15 Books You Secretly Love

Overindulge. We won’t tell…

5 min readNov 6, 2017

Reading can be a challenging and sometimes slow process, especially with more serious academic texts or classics we read for school. Which is why every once in a while, we find ourselves needing a “guilty pleasure” novel to indulge in. They are just as valuable as their more serious counterparts, but they can often have an added element of fun or scandal that can make them more titillating to read and faster to get through. Enjoy this list of guilty pleasure books in public or in private — we won’t tell.

1. Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure by Amy Kaufman

The book is a deep-dive into how the popular Bachelor show works and why our culture, and in particular so many staunch feminists, can’t stop watching it and its many spin-offs (the fourth of which just recently debuted).
See Amy Kaufman discuss her new book at Strand 3/7/18!

2. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Number two in Kevin Kwan’s scandalous series, this novel follows the lives of the wealthy elites of Singapore.

3. Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris

If you love vampires but don’t quite get the Twilight craze, you’ll love this steamy series that became its own HBO show, True Blood.

4. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Got a secret, can you keep it? One best friend in a group of high school girls passes away mysteriously, and then someone uses her name to blackmail her friends via text messages.

5. The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Soulja

The pampered teen daughter of an infamous drug dealer decides to rebel when her father tries to move the family and the business to Long Island.

6. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

This 30-something single lady thinks if she could make some self-improvements, everything in her life would fall into place. Valiant efforts often lead to hilarious results for the overly aware Bridget Jones.

7. Gossip Girl by by Cecily von Ziegesar

Want to know about the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite, as told by a mystery woman called Gossip Girl? Don’t miss this series.

8. How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan

Stella Payne is 42 years old and living the single life in luxury with her son until she decides to vacation in Jamaica where she meets a hot younger man who sparks her interest — and desire.

9. Unzipped by Noire

This urban erotic tale focuses on Pearl, a glamorous Harlem beauty who leaves the hood only to come back for revenge after her family is killed in a fire by her father’s rival.

10. UnSweetined by Jodie Sweetin

Jodie Sweetin, who portrayed the iconic middle sister Stephanie Tanner on Full House and the new Fuller House, shares her struggles growing up on camera and harmful addictions she has overcome.

11. The Sluts by Dennis Cooper

This story takes place on a social media site for Johns who talk about their strange fetishes and experiences with an illusive prostitute named Brad and his sometimes sugar daddy, Bryan.

12. Addicted by Zane

Zoe’s addiction to sex threatens her well-being, her marriage, and her life. Will she overcome before her life spins completely out of control?

13. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Everyone and their mother decided to explore BDSM after reading this steamy account of one girl and her dominant boss, Christian Grey.

14. Class Mom by Laurie Gelman

Jen Dixon is not your typical Kansas City kindergarten class mom. With unconventional methods of leadership, demanding Real Housewife moms, a surprising attractive teacher, and more, this relateable and hilarious style could be just what mom needs.

15. The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

She was forced to use her chemist background to torture victims into confessions, but now she’s hunting down her past employers for a chance at freedom…and revenge.