Escapism and guilty pleasures
Since learning that for my mother the melanoma has spread to her brain and lungs, I have taken to escaping to fiction even more than I usually do.
So, this year, I have had binges not just reading writings of Carol Berg (more about her books later on!), but also of (talking only about one genre here, albeit the one that currently seems to give me most of relief) Kelley Armstrong, Robin LaFevers, Cassandra Clare, Maria V. Snyder.
These binges make me think of what do I, personally, feel as a guilty pleasure.
May-be I have misunderstood, but I believe in general the guilty pleasure is meant as something one enjoys, but feels one should not enjoy, as it is not of high quality/high culture and the peers whose opinion matters are likely to make fun of someone taking pleasure in such inferior product.
For me, the guilt comes from ... feeling a bit like an immoral predator. Taking an innocent book by Cassandra Clare like a low class virgin, having my way with it and then putting it aside with a sneer: "No need to respect my victim, as such low class one has earned no better treatment! I will badmouth it and not recommend it to anyone, as I got what I needed from it and yet I am sure I have no reason to give anything back (like a good review ... or at least not saying anything, if I cannot say something good)"
I do not feel that way about books by Robin Hobb, to give just one example, as while I do not have anything to say about these books, I read then as I like them (faults and all), I may not stand up to defend them, if someone does not like that kind of thing, but as I really do like what Robin Hobb writes, all is OK.
Hence - from the list in second paragraph, Cassandra Clare and Maria V. Snyder are guilty pleasures and others are not.
Carol Berg started out as a guilty pleasure - I believe I read "Transformation" a decade ago (and did not like it enough to buy more), then last year in USA I did read "The Spirit Lens" - was not impressed, but got into the story and after reading "The Soul Mirror" also did not forget the author. Got back with reading "Flesh and Spirit" and "Breath and Bone" earlier this year that, while spurring me to buy more Carol Berg books as I liked them, still did not yet entirely get out of the guilty pleasure territory (I even thought of writing a review, but could not get my thoughts coherent enough).
Interestingly, while I liked the story of Valen most, still it were the books of "The Bridge of D'Arnath" that changed my stand on writing of Carol Berg. I guess I should blame the fourth book of the series for that.
I did not have any favorite character in these books (not even one I would love to hate) and the parallel worlds are not my favorite kind of situation either. I also prefer not to have pure evil villains, and at first the Lords of Zhev'Na seemed to be exactly that*. Somehow I found it hard to feel much empathy for Gerick and that might have been good, as it made it possible to get thorough descriptions of his training by the Lords of Zhev'Na.
Yet I found the story and unrolling of the world fascinating enough to get thorough three books and start the fourth one. And the way "Daughter of Ancients" played on the age old theme of Exitus acta probat was the most fun for me. Especially as D'Sanya does not do the standard thing of attempting to use questionable means to get noble results, she rather does not see difference (does not FEEL the difference) in dark magic she tries to use for reaching noble means, for balancing out her previous failures.
*well, they ARE evil, but as I was reading the books for the need to escape, failing to do what I should be doing instead, so I found it understandable to learn that there was a point in the cruelty, that it provided more power and that having the power was so addictive
So, this year, I have had binges not just reading writings of Carol Berg (more about her books later on!), but also of (talking only about one genre here, albeit the one that currently seems to give me most of relief) Kelley Armstrong, Robin LaFevers, Cassandra Clare, Maria V. Snyder.
These binges make me think of what do I, personally, feel as a guilty pleasure.
May-be I have misunderstood, but I believe in general the guilty pleasure is meant as something one enjoys, but feels one should not enjoy, as it is not of high quality/high culture and the peers whose opinion matters are likely to make fun of someone taking pleasure in such inferior product.
For me, the guilt comes from ... feeling a bit like an immoral predator. Taking an innocent book by Cassandra Clare like a low class virgin, having my way with it and then putting it aside with a sneer: "No need to respect my victim, as such low class one has earned no better treatment! I will badmouth it and not recommend it to anyone, as I got what I needed from it and yet I am sure I have no reason to give anything back (like a good review ... or at least not saying anything, if I cannot say something good)"
I do not feel that way about books by Robin Hobb, to give just one example, as while I do not have anything to say about these books, I read then as I like them (faults and all), I may not stand up to defend them, if someone does not like that kind of thing, but as I really do like what Robin Hobb writes, all is OK.
Hence - from the list in second paragraph, Cassandra Clare and Maria V. Snyder are guilty pleasures and others are not.
Carol Berg started out as a guilty pleasure - I believe I read "Transformation" a decade ago (and did not like it enough to buy more), then last year in USA I did read "The Spirit Lens" - was not impressed, but got into the story and after reading "The Soul Mirror" also did not forget the author. Got back with reading "Flesh and Spirit" and "Breath and Bone" earlier this year that, while spurring me to buy more Carol Berg books as I liked them, still did not yet entirely get out of the guilty pleasure territory (I even thought of writing a review, but could not get my thoughts coherent enough).
Interestingly, while I liked the story of Valen most, still it were the books of "The Bridge of D'Arnath" that changed my stand on writing of Carol Berg. I guess I should blame the fourth book of the series for that.
I did not have any favorite character in these books (not even one I would love to hate) and the parallel worlds are not my favorite kind of situation either. I also prefer not to have pure evil villains, and at first the Lords of Zhev'Na seemed to be exactly that*. Somehow I found it hard to feel much empathy for Gerick and that might have been good, as it made it possible to get thorough descriptions of his training by the Lords of Zhev'Na.
Yet I found the story and unrolling of the world fascinating enough to get thorough three books and start the fourth one. And the way "Daughter of Ancients" played on the age old theme of Exitus acta probat was the most fun for me. Especially as D'Sanya does not do the standard thing of attempting to use questionable means to get noble results, she rather does not see difference (does not FEEL the difference) in dark magic she tries to use for reaching noble means, for balancing out her previous failures.
*well, they ARE evil, but as I was reading the books for the need to escape, failing to do what I should be doing instead, so I found it understandable to learn that there was a point in the cruelty, that it provided more power and that having the power was so addictive