Readers: what are your guilty pleasures?
Here are mine:
1. "Hell's Angel" by Sonny Barger: Yes, I admit, I am fascinated with the world of outlaw motorcycle gangs. This book, written by Hells Angels founder Sonny Barger, details his involvement in the Oakland chapter of the gang from its inception to now. The stories, I am the first to admit, are undoubtedly embellished and given a positive spin for his image, but, for me, they are still very entertaining.
2. "Mankind" by Mick Foley: "Mankind" was one of the stage names for Mick Foley, a professional wrestler who found success under other guises as well. I enjoyed watching this ridiculous "sport" when I was younger, but I hesitated picking this book up at first. Imagine my surprise when I found it to be an unflinching, honest look at this world, and very well-written besides.
3. Anything by Clive Cussler: Clive Cussler is a very successful author who has made his fortune with the character of Dirk Pitt, an impossibly handsome and competent main character in a long series of novels where he beats seemingly impossible odds against increasingly flamboyant bad guys. The stories, I admit, are starting to repeat themselves, and I am about to give this series up, but Cussler is a decent writer with a very good narrative flow.
4. "Titus Andronicus" by William Shakespeare: Maybe Shakespeare wrote this one while hungover, I don't know. Anyway, this has to be his most unrepentantly violent play. It involves a Roman general, the title character, matching wits and acts of violence with the captive Goth queen Tamora. The scene where Titus kills Tamora's sons and has them cooked into a meat pie which he then feeds to the Goth queen is the Bard at his most perverse.
5. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon) by Crystal Zevon: I picked this one up because I am a huge fan of the late, great Warren Zevon. This biography, based on the experiences of his former wife and of everyone else who was close to him in life, shows him in all his creative, and destructive, glory. His music was years ahead of its time, but he was also a chronic alcoholic and womanizer. Reading this book was like watching a Rolls Royce crashing into a cement barrier, but I loved it.