# Your Tastes Horrify Me! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547 "2009-01-23T00:17:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/1 "2009-01-23T00:17:56Z")
Yes, you! I shudder to think that any human being could possibly enjoy that and there you are espousing how terrific it is. I question your sanity solely on that basis! [This could have gone for the Pit but I’m intending it to be a bit more friendly than that; if a moderator decides it needs to be cast down into the fires then my feelings won’t be hurt.] Okay, this isn’t really about you specifically. The thing is I have a coworker who is currently collecting the works of Terry Brooks and Piers Anthony because of how “great” they are. Terry “I’ll just outline _The Lord of the Rings_ and copy that” Brooks and Piers “_The Color of Her Panties_” Anthony. On some level I knew that someone out there had to be buying the garbage they continue to spew onto the market but finding someone who thinks of them as fine art worth pursuing just leaves me bewildered. I have tried pointing out some light fantasy novels that are of at least readable quality in the past but my opinion is discounted because I’m “too critical of things” (I never even said a word about Brooks and Anthony to him). Instead he sticks exclusively to those two terrible authors. So tell me, is there someone’s tastes that horrify you? Beyond the American public in general, that is. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/2 "2009-01-23T01:41:34Z")
You mean people I know? I can’t really say. I’ve gotten beyond the point where I let other people’s tastes bother me. So long as they are not forcing them on me, the most I do is just roll my eyes and move on to something else. Life’s too short. That being said, it would probably take something like racist/neo-Nazi literature or pornography of a _deeply_ disturbing nature (e.g., child porn) to horrify me. Fortunately, nobody I know indulges in stuff like this. (At least, I’m not presently aware of anybody.) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/3 "2009-01-23T03:06:13Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > Piers “_The Color of Her Panties_” Anthony This is the first thing I have ever read that has made me interested in reading Piers Anthony. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/4 "2009-01-23T04:22:13Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > This is the first thing I have ever read that has made me interested in reading Piers Anthony. You should know that, quite often, they’re the panties of a teenage girl who shouldn’t really be looked at in quite the way Anthony draws the scene… I’ll admit that I end up reading the next Xanth book pretty much no matter what, just because _Dragon On A Pedestal_ was my first fantasy novel and it launched me into (at this point) 25 years of incredible reading. And to tell the truth, up to about _Dragon On A Pedestal_, Xanth was readable and not terribly embarrassing. But after that, the puns started to completely take over…rather than being a background thing that occasionally came forward into the narrative, puns BECAME the narrative. And rather than the occasional wink and nod about a teenage Irene’s legs, it was like the Monty Python “Say no more!” guy took root in the narrative. Xanth used to be a viable and readable series. I lament the decline. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/5 "2009-01-23T04:33:54Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > And to tell the truth, up to about _Dragon On A Pedestal_, Xanth was readable and not terribly embarrassing. > > Xanth used to be a viable and readable series. I lament the decline. He lost me after Centaur Aisle. I’ll admit to finding them mildly entertaining up to then, with Castle Roogna ( I think? the third one ) probably the best. Most teen sf/fantasy readers seem to go through a Piers Anthony phase - the Cluster books and the Xanth books definitely got re-read when I was young. Heck, I even read a few Terry Brooks :p. Most folks seem to grow out of them, eventually. Anthony’s _terrible_ novel, published just to torment the editors who had ragged on it ( I forget the title ) was the last straw for me. As to the OP I have friends that listen/listened to ( _shudder_ ) boy bands and the likes of Justin Timberlake with minimal irony. But I try to keep my disdain at least partially in check, for politeness sake if nothing else. And many an entertainment opinion on this board make my eyebrows twitch :D. But who am I to criticize ( most of the time )? I like all sorts of lame shit. ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/6 "2009-01-23T04:58:37Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I’ll admit that I end up reading the next Xanth book pretty much no matter what, just because _Dragon On A Pedestal_ was my first fantasy novel and it launched me into (at this point) 25 years of incredible reading. And to tell the truth, up to about _Dragon On A Pedestal_, Xanth was readable and not terribly embarrassing. But after that, the puns started to completely take over…rather than being a background thing that occasionally came forward into the narrative, puns BECAME the narrative. And rather than the occasional wink and nod about a teenage Irene’s legs, it was like the Monty Python “Say no more!” guy took root in the narrative. I can pretty much echo this exact statement. I haven’t existed for 25 years yet, but I do have all the Xanth books through, I think, Roc & a Hard Place. I won’t argue that they are the pinnacle of the genre, but I have read through the series as an adult, and I still find them to be an enjoyable way to pass the time. And while checking out the library’s science fiction shelves to see if there was a new Xanth novel available, I discovered many of the books and authors which have become my absolute favorites, so I will always have a soft spot for Xanth. Actually, this thread is almost making me nostalgic. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/7 "2009-01-23T05:25:43Z")
I’ve never read Piers Anthony’s Xanth books because I have heard so many bad things. I have been very tempted to read “The Color of Her Panties” however, based wholly on the title alone. I read the first of his Space Tyrant series and didn’t like it. I did like the Incarnations of Immortality books. I digress, however. > [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > So tell me, is there someone’s tastes that horrify you? Beyond the American public in general, that is. 😉 My mom’s tastes are the tastes of the general American public. If she likes something it will be a huge hit. Meanwhile, most of the stuff I like has only a cult following. If what I like is a TV show, it will always be on the brink of cancellation. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/8 "2009-01-23T12:03:39Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > That being said, it would probably take something like […] pornography of a _deeply_ disturbing nature (e.g., child porn) to horrify me. So, Piers Anthony, then… ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/9 "2009-01-23T12:30:06Z")
If we are talking fantasy, I read the first book of the “Sword of Truth” series and I couldn’t continue. It’s not the insane, anachronistic Objectivist rants in the middle of the book, I’m totally fine with political views in my Fantasy. It’s not the hundreds of pages devoted to dominatrix porn, I’m all for that, really. It’s the fact that the main character went from a sweet, nice guy to a fanatical intolerant asshole who will kill or try to kill (No, really, not kill “metaphorically” but with his sword) anyone who disagrees with him in the slightest. And presenting this change as a good thing. And I hear that the rest of books are even more demented. What sort of people will read this and not have a moral problem with the idea? Jihaidists? i don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/10 "2009-01-23T12:36:33Z")
> [@Ataraxy](#): > > I’ve never read Piers Anthony’s Xanth books because I have heard so many bad things. I have been very tempted to read “The Color of Her Panties” however, based wholly on the title alone. I read the first of his Space Tyrant series and didn’t like it. I did like the Incarnations of Immortality books. I digress, however. If you know what you’re getting into (bad puns with a hint of pedophilia) go for it, but if that’s all you’ll read expect my snobbish, anonymous haranguing on message boards. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/11 "2009-01-23T12:46:20Z")
I read _Tarnsman of Gor_ and I can’t figure out why anyone would continue to read the series. Odesio ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/12 "2009-01-23T13:12:55Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > If we are talking fantasy, I read the first book of the “Sword of Truth” series and I couldn’t continue. It’s not the insane, anachronistic Objectivist rants in the middle of the book, I’m totally fine with political views in my Fantasy. It’s not the hundreds of pages devoted to dominatrix porn, I’m all for that, really. > > It’s the fact that the main character went from a sweet, nice guy to a fanatical intolerant asshole who will kill or try to kill (No, really, not kill “metaphorically” but with his sword) anyone who disagrees with him in the slightest. And presenting this change as a good thing. And I hear that the rest of books are even more demented. > > What sort of people will read this and not have a moral problem with the idea? Jihaidists? i don’t get it. I had this same problem reading Modesitt’s _Soprano Sorceress_ books…by the middle of the first book, the titular transplant was dominating the minds of pretty much EVERYONE in her new world through her magic, which to me (as a practicing wiccan at the time) was as evil as enslaving them physically. And this was the heroine! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/13 "2009-01-23T13:15:25Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > If you know what you’re getting into (bad puns with a hint of pedophilia) go for it, but if that’s all you’ll read expect my snobbish, anonymous haranguing on message boards. 😉 I wouldn’t characterize it as pedophilia so much as ephebophilia. It’s more an intensification of the dirty old man leering at the high school cheerleader than it is akin to the guy with the van and the candy. If it were actually pedophilia, I doubt even my Xanth nostalgia would be able to survive it. (It should be noted that I managed to pass on the latest robot invasion Xanth last week when I spent my $25 B&N gift card from Christmas.) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/14 "2009-01-23T13:19:38Z")
My grandma likes Harlequin romance novels, especially those with a Christian slant or when the characters have children. She also likes daytime soap operas and anything having to do with Jesus. My mom likes reality TV shows and Nicholas Sparks. I have to admit right now that I’ve never watched Survivor or read a book by Nicholas Sparks, but that’s because when I try, my skin wants to crawl right off my body. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/15 "2009-01-23T15:38:10Z")
The tastes of the tens of millions who keep American Idol on the air horrifies me. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/16 "2009-01-23T15:45:13Z")
I have a neighbor with no books in her house except the Left Behind series, prominently displayed in her living room between a set of bookends bought specifically for the purpose. I know somebody who adores Thomas Kinkade’s paintings. (I read a bunch of Xanth books when I was a kid, and enjoyed them.) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/17 "2009-01-23T16:27:10Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I have a neighbor with no books in her house except the Left Behind series, prominently displayed in her living room between a set of bookends bought specifically for the purpose. My husband’s ex-MIL has a wall of shelves in her house, filled with Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. I’m a bit horrified at all the love for the _Twilight_ series. They’re Amazon’s biggest sellers. An on-line friend who works in the children’s section of a library says that’s all the kids want. They don’t have enough copies so she suggests other titles. The kids say no, they’ll wait. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/18 "2009-01-23T16:43:18Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I’m a bit horrified at all the love for the _Twilight_ series. They’re Amazon’s biggest sellers. An on-line friend who works in the children’s section of a library says that’s all the kids want. They don’t have enough copies so she suggests other titles. The kids say no, they’ll wait. ☹ This is why I have always been somewhat skeptical about the whole “Harry Potter gets kids reading!” meme. Yeah, it does. It gets them reading “Harry Potter”. But does that translate into reading more in general? I don’t watch movies, much. I just don’t feel like devoting that much time to watching one. I watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies, all 25 hours of it (or something like that). Because they were Lord of the Rings. That did NOT translate into watching _other_ movies, though. I still don’t generally watch movies. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/19 "2009-01-23T16:51:15Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > The tastes of the tens of millions who keep American Idol on the air horrifies me. Ouch. Would it help if I told you that we aren’t actually delighting in the musical stylings of most contestants? Most times, I’d say I’m delighting in nothing at all. The best fun of the show is in making shitty remarks about the performances, costumes, judges, song choices, etc. It’s good if you can find a reason to root for someone, too, although speaking for myself I lose interest fast when the contest is over. Okay, defensive hijack over. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547/20 "2009-01-23T16:59:05Z")
Anyone who admits listening to Howard Stern gets an eyebrow from me. This includes my brother, and my saintly Catholic neighbor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-tastes-horrify-me/482547.md?page=2)