Guilty Pleasures

Hello nerd friends. Today I’m here to have a discussion. I’m sure you saw the title, so you know I want to talk about guilty pleasures. First of all let me give you the definition of a guilty pleasure.

Guilty Pleasure n. Something one enjoys despite feeling like it is not held in high regard.

So for books this would be books that we love to read, but at the same time feel kind of guilty that they aren’t the best books out there. People tend to use this phrase when they read something that is below their reading level, not an esteemed read, or just an unpopular book. It’s funny because I know some people that would call Fifty Shades of Grey a guilty pleasure because it’s erotica. And then there are others who would say the book is popular so it’s not really a guilty pleasure.

But my question is, should guilty pleasures even be a thing? Personally I don’t feel guilty for reading any of the books I read. And not because they are all important and world renowned. I’ve read an loved many books that were extremely unpopular. I sometimes read mushy romances that don’t really have an inspiring theme or lesson to teach you. But do I care if anyone knows that I’m reading them? No. No I don’t. Because I’m reading. That’s the important part. I’m picking up books and putting the words into my mind. I am using my imagination to seek adventure in worlds unknown. Who cares what book it is I’m reading? I can honestly say I’ve never been embarrassed that I was reading a certain book. In my mind we shouldn’t have guilty pleasures, just pleasures.

A phrase that I do use to describe books however is “Mind Mush”. My mom I started using this phrase for the books we read during the summer when school was out. Here is our definition.

Mind Mush. Adj. When a book/tvshow/movie/ ect is non-academic, easy to read quickly, and does not contain a central message or theme that one has to think long and hard about.

See my mom is an English teacher and I was obviously once in school. And we’d get to the summer and just not want to do ANY reading that was collegiate anymore. So we’d pick of series like Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse mysteries. We’d breeze through all the books available in a summer. And it was nice to give my brain a break. I just feel like this phrase is more accurate to my life than the phrase guilty pleasure.

Comment down below that your thoughts on this topic are. Let me know if you like the phrase Mind Mush and what books you consider to be Mind Mush. I hope you guys are having a wonderful Wednesday! TTFN.