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My Guilty Pleasure
Writers talk about the books they love but are embarrassed to be seen reading.
'The Magus': A Thrilling, Chilling Guilty Pleasure()
April 30, 2012 The Magus is the story of a man who wished for adventure — only to be disappointed when that wish comes true. Author Nick Dybek says he identified with the book when he read it at age 20. Was there ever a time you longed for a more interesting life? Tell us about it in the comments.
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The Magus
The Wrong Crowd: A Tale Of Teens Behaving Badly()
April 17, 2012 Long after the final bell has rung, the echoes of high school hold a fascination for us, even into adulthood. Author Meg Wolitzer recommends a guilty pleasure read that reminds her of the pain of being a teenager. Do you have a favorite book you read as a teen? Let us know in the comments.
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My Darling, My Hamburger
Lives Of The Rich And Shallow: A Socialite's Tale()
March 19, 2012 Bergdorf Blondes is a book about the lives of New York socialites. It might not be the most highbrow of novels, but when author Cristina Alger suffered a bad breakup, she found this fluffy tale comforting. Have you ever gotten over an ex with a great book? Tell us your story in the comments section.
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Bergdorf Blondes
Sci-Fi Invasion: A Weird, Brilliant Vision Of Earth()
February 27, 2012 Get ready: In 2013, an alien race called the Boov are going to invade Earth. Or, at least, that's what happens in Adam Rex's vision of the future. Author Gin Phillips says that The True Meaning of Smekday stuck with her. Do you have a favorite book about aliens? Let us know in the comments below.
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The True Meaning of Smekday
Action, Sex And A '70s Vibe: The World Of 'Amber'()
January 25, 2012 Howard A. Jones isn't just a geek — he's a fantasy geek, and his favorite book is packed with violence, romance and metafictional conceits. It's Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber series.
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The Great Book of Amber
Teenage Struggles In A Painful Post-Sept. 11 World()
December 26, 2011 We're often told that our teenage years are for forging our identities — even if it doesn't feel so great at the time. Author Jennifer Hubbard recommends a book that charts the complexities of growing up.
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Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
An Earth-Shattering Tale With An Otherwordly Air()
September 28, 2011 Is there life beyond high school? Better yet, is there life beyond Earth? Author Stefan Block recommends Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End, a guilty pleasure that has the power to transcend the terrestrial mediocrity of everyday life.
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Childhood's End
'Endless' Amour: A Steamy Story Of Teenage Passion()
August 24, 2011 Being a teenager is hard. You're misunderstood, your hormones are surging, and you just know that the girl down the street is the one. Author Ben Dolnick recommends revisiting this time with Scott Spencer's romance, Endless Love — a novel that brings you back to that amorous teenage angst.
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Endless Love
A Novel So Graphic You Can't Look Away ... For Kids()
July 27, 2011 Can a graphic novel written for children, about children be worthy of the time and critique of an intellectual writer? Though he keeps it a bit of a secret, author Darin Strauss believes the Amulet series is so thrilling, you won't be able to put it down.
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The Stonekeeper
Raising 'Hell' In Dramatic Richard Burton Style()
June 29, 2011 What could be more embarrassing than an obsession with a star? For author Jon Reiner, it's not the glamorous Elizabeth Taylor who occupies his thoughts — it's her sometimes husband, Richard Burton. In Hellraisers, Reiner finds his boundless hunger for the leading man satisfied — almost.
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Hellraisers
Outer Space Awaits: A Sci-Fi Escape To 'The Stars'()
May 10, 2011 Based on The Count of Monte Cristo, Alfred Bester's saga The Stars My Destination will transport you off the couch and into a roiling world of futuristic teleportation. Author John Baxter says the book injects new life and energy into a classic tale.
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The Stars My Destination
'Frank' Did It His Way, And The Story Never Gets Old()
March 14, 2011 Literary theorist Stanley Fish is obsessed with Frank Sinatra — and he's not afraid to admit it. For his Ol' Blue Eyes fix, Fish reads James Kaplan's lengthy biography Frank: The Voice. The story isn't new, but he can't resist imagining himself in the high-flying world of the legendary crooner.
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Frank
Sometimes Astrology Is The Best Therapy Of All()
February 4, 2011 Destiny Times Six: An Astrologer's Casebook is a melodramatic memoir full of soap opera intrigue by astrologist Katherine de Jersey. Writer Karen Abbott says the book helps her understand her own personality — even if she's too embarrassed to tell anyone what she learns.
Sloane Crosley Finds The Fun In 'Filth'()
December 10, 2010 Crosley says the novel by Irvine Welsh — also the author of Trainspotting — aces every category of "dirty" we have. Reading it, she explains, is like watching "a rusty car careen into a garbage dump of filthy phonetics and explode into a strangely beautiful ball of flames."
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Filth
Oliver Sacks On His Burning Love Of 'Fire'()
December 9, 2010 Neurologist Oliver Sacks' earliest and fondest memories are of fire — the coal fires of his childhood home, Hanukkah candles. Today he deals more with the firing of neurons, but he still gets his fix through flame-inspired literature like Hazel Rossotti's Fire, about the culture and science of fire.
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Fire
A Soldier's Steamy Affair: 'Meat Loves Salt'()
November 22, 2010 School teacher Maria McCann did her homework when writing this erotic, historical novel about the English Civil War. Lionel Shriver says she couldn't stop reading about this torrid romance between two 17th century soldiers.
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As Meat Loves Salt
In 'Amityville,' A True Real Estate Horror Story()
October 27, 2010 In 1975, the Lutz family moved into their dream home on Long Island — and barely lasted a year. Jay Anson chronicles their paranormal experiences in a 1977 pulp horror classic. Josh Kilmer-Purcell says Amityville's hyperbole and hackneyed plotlines keep his mind off of his own anxieties.
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The Amityville Horror
Specters And Ghosts In 'Haunted Wisconsin'()
September 21, 2010 For some, travel is a relaxing break, but not for writer Benjamin Percy. For our books series "My Guilty Pleasure," where authors talk about a book they are embarrassed to love, Percy discusses how he spends his vacations — armed with a travel guide, seeking out the spooky, the scary and the supernatural.
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Haunted Wisconsin
This Graphic Novel Will Turn You Into A Teen Again()
September 15, 2010 David Lipsky says that his favorite comic, Runaways, is both a brilliant reading experience — and an embarrassment festival. The tiny digests by Brian K. Vaughan have been a fount of guilt, awkwardness and grave personal doubts, but he still pulls them out on the subway, because they are just that good.
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Runaways 1
Gary Shteyngart's Nerd Passion For 'Zardoz'()
September 6, 2010 Writer Gary Shteyngart may have no idea what Zardoz is about, but that doesn't stop him from knowing the science-fiction novel by heart. For a nerd like him, nothing compares to the post-apocalyptic world full of floating heads and immortal beings.
About My Guilty Pleasure
Writers talk about the books that they love but are embarrassed to be seen reading.
What's your guilty pleasure?
Confess your illicit literary (or not-so-literary) love here!
