I recently had an e-mail conversation with an author whose opinions I value highly about the way I write about books I don’t enjoy, and how some particularly terrible novels were a running joke on the website. And the latter was something she didn’t get, had never gotten. I’ll admit up front that I’m an asshole, and I tend to drive a point into the ground, so I could see why she wouldn’t think me joking about A Certain Author’s Novels representing the Asymptote of Bad Books was especially amusing—that it constituted a species of harassment, in fact, against the author. I didn’t agree with her, but I could see how people could get that impression.
Then she said, and I’m paraphrasing with wild abandon here, “We get that you don’t like her books, but you know what? Other people do. You think her books are terrible, and that other people shouldn’t enjoy them, and her publishers shouldn’t publish them.”
And that’s when I realized that people often read a whole world of motivation and intent into my words, despite the fact that by and large, I lay it all out there for people to see and read. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not especially good at keeping my opinions hidden.
So here’s one thing I want to make clear, once and for all:
I don’t want people to stop reading the things they love, even when I think they’re absolutely terrible. Why would I? They love it. That’s excellent. I may shit all over the book you love, but that doesn’t mean I want to deprive you of the right to read it and enjoy it. In fact, I want you to engage me about why you enjoyed it, and disagree with me about the points I’m making. I loves me some vigorous, informed argument. I may think you have terrible taste (depending on how bad the book is), but I promise you that I won’t think you’re stupid based solely on the fact that you enjoy something I don’t, or that you’re wrong for liking what you like. I’m a reader of romance novels, ferchrissakes; this means far too many people who don’t know me assume I’m stupid based solely on a genre I read. I’m not about to inflict that particular brand of assholishness on other people. (There are so many other superior varieties to choose from.)
Which brings me to my next point: I have encountered people who say things like “One of my friends just loves The Worst Author Ever, and I don’t know why those Smart Bitches have to be so mean about those books, because my friend who reads them is a perfectly nice person.”
See, to me, those statements have nothing to do with anything. My dislike of a book and consequent assessment of the author’s skill have absolutely no bearing on the character or moral fiber of the reader. I wish people would stop making the leap from “This book is awful, and if you love it, you have bad taste” to “This book is awful, and if you love it, you’re stupid” or “This book is awful, and if you love it, you’re a bad person” or “This book is awful, and if you love it, I won’t like you any more.” Similarly, I wish authors wouldn’t make the leap from “This book is awful, which means you failed at writing a good novel” to “This book is awful, which means you failed at being a good human being.”
And then there’s also the issue of good books vs. bad books vs. books you love, which is something I’ve struggled with for a while; unlike the absolute relativists (how d’you like THAT particular turn of phrase, eh?), I do think there’s such a thing as objective measures for how good or bad a book is, and that sometimes, you love something absolutely terrible, and other times, you dislike something that’s actually good.
And yes, that means you are guilty of the crime of suffering from the occasional bout of bad taste. You know what? We’re all guilty of it. I say, embrace it. Poor aesthetic judgment is not a measure of your intelligence, nor is it a moral failing. Own your bad taste. Hell, own your mediocre taste. Proclaim it to the skies.
I’ll start.
Dara Joy’s books are absolutely terrible. They’re clunkily written, the heroines are annoying as all hell, the heroes are utterly ridiculous, the poor excuse for science fiction plots make me cringe, and their liberal use of SF Gobbledegook makes me cringe even harder. But I love them so.
Those old Mills and Boon novels, in which the hero (who’s usually about 35) at some point grabs the heroine (who’s usually about 19) and gives her a punishing kiss? So. Bad. They’re clumsily written, and awful in all sorts of ways—the repugnant gender politics alone made me seethe with rage, and this was back when I was 11, mind you, when all I could articulate about what I didn’t like about those books was that “they weren’t fair to the heroine and the hero got to win way too often.” You know what? I still found them compelling, and I read them by the boatload.
I could happily go for a week eating nothing but Spam sandwiches. Thinking about it makes me want one now. And very few foods have as little to redeem it as Spam: its nutritional profile is atrocious, and its flavor is this eerie mélange of blandness, saltiness and overcooked meat. I mean, at least foods like natto are so foul, saying you like it gives you a sort of cachet—you’re hardcore, man, you eat natto. Spam? Just indicates your tolerance for sodium and sketchy meat is probably higher than it should be.
Remember Temptation Island? Holy shit, I loved that TV show. I watched every episode with unalloyed glee.
And Joe Millionaire? Yeah. I have no excuse for that one.
Let’s not even get started on how I used to compulsively watch Blind Date. I’m glad I no longer use my TV to watch anything other than DVDs these days.
Come on. You do it, too. “I love this particular book despite how bad it is. Shit, I love it because of how bad it is.” Say it out loud, you got no taste and you’re proud.
(All kidding aside, ultimately, I think these snap judgments and conflations regarding good taste = good moral character have to do with cultural shorthand about your socioeconomic class (“Oh there you go, bringing class into it again!”), but I don’t have the time or energy to delve into it right now. Have at it in the comments, though. Come out with your Marxist/post-colonialist /post-structuralist/ post-post-post-post-post-modern/ nth-wave feminist fists swingin’.)
“Two bits! Four bits! Six bits, a peso! All for Zorro, stand up and say so!!”
Ah, yes, Duncan Regehr, all in black in both W&W and as Zorro. Truly yummy, though I preferred him as teh Evil Prince Dirk (snicker) Blackpool. [Did you know that Regehr’s a serious artist?]
I confess, I’m a fiend for Zorro, the Musketeers, and John Carter of Mars.
[under12 = hur! Again, how does it know??]
Sheesh. I make it a point to not post from work, (good grief – there were over 200 posts before I even got to work!!) so by now most of mine have been said numerous times, yet I still want to add mine into the mix. Sorry for the repeats.
I remember friends with crushes on Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy, but the one who truly set my heart aflutter with his big blue eyes was Brett Hudson of the Hudson Brothers (Oliver and Kate’s uncle). It came on early on Saturday mornings as I recall, but I happily woke up to watch. Hey Margolis!!! Ahem. Where was I?
Speaking of pop, I personally haven’t been in a bad mood (at least none based simply on sheer grumpiness, not true trauma) that hasn’t been improved by a bit of MMMMMBop on the iPod. Can’t stay cranky when my head is bobbing along.
There is a distinct purpose and place for some of these tasty treats you’ve all been discussing. For example, the blue box of mac and cheese is a wonderful thing, but it’s not REAL, anymore than Taco Bell is true Mexican fare. Oreos are not mom’s home-made chocolate chips (which my mom quit making, BTW, when my sister asked why we couldn’t have Oreos like all the other kids). And yet, they are all wonderful, for their kind. There’s comfort in consistency.
Kindof like some of the guilty pleasure authors others have mentioned. I have a pal who LOOOOOOOVES Betty Neels. I personally haven’t read one of her books since my teens (tho I can tell you the plot of every book she ever wrote), but this very well-read and educated gal just loves her some Betty. (OT—I have a theory about Mrs. Neels – I’m guessing she had to be incredibly overweight. My reasoning? She’d go on for page after page, describing dinner. No dialogue, not for plot progression purposes. Just pages of prose, rhapsodizing about the food preparation, table décor, what wine was served, dessert garnishments, etc. This from the same gal who would go in for a chaste kiss, break for a chapter and start up again ‘two years later’… not that one has anything to do with the other necessarily. Just sayin’.) OTOH, I still buy all those Diana Palmer books. Who knew there were so many angry cowboys and tortured (usually by angry cowboy) virgins out there? Still, a book comes out, and if it’s not a reprint, I buy it.
I loved Music and Lyrics, because it so pointed out how we all behaved in the 80s. And 80s hair band rock ballads. The sappy ones, not the actual rock and roll ones. I sat up humming along with the infomercial for them just the other night. Didn’t buy it, but I watched it twice. LOL And Hugh Grant romance movies. Interchangeable, yet I don’t care.
I used to plan my evenings around Little House on the Prairie in the Manly years. Thought he was just wonderful. Goofy looking, but I didn’t mind at all.
More recently I got caught watching Saved by the Bell by my sister. She still ribs me over it, but for its kind, it was excellent teen-trash TV. Who cares if I was in my late 30s/early 40s at the time?
Speaking of good teen trash, am I the only one who howled at the old summer break movie One Crazy Summer? With Demi Moore and Bobcat Golthwaite and others? That one still makes me snicker.
And I absolutely LOVED The Princess Bride. So much, I went out and got the 25 year anniversary edition DVD (which came with the book attached), even though I already owned it. Ditto with Dirty Dancing and Simply Ballroom and all those other dancing movies.
I haven’t seen mention of Dr Quinn Medicine Woman and Sully… back before they ruined it by making them a true couple. Sigh. And sighing for different reasons, I also loved Northern Exposure, before they ruined it with the Maggie/Joel hookups. Sometimes that sexual tension is far better in inference than reality (or TV reality, as it were), and sometimes it should never be acted upon at all.
I don’t remember Jem, but I must confess that my Christmas gift to myself last year was a Mrs. Beasley doll to replace the one my sister sent to Goodwill while I was in college. Still haven’t forgiven her for that lapse in judgment, but oh well. I spent an obscene amount of money, in my mind, but I now have a lovely reproduction smiling down happily at me from a bookshelf. Actually she’s leering at me a bit maniacally, in that ebil doll way ala Chucky, but I love her anyway. I just keep her on the shelf in one of those clamped-at-the-neck doll stands, and trust that I’ll notice she’s missing long before she ever reaches up from under the bed and wreaks havoc. I hope so, anyway.
Diane
Spam
the American Godzilla movie (I’m glad to see I’m not alone in this)
Mercedes Lackey novels
Kraft Mac&cheese
cheezy newage music (I admit I have a John Tesh cd and LOVE IT.)
Vin Diesel (… He’s adorable! Like a big puppy!)
movies that have plots that are utterly implausible but still fun to watch.
Miss Congeniality
Those terrible terrible Sci-Fi original movies. (Though I admit watching these with a group and mocking them is the BEST fun)
Does being a huge Stargate fan count? (movie and tv series)
Sherry Thomas wrote:
I hated the intelligent DEEP IMPACT and loved the trashy ARMAGEDDON.
ARMAGEDDON!!!!!!! Bwahahaha! Wasn’t that the movie that told us how to transform oil-well diggers into astronauts?
And another sooperdooper guilty pleasure:
Singing karaoke to Whitney Houston’s theme song from THE BODYGUARD. Sing it with me:
“And Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…will always love youuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!”
The Princess Bride—I luvs it!
Man, I still have my paperback copy I bought back in ‘73, and my purchase of it was based entirely on the back blurb:
“What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince in the world,… and he turns out to be a son-of-a-bitch?”
I wonder if Goldman wrote his own copy?
Heh! Give Wesley/The Dread Pirate Roberts a hat and a cape, and he’s instantly transmogrified into Zorro—
Azteclady-I should have put the first sentece of my last paragraph with the first paragraph. I do love me some Princess Bride. My daughter groans every time I pull it out. So, I have to keep an eye on her or she’ll hide it.
Also, I’m going to admit that I HATE Princess Bride
INCONCEIVABLE!!!
I’m sorry I couldn’t resist.
I’m lucky—my kids love the movie, so we get to talk in snippets from it all the time.
“Do you always start conversations that way?”
“Incontheivable”!*
“Why do you keepa sayin’ that? I do not think that means whatta you think it means.”
Goldman’s a genius. I’ve been studying his books on screenwriting, since my first draft always looks like a shooting script, anyway. [another guilty pleasure—reading scripts!]
*Does that indicate something that can’t be stolen?
I’m shocked that nobody has mentioned V.C. Andrews yet. Unless I missed that post?
Urrrgh, I hate Heinlein. Product of his time or not. (Of course, I use the same excuse for my own favorite writers, so just chalk me up as a happy hypocrite.)
I absolutely will not cop to bad taste in reading material, but movies? Ahem…
Biggest guilty pleasure has to be Dirty Dancing. How much I adore this movie is probably the one thing that embarrasses my husband about me more than anything else. But seriously. Nobody puts Baby in a corner!
I find Kevin Smith movies to be hilarious.
I love me some cheesy/romance flicks, especially the ones that make me nostalgic for my early teens. Cocktail, Clueless, Muriel’s Wedding, Mystic Pizza, While You Were Sleeping, Grease…the list goes on.
Okay, so I’ll admit to one guilty reading pleasure: SEP’s Nobody’s Baby But Mine.
I posted much earlier, and this thread has taken me much reading to catch up – dare I add some more? I dare –
I don’t just indulge in delicious badness – I am indoctrinating the next generation.
As many a bitch has said – I love Jem – have Seasons 1 & 2 and Part 1 of season 3 on DVD (apparently Season 3 Part 2 will not be released due to legal issues – damn, those were the best episodes too! With the Stingers!) Anyway my 4 year old rocks out to Jem on a regular basis, and she loves those naughty Misfits the best.
Goonies – love this movie too, could watch it over and over…and since letting my daughter see it, I’ve indeed been forced to watch it over and over. She’ll go up to random people and grab their cheeks saying, “The only thing we serve here is tongue. You boys like tongue?” Needless to say it’s freaked more than one person-not-sharp-on-their-80’s-pop- culture out. She kept telling me to “turn off my brain” when she wanted me to be quiet – and I was clueless as to where she picked this up for weeks, until we were watching Goonies once again, and there it was. Data shouting at Chunk to “turn off your brain Chunk!”
Ah, Data.
Sigh. I was planning to be productive tonite, but I find myself logging back in to clarify… just in case, and considering the subject matter we’ve all been embroiled in of late.
In my above-post, I mentioned scary dolls sneaking out from under the bed. I also mentioned Oreos.
I got to thinking, though, that Nora used Oreos in Summer Desserts, and she also mentioned dolls in umn… some trilogy or other, as well as in conversations on other boards.
So just in case anyone was noting any ‘eerie similarities,’ they were simply that. But if credit needs to be given, by all means, send it to Nora.
Tho my mama will STILL mention how insulted she was when my sister asked for Oreos.
I really was going to be productive, but now that I’m back online, I may as well stay, right?
Diane
ignoring laundry to surf the next
May I add Breakin’ 2 Electric Boogaloo? I still can’t resisit that movie.
I really, really love this thread. I think I’m hormonal or something, but this thread has made me so happy today.
One more guilty pleasure. I love—and I mean LOVE—Orlando Bloom. If he’s in a movie, I’ll see it. I often tell people that I love him like one loves a retarded puppy—and it’s true. He’s not a very good actor, but he’s adorable, and whenever he learns a new expression (I think he’s got, like, 5 or 6 now!!) I feel a glow of semi-maternal pride.
I feel a glow of semi-maternal pride. *
Semi-maternal, b/c I’m roughly the same age as he is.
Just for fun, I wonder if maybe the SBs will start a thread called “Secret Crushes”. We seem to have quite a few popping up here under guilty pleasures.
I’ll hold off on naming my dream guys, just in case.
Can’t stop…feel compelled to…ugh…share…
This gives you such insight into the people in the SB blogosphere! Great topic choice!
I noticed a few people hadn’t mentioned…maybe I’m the only one?
Television faves:
Dark Angel (Jessica Alba and Jensen Ackles both hot, and with special powers, what’s not to love!), Magnum P.I. (Tom Selleck, shirtless!), and Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan, enough said!)
Movies:
Stardust
National Treasure
French Kiss
All Indiana Jones flicks
All Back to the Future flicks
All Harry Potter flicks
Princess Bride
Goonies
Ghostbusters
Big Trouble in Little China
Willow!!!!
(ok just as an aside here, this is what can happen to the dyslexic…I gave my daughter the middle name Dannalora, thinking at the time I was naming her after the baby princess in Willow…but no. I hadn’t watched the movie in several months. And, once my daughter was about six months old, I watched it only to discover it was actually Allora Dannen!)
Music:
Humm, that would be a little of everything from Avril and Brittney Spears to Hall and Oats, ABBA to Def Leppard, throw in a little Nickleback, Poison, Iron Maiden and Motley Crue for flavor. Oh! And country music too, luv some of Trace Adkins, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson.
Foods:
Childhood favorite was Tunafish in Tomato soup (don’t ask, it’s a Sicilian thing aparently…). I don’t like Mac n’ Cheese because I ate too much of it when the kids were really little. I LOVE cheescake and chocolate, but not chocolate cheesecake, go figure and
HATE COFFEE – can’t even stand coffee flavored ice cream.
Authors:
Love to read James Rollins, Julia Quinn, Cherry Adair, Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum!!!), and J.K. Rowling.
I cherish the fact that I can suspend my analytical processes when Im reading books. My brain has developed an automatic self defense mechanism that skims over the really awful and unbelievable parts of a book to get to the juicy and wonderful parts. Otherwise, my reading list would probably be limited to less than 50 books. Besides, how can you appreciate the really good books if you dont see the value in the awful ones.
sorry about my bumblebee confusion earlier. thanks for the clarification.
my actual favorite guilty pleasures?
Mr. Mom
the Man With One Red Shoe
Cloak and Dagger
Her Alibi
Baby Boom
While You Were Sleeping
What’s Up Doc?
Last Starfighter
Monster Squad
aaaaaaaand
French Kiss
“my ass is twitching. this comment thread is making my ass twitch.”
oh, also,
apparently if billy barty is in a movie, it’s a good bet that i’m a fan (also a good bet that it should be on this guilty pleasures list).
for evidence:
willow
masters of the universe
legend
under the rainbow
foul play
uhf
seriously. all awesome.
‘adventures in babysitting’, that horrible 80’s movie with allie sheedy and frat boys and gangsters on the subway and the thor-obsessed munchkin and her older brother and his playboy-loving friend and the asshole boyfriend and the babysitting blues song? yeah, i love it like a fat kid loves cake.
same thing with ‘girls just wanna have fun’ with jessica parker and holly hunt. “tune in tokyo! tune in tokyo!”
oh, oh, and ‘teen witch’! with the short lady from poltergeist and those rockin’ 80’s half demin/half tulle poofy skirts. man, i wish i had one of those.
verification: sense93 yeah, it makes no sense to me either! 😀
Dak said:
3. Candy, I’m glad you confessed to loving Temptation Island because, damn. That show was so trashy and just plain bad but could I stop watching? Hells no. (I still cringe at the whole nerdy Dave and bitchy Charla thing. Cannot believe I even *remember* that.)
Actually, Dave and Charla were on Paradise Hotel. I know, because I watched every episode of PH. LOVED.It. And Temptation Island was another guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve watched all the episodes of both seasons of Flavor of Love and I Love New York.
I read the Mona Lisa books by Sunny, and enjoy every bit of them, even though I know they’re crap.
I eat cold spaghettios straight from the can. It disgusts everyone else I know, but wow I love them.
I object to Stardust (the movie) being listed as a guilty pleasure because that would require that it have something wrong with it to make you feel guilty for enjoying it and it is an utterly fabulous movie. There is no shame in loving this movie. It’s got snarky fallen stars, cross-dressing pirates, and sword fights! That is a recipe for awesome!
Dak said:
3. Candy, I’m glad you confessed to loving Temptation Island because, damn. That show was so trashy and just plain bad but could I stop watching? Hells no. (I still cringe at the whole nerdy Dave and bitchy Charla thing. Cannot believe I even *remember* that.)
Actually, Dave and Charla were on Paradise Hotel. I know, because I watched every episode of PH. LOVED.It. And Temptation Island was another guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve watched all the episodes of both seasons of Flavor of Love and I Love New York.
I read the Mona Lisa books by Sunny, and enjoy every bit of them, even though I know they’re crap.
I also adore The Pirate Movie (with Kristy MacNicol and Christopher Atkins).
“Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.”
I could watch that movie all day long. Or how about “Howard the Duck?”
Finally made it through all 300+ comments.
Here is my list:
back in ‘99 there was a fox kids show called the Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog that I was totally obsessed with. It was horrible, sexist, had plot holes galore, but I loved it. Kinda depressing considering I was like 14 at the time.
I LOVE the movie Dangerous Beauty.
I will watch Troy in its entirety just for Brad Pitt’s ass.
I have all of Christine Feehan’s Dark books. Some are autographed.
Ditto with Sherrilyn Kenyon.Though I have actually met her twice, and she’s a truly awesome person.
I not only have questionable taste, I’m also a big giant geek—-Adventures in Babysitting was Elizabeth Shu, not Ally Sheedy. I don’t even want to tell you how many times I’ve seen it. It’s like The Cutting Edge, if it’s on TV I can not turn it off.
I know I’m coming in late but I feel compelled to share. Especially after reading everyone else’s confessions.
FOOD—
Banana and mayo sandwiches, washed down with a tasty glass of iced tea.
Ramen noodles, sour cream, and that mysterious seasoning packet. Yum!
And, someone else mentioned this, mayo & ketchup mixed together for french-fry dippin’.
MOVIES—
Independence Day is NOT a guilty pleasure, people. That there is fine cinematography. Oh, and Jeff Goldblum is ALL MINE!
I can’t believe no one’s mentioned this one yet but FIFTH ELEMENT with Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Chris Tucker. Loved. It.
Anytime US MARSHALS comes on TV, I watch it. Tommy Lee Jones is freakin’ awesome.
Same goes for Men in Black—1 AND 2.
PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT I mean, how can you NOT love three drag queens traveling the Australian outback. And the ping pong scene? Nearly pee myself every time.
Anything with Bruce Campbell in it because, seriously, he is Teh Bomb!
TV—
Moonlighting. Bruce Willis as that lovable jerk David Addison. Makes me sigh just thinking about it.
X Files. OMG Mulder! No further explanation needed.
BOOKS—
I will forgive or overlook so much in regards to writing/story if a book has one of the following premises:
Broken/scarred hero, either mentally or physically. OMG HAWT!
Best-friends-turn-lovers. Sigh.
And, for the record, I don’t think SEP’s books are a sign of bad taste. I love how she takes those cocky athletes and Makes. Them. Beg. at the end of the book.
Wow. I do feel better. S’pose confession really *is* good for the soul. 😉
Oh, heavens. I just found this site … oh, yesterday (and shockingly NOT from anything about the Cassie Edwards mess). So many of mine have already been listed, but I’ll hit them again.
Trixie Belden – I have them and reread them at least once a year. All of them. Squeed over Jim giving Trixie the bracelet (among other squeeworthy moments).
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts – mmmm … especially the chocolate iced kreme filled ones – we call those cavity detectors.
Scarecrow & Mrs. King and Remington Steele – swoons over Sexy Super Spies.
Disaster flicks – ID4, The Day After Tomorrow, etc.
Thundercats, Voltron, Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons and a whole host of other cheesy 80s cartoons
Jem – I had both her and Aja … and did you know that their shoes and clothes actually fit Ken? … Whenever my Ken dolls had to go undercover as women, they borrowed clothes from Jem and her friends … oh, quit laughing. I mean it, stop.
Barbie – I won’t tell you how old I was when I quit playing with Barbies, but it was well past the age when I started reading trashy romances.
Extreme – but I did listen to the whole album and not just Hole-Hearted and More Than Words.
Young Riders – Oh, god was I ticked that Lou wound up with Kid and not Jimmy. Yeah, I know Jimmy was a ‘real’ person, but they screwed with history so much, one more wouldn’t matter. First discovered fanfiction because of this (followed rapidly by Trixie Belden fanfic).
Cross-dressing Trashy Romances – No, not like the Ken doll thing, but more like Ashes in the Wind. One of the first trashy romances I ever read.
Kathleen Woodiwiss – Early conditioning. I blame it totally on that.
Bertrice Small – Same as the above.
Jayne Castle – (I don’t think that JAK is ‘bad taste’ per se, but the faux sciffy of Jayne Castle sets my teeth on edge worse than those Krispy Kreme doughnuts … but I can’t stop reading them)
Whelan TV – Buffy, Angel and Firefly, Oh My.
Last of the Mohicans – You have no idea how many times I saw this in the theater. And I really don’t want to tell you. But it was a lot. Let’s put it this way, I know all of the dialogue. All of it. Yes, all of it. Plus, I know where the buses were (and when they got edited out of the DVD, darnit), the tupperware, the vanishing gun and the fabric rock. Sigh.
The Slipper and the Rose – I didn’t know anyone else had ever seen that movie! I love the crypt scene (Good kings, bad kings …) and cry every time she leaves. Of course, I can only watch this at midnight, after everyone is in bed. While eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
LKH – any of ‘em. Both series. Can’t resist.
Judy Garland movies – especially The Harvey Girls and Summer Stock. Sigh.
Singing along with musical soundtracks, especially Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. In the car. Alone. When no one can hear me. But I can hit the high notes (no, really, I’m a first soprano … just not soloist quality, by any stretch).
Cookie dough – raw. I eats my cookies raw (God, what is that from … Oh yes, …)
Lavyrle Spencer – Separate Beds (starts where she’s at his house because he knocked her up on a one-night-stand). Truthfully, I’m not sure she belongs here, as I think she’s a good’un (super-saccharin-sweet-sentimentality, but good stories). However, I hated the Lifetime adaptations of her movies. Gah.
And for the ones that no one has mentioned yet:
Nelson – I had a poster of those boys over my bed, I had it that bad.
MST3K – Stuff was like crack, man.
90210 – Yes, I watched it. Please don’t hurt me.
Barbara Cartland – my grandmother was afraid to let me read these because she thought they were too racy for me. I was in college.
Princess Diana – I had the paper dolls from their wedding … sigh.
Wil Wheaton – I had such a crush on him. Not just Wesley Crusher, but also Joey from Toy Soldiers (oh, yeah, that movie goes on the list, too).
Forever Knight – OMG, does it get any cheesier?
SeaQuest DSV – especially Lucas (Johnathon Brandis?), but truthfully I also lurved the Delouise brothers (not sure about the spelling).
21 Jump Street – see above, along with Johnny Depp, of course.
And now I’m praying that no one I really know is reading this. 🙂 The Last of the Mohicans is a dead giveaway, I’m afraid.
Looking forward to some hot Jack on Ianto action.
I have seen proof this will happen. I may have squealed a bit.
Let’s see…
Ron “Tater” White. He’s not blue-collar, and he’s not a redneck. He’s a Texas Bubba. I have half a dozen relatives like him, and I love them all, and I love him.
“Hercules” & “Xena”.
40-clove Garlic Chicken. The house is close to toxic for a week after we make it, but it’s something my husband & I both gobble down like there is no tomorrow.
Cookbooks from the 1960’s, 70’s & 80’s, especially if I find them on the dollar book rack.
Celebrity gossip. I gotta know all about the latest Britney stunt or what Amy Winehouse is shooting up with this week.
Nothing is quite as much fun as watching Independence Day with a bunch of scientists and pulling it to pieces. (And wondering what happened to the southern hemisphere.)
I also have to sign up for Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon. Although I think Feehan going to hardcover in the Dark books may have saved me there. Not Kenyon though. Now I’m just spending more money.
Also have to cop to V. Marc Singer. And scientists as the heros instead of the ones that cause the problem. What could be better.
Oh, this thread is bringing back a lot of great memories.
Oh, Back to the Future.
“Heavy, there’s that word again. Is there something wrong with the earth’s gravitational pull?”
And I’m quoting this without having to watch the movie first. That tells you more about me than anything.
As to French Kiss. LOVE!!!that movie. Gawd that french accent was horrid, but you know what I wanted that HEA like nobodies business.
was marc singer the “beastmaster”?
the only two movies our school took us to see was beastmaster and “other side of the mountain”
yes that’s how old I am
Oh, God, Independance Day. I own the special two disc movie. Anything with martians, aliens, zombies, werewolves——can’t get enough. Dinosaurs? Bring ‘em on. CAn I get ‘em all at once?
I make ham sandwiches with swiss cheese and onion on rye and gobble it down like it’s ambrosia. Which it is.
I scarf down tuna straight from the can.
I mix Lipton’s Onion Soup into hamburger, add crushed crackers and egg and allspice to it, put it in a bread pan with ketchup on top, and slice it to serve between buns.
Love KFC mashed potatoes and gravy. CAn’t get enough, especially with lots of salt and pepper.
I loved the Tom Cruise version of “War of the Worlds.” Well, some of it. The machine. The first basement scene. I want a sequel that shows what happens after.
I love the TV show “Moonlight.” It got me writing fanfic again. I’m too old for fanfic! Screw it, I love it.
Give me mashed potatoes and KFC and a day full of awful sci fi channel movies and I am just in heaven.
This is the worst: I kind of liked Bloodrayne. And I will watch anything with dragons in it. I loved Alien vs. Predator guiltily but passionately. Own it on DVD. My DVD shelves are equal parts monster movies, alien movies, and stupid romance movies. Try The Whole Wide World for one of the best kisses evar.
Dear gods, forgive me—I failed to mention:
Rocky Horror Picture Show—must be seen in the company of an experienced and well-equipped audience.
Hot Fuzz—absolutely insane cop comedy with Timothy Dalton. [I cannot believe that man’s sixty-five years old at the he did this flick—hawt damn!]
Invader Zim—GIR is,… well, you just have to see for yourself. There is no way I can do this cartoon series justice.
Zim: How could you not know [where we are]?! I just upgraded your guidance system!
GIR: Oh. I left that at home.
Zim: You left what at home?
GIR: The guidy chippy thingy.
Zim: You! Why would you do that?!
GIR: To make room—for the cupcake!
Zim: Ride the pig, GIR! RIDE THE PIG!!
My guilty pleasure movies are really bad. I think they were made before I was born, but I still love them. Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. The stupid humor is what gets to me.
My other guilty pleasure: Smart Bitches. I hardly ever even venture into romance books (my tolerance for fluffy isn’t very high and most of the tolerance gets taken up by my anime) but I lurve me some Smart Bitches.
Okay…here goes.
V.C. Andrews – even the postumous books. Hell, especially the postumously published knockoff novels, because they’re even more awful and samey than the ones she did when she was alive. There’s something incredibly sick/funny about the thinking behind that publishing deal – well, shit, the author’s dead, but no reason to let that spoil a good franchise. Got a ghostwriter? Good. Can he write stories about rape, incest, rape and more incest with extra incest and incest sprinkles on top? Jolly good. Sign him up.
Love them. Awful books, but so addictive.
I also own Aqua’s (The Danish band of ‘Barbie Girl’ infamy) album and I am not ashamed.
And Sunset Beach, the late lamented soap from the late lamented Aaron Spelling. Utter crap – wooden acting, cheap sets, headswap operation casting, hilarious sex scenes and a heroine of neutron star density in the shape of Meg. I loved every dreadful, shouting-at-the-television moment of it.
i’ll see your aqua’s ‘barbie girl’ and raise you aqua’s ‘happy boys and girls’. which reminds me: all the cheers in ‘bring it on’, including the moves? yeah, i know and love them. and will shamelessly bust them out whenever someone brings up the movie.
and invader zim and gir? so not trashy! they is the poo. i’ve got a bunch of the old episodes downloaded, and the first time i showed them to my then-7-year-old, she said “mama, i ‘member dis show!” when i informed her invader zim had gone off the air years before she was born, she said “oh yeah, i forgot, cause it looks like my comic book about johnny the crazy guy and mr. noodlehead.” she recognized johnen vazquez’s style all on her own. makes a goth mama proud! 🙂
confirmation: force58. why no, i didn’t force my young child to read ‘johnny the homicidal maniac’; she picked up ‘squee’s great big book of unspeakable horrors’ and got herself hooked, thank you very much!