The BBC asks what about those well-thumbed novels we HAVE read, but are less keen to mention?.
What books are you ashamed of having read?
Answer: none.
I’ve read a whole hell of a lot of totally “unworthy” books. But why hide them.
Books that I’ve read that are ‘unworthy’, but much more enjoyable than most of the worthy ones that we’re meant to have read.
- The original Bond books
- Every word written by Tom Clancy
- Harry Potter
- The Council Wars series
- The Larry Bond books
- The Honor Harrington series
- Almost everything by Harry Turtledove
- Everything by Terry Pratchett
So, which ones do you think you’d prefer? Something from the list above, or Dreams from my fucking Father?
That said, there are books that I’m not happy about having read, or having tried to read. Things from which I got no joy, or from which I derived no sense of achievement at all. I’m looking at you here, Da Vinci Code and Catch-22…
Well said. I completely agree with you about the Da Vinci Code… give me Harry Potter or Discworld any day.
However, you might feel differently re: shame if your list included at least thirty Danielle Steel romances. Not that mine *does*, you understand.
I dunno… What’s wrong with a trashy romance novel? I dare say that a Steel fan would find them no more silly than I find some of the sci-fi on my list.
Why only today I read ‘Epaminondas Tries To Be Brave’ by Constance Egan, the story of a little ‘picaninny’ and his ‘Mammy’. I’m affronted at myself.
Nelly! I’m surprised as you, using such a derogatory term in a public space!
‘Mammy’ is such a terribly maternalist word, after all…
The Flashman novels are very good indeed