Reasons Why I love a Good Guilty Pleasure Read

by 

What does the term “guilty pleasure read” mean to you? I feel like to each of us, this means something different. To some readers it seems to have a bad connotation, and to others, it feels like the “right” kind of read to boast any mood. In the past, I feel like when I’ve referred to something as a guilty pleasure read, it’s taken the wrong way, or I’ve seen debates on other social media platforms about the term. Either way, it seems a good day to clear up what the term means to me as a reader.

LIST | 20+ of the Movies to Binge-Watch & Celebrate Armed Forces Day

Of course, like anything the below reasons are subjective, but here’s some of my observations and what the term means to me.

Reasons Why I love a Good Guilty Pleasure Read. Talking about how I define the term and a *FEW* of my favorite reads in the category. Text © Rissi JC

Guilty Pleasure Reads As Defines Something to be “Ashamed” Of

In my experience, this is the number one defining term I seem to see. It’s almost as if those who read something like a “bodice ripper” or something they wouldn’t want their mother to know they read is how they define the term. This is perhaps the truest definition of the term, but in my mind, this isn’t how I would use the popular term.

Guilty Pleasure Reads As Defined by Wikipedia…

A guilty pleasure is something, such as a film, a television program or a piece of music, that one enjoys despite understanding that it is not generally held in high regard, or is seen as unusual or weird.

See, me and this definition don’t exactly see eye to eye. Although the line about something not being in “high regard” does apply to some of my favorite reads which I define as guilty pleasure enjoyment.

Guilty Pleasure Reads Mean to Me…

To me, this term – while in some sense the whole unpopular scenario does apply in part, means a story that makes me really happy. These are the kinds of books that I can pick up to read at night and not have to engage my mind to figure out who’s who, or keep track of complicated historical facts.  

Guilty Pleasure Reading: Why I Like It

This is precisely why I like “guilty pleasure” reads; it’s because of their ability to entertain and keep me invested in their respective stories. It’s for this reason that I like them so.

Guilty Pleasure Reading: A Few of My Favorites

best autumn stories

Some of the books (or more like tropes/genres) that I pin with this tag include The Selection (Kiera Cass); Nicholas Sparks books; Kasie West books; marriage of convenience and fake dating tropes; anything that’s a good contemporary romcom with a light heart; and young adult books that are not targeted to my age bracket. But what are you going to do? The reader heart wants to enjoy fun reads.


What about you? How would you define a ‘guilty pleasure read’? How would you define your version of other popular reader terms? Do you agree or disagree with these points? Comment all of your thoughts down in the comment section.

Thank you for visiting!

PINTEREST PIN


Reasons Why I love a Good Guilty Pleasure Read. Talking about how I define the term and a *FEW* of my favorite reads in the category. Text © Rissi JC
Reasons Why I love a Good Guilty Pleasure Read. Talking about how I define the term and a FEW of my favorite reads in the category. #Reader #Reading #BloggersTribe #TopTenTuesday Click To Tweet

Linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl and Top Ten Tuesday May 19:  Reasons Why I Love [insert your favorite book title, genre, author, etc. here] *Reasons Why I Enjoy Guilty Pleasure Reads

About Rissi JC

amateur graphic designer. confirmed bookaholic. bubbl’r enthusiast. critical thinker. miswesterner. social media coordinator. writer.

34 comments

  1. Great topic! I would say my definition agrees with yours. It’s something I enjoying reading, that I don’t have to think too hard about, but it may or may not be held in high regard. I think I’ve labeled Twilight and The Darkfever series as guilty pleasures. :)

    Dedra @ A Book Wanderer recently posted: Bookish News to Smile About
    1. Ooo! Yes. I feel like “Twilight” would 100% be in this camp for me, but I never did read it all those years ago. :) ‘Darkfever’ is one that sounds familiar. Thanks so much the visit, Dedra.

  2. I love my guilty pleasure books!! I define them as Sara Shepard books or books like hers (like The Thousandth Floor, Ally Carter books, Gretchen McNeil books). I guess I call those my guilty pleasure books because they’re the kind of books that are pure fun and don’t go too deep. Plus, they’re kind of young for me. But even though I don’t go around telling everyone that I’m reading those books, I still really love them.

    1. Ah, yes! I read “The Thousandth Floor.” I was disappointed in certain aspects, but can totally see that one being a guilty pleasure read – and I’d love to read some of Ally Carter’s books, too. I agree with your definition. Books that don’t require me to think are always favorites. :) Appreciate your visit, Michelle.

  3. I like how you defined this. For me it’s very similar a lot of times- a guilty pleasure read can be something that just is comforting, like comfort food haha, or something that I don’t have to think too hard about maybe. Depending on my mood. Or at times it might be something that I don’t read a lot of anymore, a certain genre, and when I find a really good one it just feels awesome. :)

    1. YES! Great way to say this; it does (for me) equate to a comforting read. :) I just enjoy these types of reads when I don’t want to be challenged with complications. Appreciate your visit.

  4. You have a decent definition. I would define it as a book I shouldn’t be reading because it promotes evil or something (like the Satanic Bible). Otherwise a book is a book and why would you feel guilty to read it?

    Brooke Lorren recently posted: Reasons Why I Love YA
    1. Despite its title, I don’t feel “guilty” about reading those I define as this, but my definition is definitely a book that makes me feel happy, without asking me to overthink anything. :) Thanks so much for the visit, Brooke.

  5. That’s a great post. I don’t really have guilty pleasure reads per se, or at least I cannot think of one at the moment, but you definitely describe the feeling I have when I watch the occasional Hallmark movie, perfectly. :)

    My TTT post

    1. True that; I don’t feel “guilty” about the books I define as “guilty pleasure,” but I like to use it in the way I define it, which is books that don’t ask me to overthink. :D Thanks for the visit, Jess.

  6. I don’t really like the term guilty pleasure in general, as I feel like if you love something, as long as the thing you love isn’t hurting anyone else then you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. I did a whole discussion post about it a while back, but if you are going to define a guilty pleasure as something, I reckon your definition is pretty good.

    Jo recently posted: Top Ten Tuesday #264
    1. Thanks for sharing, Jo. I don’t feel “guilty” about the books I define as this, but it is a term I use to describe the books that don’t ask me to overthink anything – and I love it! :)

  7. I think there are a lot of issues with the idea of a guilty pleasure. Romance novels for example have been labeled a guilty pleasure, but I think it has less to do with its contents and more to do with people’s perception of the genre. I like the way you define it and I would probably call those more comfort reads than guilty pleasures. It’s just a place that makes you happy with no strings attached and we should all have those places to seek refuge in.

    1. Well said, Alicia. I’d agree, sometimes it’s all in the perception. I would agree also with your definition of “comfort reads,” that fits very well. I don’t feel “guilty” about the books I define as such, it’s just a buzzy term that I suppose I’ve used because of its popularity. :) Thanks for adding your thoughts – they’re so well stated. :)

  8. I totally agree with your definition of guilty pleasure. It definitely has that negative connotation but I don’t see it that way at all. It’s just something that I love to indulge in and something that brings me comfort and joy :)

    1. Nothing wrong with this; I love to read all the “guilty” kind of reads too. Not the biggest fan of books that ask me to overthink. ;)

  9. I personally don’t agree with the usual definition of “guilty pleasure” because there’s nothing to be ashamed of when liking something, but I do agree with your definition. If it makes you happy then there’s nothing really wrong with it :)

    Louise @ Monstrumology recently posted: Why I Love Monsters
    1. I don’t either, but I use it to categorize those books that don’t ask my brain to overthink something. ;) Those are my favorite “wind down” kind of reads. Appreciate your visit, Louise.

  10. Great post! I don’t normally like the term guilty pleasure, as like in the first two definitions you mention, it implies you should feel guilty about something because it’s considered not good enough by others, but I do like your definition! And following your definition, I definitely also love lighthearted rom-coms like Kasie West writes!

    1. YES! All about the lighthearted rom-coms, Lindsey. I love them. Have you read any good ones lately? Glad to meet someone else who has a different definition of “guilty pleasure.” As always, glad to have you visit!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

Optimized by Optimole