"I have loved a number of questionably tasteful books over the years," begins "What's the Best Bad Book You've Ever Read?" from Publishers Weekly. And I can relate. I read a lot, which means that some of my books are, by sheer probability, probably not the best-written or best-plotted books in the world.
Guess what? I love them anyway. In fact, some of my favorite books are "bad" books.
You know the kind of book I'm talking about here. It's a book that maybe you don't advertise you've read. Or maybe, even as you're enjoying it from your hammock or your subway seat or you e-reader, you're thinking, "This book won't ever win an award, but it sure is keeping my engaged, entertained, informed." Because no matter the public reaction to a book, what matters to each reader is how that book makes us feel. And any book that enlightens us is, if you ask me, a worthy book.
My favorite bad book -- Totally Hot #1: Losing Control by Linda A. Cooney -- has, admittedly, a not-completely-modern title or cover. (That's it in the photo, in all it's 1990s glory!) I borrowed/stole this book from a friend when I was in middle school and I am so glad I did, because despite the title and cover, it became one of my favorites for all of my teenagedom. I recently re-read it a few years ago, and I am proud to say it held up pretty well, too. So even though it's not remembered in literary circles, even though it didn't make any lists, it did for me exactly what I needed it to do for me at the time.
So why are bad books just as important as good ones? As the Publishers Weekly piece says, "All I know is, it didn’t matter to my reader self at the time that the books weren’t well-written or the characters beautifully developed. They sparked my imagination." Well said.
What's your favorite "bad" book?
