A Word From The Not-So-Wise
(That’s me!)
I will now proceed to prove to you the merits of meritless books.
Wait, you say, Catharine, that doesn’t make sense.
Yes, yes, it does.
So I’m just gonna flat out admit it, I’m a huge fan of books that people scoff at in the bookstore. Heck, even I scoff at them! Books like, Pretty Little Liars, Kissed by an Angel, Fallen, Shiver, and Hush, Hush. (Not Twilight. I draw the line at complete lack of characters and nonsense grammar.) Yes —in case you didn’t know— those are the books in the bookstores with vague cover images involving vampires/angels/werewolves/supernatural nonsense. I know, I know, they’re dumb.
But I can’t help it!
People look at me like I’ve committed a horrible felony, being an intelligent person who seemingly wastes their intellect and time on reading those books. However, I have my own little theory concerning this stuff. Taken from the meager examples of my mom, my best friend, her sister, and myself —sometimes smart people need an escape. Personally, I cannot STAND to read smart books all the time. Reading my fluff books is like giving my brain a nice little vacation. I can devour books at an incredibly rapid pace, because those books don’t take much to understand! Yes they’re cheesy and unreal. But I really enjoy my supernatural with a hint of romance and mystery books. They’re my preferred form of escapism. Basically what I’ve come to base all of my arguments in defense of reading these books is escapism. They’re an escape from daily life.
An escape from what? as J so wisely asked me.
Not an escape from my traumatic life or my angsty teenagedom. Just an escape from everyday life. Even people (like me) who love their lives and enjoy everyday in some way need an escape. Sometimes I get bogged down by work, school, arguing with my family, and stress. The everyday worries. And there is no supernatural in my daily life, thus an escape. Ever since I was little I’ve loved getting absorbed into a book and being more concerned with it than whatever pressing issue was on my plate at the moment. They’re ridiculous books, I know. But I can’t be serious and smart all the time. Wait, I’m not usually serious anyways… :)
So let’s use a cliche. Books: My Anti-Drug.
Yep, I went there.
C
