Guilty Pleasures 1.2 - My Top 10 GP Books

The idea of guilty pleasures has been running rampant in my mind since I initially posted on the subject last week.  Composing the entry on TV shows was fun, so I decided to have another go at it this week with books.

Initially, I thought writing this post would be a piece of cake given that I read much more than I watch TV these days.  It wasn't.  You see, I'm a firm believer that no adult should ever feel guilty about reading, regardless of the content, because adult readers in America are in decline.  As I perused my list of books that I've read, considering each one for my Top 10 list, my inner voice screamed, "Why should you feel guilty for reading that?  You are, after all, an adult!"  

So, in order to make it easier, I went with the same basic definition of guilty pleasures that I used my previous post - something I enjoyed, in this case enjoyed reading, but am not/wasn't very keen on people knowing.  Here we go...

10. Contours of the Heart series (Easy, Breakable, and Sweet) by Tammara Webber

This series has three books in it, but I have only read the first two so far.  The first two in this new adult series (Easy and Breakable) are point of view books.  Easy is told from the female character's point of view and Breakable is told from the male's  (The third book, Sweet, focuses on the best friend of the male character from the first two books, but as I said I haven't read it yet.)  The events of Easy and Breakable, for the most part, take place on a college campus and the characters are in their early twenties.  Despite my being closer to 50 than to the age of 21, both were fun reads and reading them brought back a lot of memories from my own college days.  As I read them, I felt 21 again!

9. Striptease by Carl Hiaasen

Yes, this is the book the horrible 90s movie by the same name starring Demi Moore was based on.  Where the movie, in my opinion, is stupid, the book is hilarious - especially if you appreciate noir humor as I do.  Unfortunately, I don't think the book's quality will ever get out of the negative shadow of the movie and that is a shame because the book is a terribly fun read.




8. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich (There are 20+ books in this series and each book's title incorporates a number One for the Money, Ten Big Ones, Finger Lickin' Fifteen)

Once upon a time, I LOVED these books.   I laughed out loud and so enjoyed the peculiar predicaments that Stephanie the bounty hunter not-so-extraordinaire got herself into.  When I would share my enjoyment of reading these books with people, many criticized the books for their lack of intellect.  Yes, they are extremely easy reads that don't require much thought.  The laugh out loud moments and the Morelli/Ranger love triangle makes them so fun to indulge in!    

7. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook, in my opinion, is the epitome of sappy, tugging on your heart strings fiction.  I laughed, I cried, and thanked the good Lord above that I was at the beach where no one outside of my family knew me.  I was also thankful for the sunglasses and ball cap, so no one could see what a tragically sad, blubbering mess that book made of me.  Despite the tears, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.





6. The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

This book was uber popular when I was in college. Women old and young alike raved about it and the popularity soared even higher when the movie staring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood was released.  I was a long time hold out, finally giving in one day while I was at my parent's house over the summer and was in need of something to read.  I cried at the end and (again) thanked the good Lord above that I read this book in the privacy of my parent's house so no one would see how much of a weeping mess I was.


5. Beautiful Disaster/Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

This is another set of NA POV books.  Beautiful Disaster is written from female character's point of view; Walking Disaster is written from the male's.  As with Easy and Breakable (#10), I enjoyed being transported back to my college days as I read these books.  A mental fountain of youth in a book - what's not to love?

4. The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

Oh, lord...  Where do I start?  Twinkly-skinned vampires that never age and tall, dark, and handsome Quileutes running around half naked -what's not to love?  Of the four books in the series, I enjoyed the first one, Twilight, the most.  I loved the sheer simplicity of the first love theme.  Twilight brought out my inner teenager for a few fun days.  

3. The Fifty Shades of Grey series by E. L. James

I didn't ready FSoG until late last summer.  By that time, I figured I was probably the last woman in the free world under the age of 50 who hadn't read it, so I caved.  The prospect of reading FSoG was one of the factors that played a big part in my decision to purchase a Kindle Paperwhite so I could read it privately.

2. Alpha by Jasinda Wilder

Alpha is the epitome of steamy smut.  What more is there to say?  I read Alpha before FSoG and, to be honest, I think it made FSoG look rather tame.  I also read it secretly on my Kindle.  Seriously, how did we women read all this steaminess before the advent of the Kindle?








1. The Reapers MC series by Joanna Wylde

I'm a pretty straight-laced gal.  I'm not supposed to get into steamy smut involving badass, leather clad bikers.  But, guess what?  I sure did.  Reading these books gave me a chance to live vicariously in a world that I am not a part of in real life.   Granted, I don't know how realistic the MC life that is depicted in these books is, but, honestly, I don't care. They were fun and seriously addictive.

Alright, time to 'fess up!  What's a book (or two or three) that you would consider to be a guilty pleasure?  Don't be shy! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Previous posts in this series:
Guilty Pleasures 1.1 - TV Shows