God hates fangs, but I don't. Really!
You might think from all my bitching about Twilight that I consider myself to have impeccable taste, and that I only like things that are generally accepted as "good." This really isn't true - I understand guilty pleasures. There are plenty of things that I like that are less than perfect, but still entertain me greatly. Key words: "pleasure" and "entertain." If Twilight had bad writing but a story and characters that entertained me, I could deal with it. The problem really was that it made me want to forcibly remove my eyes and brain :)
[Side note: I'm not alone now that the movie is out. This is my favorite review so far: "I can only hope that their precious tome has been unmercifully butchered in its trip from the page to the screen because if this disaster actually is faithful to its source novel, then what that says about the collective taste of its rabid fan base is too unspeakably depressing to contemplate." Most reviews say the movie is very faithful to the book - the book really is that bad!]
Back to my main point: here are some things that I really like that aren't super-popular or award-winning . They are almost guilty pleasures, except I don't feel very guilty about any of them. And look, the first one has vampires!
Sookie Stackhouse books / True Blood
My friend lent me the first three of these books and I liked them a lot. It took me a while to get into the first one because I kept having Twilight flashbacks, but by the third book I couldn't stop reading. Bill is super boring, like all "good" vampires are, and I am tired of vampires vs werewolves in every single book and movie and show. But Sookie is tough and sassy and saves herself most of the time. I can't wait to read the rest.
I have been watching True Blood to see how they translated the books into a TV show. It seems more graphic than the books (which is backwards to me, you'd think they have to tone things down to put them on TV. I guess not on HBO). Maybe I'd like TV Bill better if his hair wasn't so dumb. Anna Paquin is great as Sookie, except Sookie's been annoying the crap out of me for the last half of the season. I really like Sam (unless he's around Sookie, then he turns lame). I love how detailed and important they've made the minor characters from the books - Tara and Lafayette are awesome. I can barely stand the wait between episodes, and I don't know what I'll do after the season finale this Sunday. (It also helps that my favorite TWoP recapper Jacob does True Blood's recaps. He makes it even better, just like he does for Doctor Who and BSG.)
Supernatural
Yes, it's a sci-fi/fantasy show on the CW that gets invisible ratings. Yes, it's basically Buffy with two brothers instead of one Slayer (especially this season, with all the "chosen one"-ing, apocalypses, and raising demons for Halloween). Yes, even though the individual episodes have been spectacular so far, this season could end up being ridiculous (I usually only want to hear "God has a plan" from a platinum blonde robot hallucination, you know?). But I love Dean (click that, seriously), the brothers' relationship, and METALLICAR. The show can be scary, funny, and badass. Also, after an episode at the beginning of the season, I can bump up Supernatural's "Time Travel" score in my TV Show Comparison Tables, moving it closer to the top!
Psych
This show is super-goofy, sometimes the mysteries make no sense, sometimes there are plot holes, and I always laugh when I see them pretending that rainy Vancouver with waist-high ferns is actually California. But Sean and Gus are awesome (I think Gus is funnier, even though he's the sidekick) and I laugh the whole way through every episode.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
It's unbelievable (even though Belle supposedly exists), soapy, and teaches you things you might not want to know. Some people think Billie Piper looks like a man (I disagree). The show went to hilarious lengths this season to hide her pregnancy (ugly clothes, hiding her behind pillows, using a body double that looks nothing like her). But I love Rose Tyler the hooker with a heart of gold. She's so funny and cute, and I am got stupidly caught up in the love triangle this season.
Temeraire books
I know Naomi Novik used to write fanfic on LJ (so do several million other people who want to be authors someday). I am sure some people don't like the old-fashioned style she uses in her books, and they can drag on (haha, see what I did there?) a bit. But Temeraire is cute and funny and smart and heroic, so I can't stop reading these books.
See? Now you can roll your eyes at me the way I roll my eyes at Twilight-obsessed teenage girls. Enjoy.
[Side note: I'm not alone now that the movie is out. This is my favorite review so far: "I can only hope that their precious tome has been unmercifully butchered in its trip from the page to the screen because if this disaster actually is faithful to its source novel, then what that says about the collective taste of its rabid fan base is too unspeakably depressing to contemplate." Most reviews say the movie is very faithful to the book - the book really is that bad!]
Back to my main point: here are some things that I really like that aren't super-popular or award-winning . They are almost guilty pleasures, except I don't feel very guilty about any of them. And look, the first one has vampires!
Sookie Stackhouse books / True Blood
My friend lent me the first three of these books and I liked them a lot. It took me a while to get into the first one because I kept having Twilight flashbacks, but by the third book I couldn't stop reading. Bill is super boring, like all "good" vampires are, and I am tired of vampires vs werewolves in every single book and movie and show. But Sookie is tough and sassy and saves herself most of the time. I can't wait to read the rest.
I have been watching True Blood to see how they translated the books into a TV show. It seems more graphic than the books (which is backwards to me, you'd think they have to tone things down to put them on TV. I guess not on HBO). Maybe I'd like TV Bill better if his hair wasn't so dumb. Anna Paquin is great as Sookie, except Sookie's been annoying the crap out of me for the last half of the season. I really like Sam (unless he's around Sookie, then he turns lame). I love how detailed and important they've made the minor characters from the books - Tara and Lafayette are awesome. I can barely stand the wait between episodes, and I don't know what I'll do after the season finale this Sunday. (It also helps that my favorite TWoP recapper Jacob does True Blood's recaps. He makes it even better, just like he does for Doctor Who and BSG.)
Supernatural
Yes, it's a sci-fi/fantasy show on the CW that gets invisible ratings. Yes, it's basically Buffy with two brothers instead of one Slayer (especially this season, with all the "chosen one"-ing, apocalypses, and raising demons for Halloween). Yes, even though the individual episodes have been spectacular so far, this season could end up being ridiculous (I usually only want to hear "God has a plan" from a platinum blonde robot hallucination, you know?). But I love Dean (click that, seriously), the brothers' relationship, and METALLICAR. The show can be scary, funny, and badass. Also, after an episode at the beginning of the season, I can bump up Supernatural's "Time Travel" score in my TV Show Comparison Tables, moving it closer to the top!
Psych
This show is super-goofy, sometimes the mysteries make no sense, sometimes there are plot holes, and I always laugh when I see them pretending that rainy Vancouver with waist-high ferns is actually California. But Sean and Gus are awesome (I think Gus is funnier, even though he's the sidekick) and I laugh the whole way through every episode.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
It's unbelievable (even though Belle supposedly exists), soapy, and teaches you things you might not want to know. Some people think Billie Piper looks like a man (I disagree). The show went to hilarious lengths this season to hide her pregnancy (ugly clothes, hiding her behind pillows, using a body double that looks nothing like her). But I love Rose Tyler the hooker with a heart of gold. She's so funny and cute, and I am got stupidly caught up in the love triangle this season.
Temeraire books
I know Naomi Novik used to write fanfic on LJ (so do several million other people who want to be authors someday). I am sure some people don't like the old-fashioned style she uses in her books, and they can drag on (haha, see what I did there?) a bit. But Temeraire is cute and funny and smart and heroic, so I can't stop reading these books.
See? Now you can roll your eyes at me the way I roll my eyes at Twilight-obsessed teenage girls. Enjoy.