rereading to get.
Okay, I’ll admit it - I like to watch “Hannah Montana” on Disney Channel. I’m 44 with no kids. I’m not into the “pop star preteen cult phenomenon” thing; I just like the show. It’s fluff, but it’s funny. I haven’t watched a network sitcom in years, because they’re not funny to me. I guess I’m just behind the times, but I don’t laugh at bad language, casual sex, toilet humor or thoroughly obnoxious kids treating their parents with no respect.
I wondered if I’d get that response out of someone here given the strong pTerry following. Don’t get me wrong, I like his work and have been reading him since I was 10, but he’s not someone I would take any pride in having read particularly.
Romance novels by Jayne Ann Krentz, including the regencies she writes as Amanda Quick (a name chosen, apparently, to grab the otherwise-empty “Q” section on bookstore shelves).
Robert Asprin’s novels, namely the Phule’s Company and M.Y.T.H., Inc. serieses. They’re over-the-top with puns and lowbrow references and overblown plots. Love 'em all.
More webcomics than is good for me. I won’t list them all, just know that lousy art and cheesy plots do not turn me off as long as I can find something redeeming about the mess.
Daria fanfiction. I don’t know why: I’m a guy and I paid no attention to the TV series when it was on. I just stumbled on an archive and read one and read a few more and read a bunch more. Some are really good, some are essence of wangst and some are just stupid.
I probably read almost as many YA books as adult books. I don’t see why I should have to miss out on all this good stuff just because I’m old! It is embarrassing sometimes when there’s some goofy illustration on the cover. I’ve also noticed that lots more people ask me what I’m reading when the answer is something like “The Railway Children” or “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. I just finished up “The Devil in the White City”, but did anyone ask about it? Nooooooooo!
I think it’d be easier to list the stuff I’m not embarrassed by, my taste tends to be shallow and cheesy and I’ve given up fighting it.
I enjoy Dean Koontz when I’m flying, easy to read mind candy. And I like cheesy TV too: Supernatural, Torchwood, etc. Movies are either sci-fi action or comedies, I’m rarely in the mood for a drama, no matter how well reviewed.
I read romance novels. They’re easy to follow and can be finished in an afternoon, what’s not to love? I’m also a big America’s Next Top Model fan. Oh, and…
I listen to Hanson. Yes, the “Mmmbop” Hanson. I’m going to see them next month with my best friend, who got me into them. NO APOLOGIES!
Books: I read a lot of Raymond Feist stuff when I was a kid and still pick up his new stuff when it comes out on paperback (trying to hide what I’ve got as I shuffle up to the cashier, avoiding eye contact…)
Check out the acoustic version by Biffy Clyro - Top Notch!
Music: I often listen to the '70s channel on XM. I grew up with all that cheesy stuff, and still enjoy it today.
TV: Red Eye on Fox News and Big Brother.
Movies: Cheapo '50s sci-fi/monster movies, any action movie with Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger, Reflections in a Golden Eye with Marlon Brando, any spoof movie before the current deluge of “Date/Epic/Spartans etc.” crap.
