The Next Best Book Club discussion

I don't have too many embarassing books -- embarassing movies, on the other hand... My buddies sort of quirk an eyebrow when they see Only You, Serendipity, and Say Anything amidst all the action flicks and geek sci-fi TV shows.

Hmm, books... I get no end of Hell from my friends about the Twilight books. Well, I began to agree with their point of view once I read books three and four, but I still liked the first two. I liked The Host as well. My only defense is that I was really into Stargate SG-1 at the time.

Oh embarassing text related situation! Well, up until 7th grade, I had only ever read the word enigma, and assumed it was like "sigh," with the silent g and all.... A classroom is not the best place to be disabused of that notion. lol

Oh lol...I'm sorry you're right it isn't funny...

Erotica for me. Have never gotten it out of the library or bought a copy. Read a couple anais nin and the story of O in pdf format.

Also graphic novels. I never read them on the bus cos i feel kinda self-conscious about it.

Liz, I´m curious about Gossip Girl too .. grrr... I wanted to read Private first but I´m not finding it.

I feel a little embarassed when I read books that are typically sold in the children's or YA section of the bookstore, like Harry Potter or the Inheritance trilogy. Doesn't stop me from reading them in public, I just feel a little silly is all.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks... totally embarassing.

I read it at the beach one year and didn't finish it by the end of the week. I didn't own it so I went to Barnes and Noble, in another town, finished it in one of those big, cushy, club chairs, reshelved it and left. Not my finest hour...

The Carpathian series from Christine Feehan. Oh my god, what crap. But each Carpathian takes a lifemate, and the family tree has a lot of members. They're all the same, but like Lemon Drops--you can't eat just one.

Sarah wrote: "I feel a little embarassed when I read books that are typically sold in the children's or YA section of the bookstore, like Harry Potter or the Inheritance trilogy. Doesn't stop me from reading the..."

I think if the cover art for the Harry Potter books was a little better I wouldn't feel so weird about reading them in public. They look like little kids books.

Grace wrote: "I think if the cover art for the Harry Potter books was a little better I wouldn't feel so weird about reading them in public. They look like little kids books."

My friend bought the paperback versions published by Bloomsbury. They are dark and look more mature, I think. The paperbacks are listed here as adult editions.

Funny, I actually love the HP cover art stylistically. But then, I don't mind reading kids' books in front of folk. It's more embarassing to do my slow beginner's jogging and be seen, though runner friends of mine have said real runners only appreciate it when they see a n00b obviously struggling but pushing. Same way, I think people who care about kids books will think its cool, and people who think its odd tend to think of reading as a strange, unfathomable occupation anyway....

I did, however, feel a little silly buying a book just because of the title. But come on! Vampirates??? That is Plan 9 From Outer Space worthy! :)

"But come on! Vampirates???"

Oh, my gosh! I almost choked on my pop! I just got that book! Mainly because the two main characters were named Grace and Connor.

Grace wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I feel a little embarassed when I read books that are typically sold in the children's or YA section of the bookstore, like Harry Potter or the Inheritance trilogy. Doesn't stop me fr..."
Is this cover art in the states or the UK?

I think the first time I was ever embarrassed about reading something was when I was sneaking my mom's romance novels when I was about 13. I was just so curious, and they were all over the place! I couldn't resist. I tried to be really secretive about it, staying up really late to read a book all in one go, but I'm sure she had an idea that I was doing it. I lost interest fairly quickly though, partially because I didn't like sneaking around and partially because they started getting predictable.

After that, I remember being in high school and borrowing the Anita Blake books from a friend of mine. I liked the books, but I always did my best to keep the cover flat on the table when I was reading (and turned facedown when I wasn't reading!) because those pictures of 'artfully' naked women were just too embarrassing. (Ironically, that cover art was present long before the books degenerated into a sextravaganza.)

Today, there are a couple of situations that I find embarrassing. One is the young adult section at my library. It's in its own little nook, so when you're looking at young adult books, it's really obvious that you're doing so. I find it especially awkward when there are kids in there. Once I get the books out of that area, I'm fine. But the getting them definitely takes some effort and embarrassment on my part. :)

The other thing I can think of is when I'm reading some insane classic. Like right now. I'm slowly working my way through War and Peace. This is a strictly at home venture. I will not take that book out into public with me. I even waited until I was a couple hundred pages in before telling anyone I knew that I was reading it. I think I would look like the most pretentious geek ever if I started reading that outside of my house.

There are some books I should have been embarrassed about but wasn't.
I read so much in my early teens, averaging a book a day. We would go on long 6 week holidays and I would run out of books within the first week or so.
People tended to give me free range of their bookshelves and I read so quickly nobody had time to notice what I was actually reading.
More than once, aged 13-14, I encountered soft porn or rather graphic medical journals.

Tani I feel the same way you do about reading the classics. I'm so worried that my friends and family, who definitely do not read those kinds books, are going to tease me about being pretentious that I hesitate to admit when I read them. I just finished Gulliver's Travels and hardly told anyone about it b/c no one would understand that I actually enjoyed it. I'd rather admit to reading the Twilight series!

I've done my fair share of embarrassing reading - LaVyrle Spencer and Leigh Greenwood's Cowboy Series anyone? My most memorable one though, was when my mom found a box of her old books in the attic one day and gave them to me to sort through. I came across a book called Destiny and was so afraid she'd catch me reading it. It was the first book that got me a little hot and bothered and I was terrified she'd know I read it. Plus I was a little embarrassed to know she'd read it! I was probably 13 or 14 at the time.

Ack! Don't turn down classics because you're worried what someone might think of you! That's the worst reason to turn down any kind of book. There are so many good books, even classic literature, that deserve a read. If someone teases you for it, it's their problem, not yours.

I'm also reading War and Peace right now (amongst other things) - I don't take it into public because it's a freaking burden to carry, not because I worry that people might think me pretentious. Life's too short for concerns like those.

All too true El. I'm getting better about worrying less about what people think of what I'm reading and focusing more on what I like. Now I need to learn to put down books I hate instead of forcing myself to finish them. But that's another topic all together...

Kudos to you on War and Peace, it's on my TBR list, but I have a feeling it'll be a while before I get around to it. It's a bit intimidating.

Liz wrote: "Grace wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I feel a little embarassed when I read books that are typically sold in the children's or YA section of the bookstore, like Harry Potter or the Inheritance trilogy. Does..."

I think the States.

I just got Twilight from swaptree (with the movie cover no less, gack!). The only reason I really didn't care was because unless I absolutely fall in love with it (which I can't really see happening) I'm going to pass it along as soon as possible. As a confirmed horror addict I feel very disloyal reading supernatural romance which unfortunately gets lumped into the horror section quite frequently.

Yeah, I don't take my Gone with the Wind out to read in public - because it's hardback and weighs a ton!

Oh, I'm definitely not going to pass on reading something just because it's a little embarrassing, but there are also just some things that I want to keep on the downlow. War and Peace is definitely one of those things.

Okay, I can't help but share because I haven't seen these mentioned.

When I was 12-14ish I read a lot of VC Andrews books, and I remember all the boys in my 7th grade social studies class passing it around to read the incestual 'sex scene' in the Flowers in the Attic series.

I also remember I didn't even know what 'come' meant and I just ended up confused. =/

I'm a little emabarrassed to be caught reading "chick-lit-lite". I won't mention any authors because I don't want to offend anyone. Obviously I will read it, I just read it at home. Shallow of me, I know.

Jaclyn wrote: "Tani I feel the same way you do about reading the classics. I'm so worried that my friends and family, who definitely do not read those kinds books, are going to tease me about being pretentious t..."

Some of my friends DO tease me about reading the classics...but I still read them.

Bhumi wrote: "Some of my friends DO tease me about reading the classics...but I still read them.
"

Ahhh. The advantages of being an old fart and not caring about what others think of my reading choices. Of course, I did get teased when I took Gone With the Wind to school with me when I read it in high school so maybe I've never cared about that.

The weather has been soooooo humid here that while reading paperbacks, my fingers start sticking to the covers. So a few days ago, I took papertowels and paperclipped them around the book, making a bookcover to stop the sticking.

Sure enough, my son-in-law stopped by yesterday and wanted to know what I was reading that I had to hide the cover so no one would see. ROFL

I also remember I didn't even know what 'come' meant and I just ended up confused. =/ ROFL! Me Too! My friend let me borrow that book around the same time and i was like, "Come? Where did they go?"

When I was 13 or 14, I read everything Lurlene McDaniel wrote - all those books about teenagers with terminal illnesses... I think that it turned me into a hypochondriac for a little while...

I haven't read much romance, so I don't really need to worry about being seen in public with those ;) But I'm always so embarrassed of being seen with one of those young adult books that are so obviously aimed at teenage girls (even though I am one), either pink and sparkly with heels or a handbag on it, or just a stock picture of a pretty girl. I know most people couldn't care less, but it still just makes me feel like such a stereotypical teenage girl that can't read anything past a Twilight level XD

I'm also more than a little embarrassed of my love of fanfiction. I don't even know what I would say if my friends or family approached me about it. It's just too good of an opportunity to pass up! You finish a really good series and are sorry to see the characters go...but there's a whole bundle of further stories online free for the taking! Who wouldn't love that? (If you can sort through all the horrible, eye-buring writing.)

I'm embarrassed to admit my husband's made a Dan Abnett fan out of me. The Warhammer 40k universe isn't my favorite, but I'd rather read the omnibus than decipher the mathy rulebook for the game.

As for out in public...I picked up Laurell K Hamilton's Kiss of Shadows for a long plane ride, and ended up covering the racy cover as best I could. I didn't care what my husband (then boyfriend) thought, but his father was still intimidating at that point.

I think I ended up trading it in, I was so embarrassed. I regret that decision, now that I want to pick up the series again!

Am I the only one who trades in books and then thinks, "Crap! Why did I get rid of that?"

Sorry everybody, I haven't read most of this thread. (It's impossible to catch up!)

I'm not really horribly embarrassed about anything I read.

I am a tad embarrassed that I love Jean Auel's Earth's Children series, even though I think that the first book, The Clan of the Cave Bear , is the only truly worthy one.

Jane wrote: "I'm about to start the second book of the Twilight series, and I have to say I will be kind of embarrassed to take that one out into public, even though I know it has a lot of fans."

I am going to be reading Twilight and the near future, and I am not sure if I will be wanting to take that one in public. I usually read at home anyways, but I also take books to work and read when we are slow. However, I am only reading it for a book challenge category: read a book that was hyped and you swore you would never read, so I do have an excuse :)

Not that I was ashamed of it, but some people were actually demanding answers, giggling and tried to get me embarassed after seeing Tolkien books on my r\l shelves. Especially after those cheesy holywood movies certain kind of people who never read it (or pretend not to) started to treat Tolkien books as some kind of a fantasy trash. Sadly, several times I found myself explaining about them.

Pssh, the movies were great. And so were the books.

i agree with you about the books,Jessi, I strongly disagree about the movies, but that's you know - opinions, yours and mine, I was just telling the story on the theme

I can understand where you are coming from, even though we disagree on the movies. I have had people bust on me when they see my Harry Potter books. They judge the story based on the movies, which were terrible!

indeed, Jessi, that's what I was talking about

Lisa wrote: "Sorry everybody, I haven't read most of this thread. (It's impossible to catch up!)

I'm not really horribly embarrassed about anything I read.

I am a tad embarrassed that I love Jean Auel's Earth..."

I loved the Clan of the Cave Bear series and wish Jean Auel would get with it and finish the next book. I hate how long you have to wait for her to come out with a new book in the series.

Hello!

So has anyone mentioned the saucy Jilly Cooper yet?? I think her book Polo is the only one I would ever be embarrassed to admit I read. I was about 15 at the time and feeling pretty risqué about it all!

You did not hear it or read it here!! :P

I really liked The Bridges of Madison County, and everyone here seems to hate it...

Jennifer wrote: "
Hello!

So has anyone mentioned the saucy Jilly Cooper yet?? I think her book Polo is the only one I would ever be embarrassed to admit I read. I was about 15 at the time and feeling..."

I remember Shirley Conran's Lace doing the rounds in school. One afternoon a group of us girls were in the library passing round 'the goldfish scene'. The boys were so curious as to the cause of all the blushes and giggles that we lent them the book. When they returned the book red-faced they told us we were disgusting!.
Needles to say neither parents nor teachers knew we were reading the book.

^^When I was in junior high the big Forbidden Book was The Other Side of Midnight. A couple of girls (I went to an all-girls' school) managed to snag their mothers' copies and we would hide out in the stairwell and pass the books around to read the naughty bits.

I also remember when Jaws came out, I got a paperbook copy for Christmas but my parents ripped out the chapter in which Cooper and Ellen Brody get it on in a hotel room. Of course I all ready knew AAALLLL about it.

I'm embarrassed to read the Bible in public. I haven't started it yet, and I'm only reading it for the literature aspect of it, but I do think about it. And classics. And Non fiction. In fact I worry just a tiny bit about what people think about any book I'm reading in public. But then I get wrapped up in whatever I'm reading and stop thinking about other people lol.

Ooh Bianca, I went through a Romance novel spree when I was at my grandparents for a week when I was 12. I think I learned a looooot that week lol.

Heather wrote: "Ok, I guess if we all share something embarrassing it won't hurt as bad. But all you people out there better add something and not just read all these posts here!!! ;)

So, I was going through th..."

I actually have those on my TBR list.... ;)

That's why I LOVE my Sony eReader. No one EVER knows what I'm reading.

A couple of embarrassing books that I have read include "Forever" by Judy Blume (during my freshman year before it got banned from our school library) and "Ghostland" by Jory Strong.

When I first read "Forever", I was all wide-eyed about it, being the innocent, over-protected child that I was. I only read "Ghostland" after a liberal aunt of mine bought it for me, and that REALLY made me wide-eyed. I still want to read the 2nd one of that series, since the plot was great x]

Definitely embarrassing to describe what is going on in those books, since people ask me all the time what I'm reading and what it's about.. I tend to read them at home xD