Do You Hate-Read?
I am over halfway through Lipstick Jungle, a novel written in 2005 by Candace Bushnell, the same author who wrote Sex and the City and a few other novels that I am now assuming also feature "modern" women living in New York. The time period a book is written in absolutely matters, and I believe this author's (not unpopular) take on feminism was to overcome stereotypical views of women by turning them into stereotypical men--in short, making female characters ruthless, ambitious, powerful, and more interested in sex than relationships. Lame.
So why am I still reading this story of three of "New York's top 50 most powerful women" who are clueless about love? My eyes are rolling over at all the climbing-the-corporate-ladder talk. And the male characters are at least as equally infuriating, from the castrated husbands to the egomaniacal billionaire to the young, shameless model who walks easily right into an affair.
Hate-read (v.): to read a book, article, blog, etc. that you dislike or think is very bad, because you enjoy laughing at it or criticizing it. Source: The Cambridge Dictionary
This is not something I engage in very often, nor do I encourage it. If you fill your brain with trash, make fun all you want but you'll still have a brain full of trash. Granted, I completely appreciate and adore guilty pleasures, but it matters what the pleasure is. For me, guilty pleasures are about comfort and familiarity, like watching sitcoms, or treating yourself to a reward. Finding pleasure in hate? That's just... despicable.
My Goodreads shelf has over 50 books marked DNF (did not finish). As a booklover/writer/English major/etc. it hurts me on a personal level to hate on someone else’s words, but it hurts me even more to read something I hate. There are too many books out there. Why would I waste my time on something that morally offends me or is badly written or so boring I don't even know what I'm reading anymore? The answer is, I don't. Typically after my second or third audible “Ugh” I put it down, though I’ve also stopped reading books halfway through if I’m just not enjoying it anymore.
But I kept reading Lipstick Jungle. I’ve been enjoying my hate-read by subconsciously thinking “Thank God I am not like these women.” I can’t tell if they’re supposed to be admired or pitied or what, and it’s that ambiguity that bugs me the most, especially now that I’m reaching the point where they’re starting to learn life lessons. Ugh. In case you’re wondering why I picked this book up in the first place, it was in a Tiny Library and I thought it’d be a fun brain break; it turns out, just because a book is easy to read doesn’t mean I won’t spend brain energy analyzing it. Argghhhh.
If I was this seriously passionate about film, I might have had the same reaction watching the Twilight movies or Gilmore Girls–a series loaded with white privilege, bad parenting, selfishness, and all kinds of mess that hasn’t stopped me from watching and enjoying every single episode… TWICE. Alas, I love to hate-watch cheesy scenes with lovers in the rain and problematic storylines. I love laughing out loud at moments that are meant to be sincere. But hate-reading is not as easy. Maybe because it lacks the visuals and corny acting?
What are your thoughts on hate-reading?
0 Comments Add a Comment?