I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on Shawn D. Standfast’s BookTube series, Desert Island Books (watch it here), where I was tasked with choosing eight books to read, presumably for eternity. It was challenging, and except for Wilderness Survival for Dummies, the list comprised mostly of classics I’ve read and reread throughout the years. It makes sense that in my island isolation I would include some old friends–and good books certainly are–in my survival kit. I also included Tolstoy’s War and Peace with the understanding that being on the island would force me, at last, to read it, perhaps telling me something about my time management. Interestingly, to me anyway, was that there was no room on my list for my beloved V.C. Andrews among the Shakespeare, Wilde, and Wordsworth. When confronted with the dark night of the soul, I quickly converted to old-time literary religion.

But since I’m still living in the “real” world of distractions, a good portion of my library is devoted to the aforementioned V.C. Andrews, gothic romances, and paperbacks from hell. I call it pulp and do so proudly. But trashy books are a different matter. In my opinion, as expressed in the video below, trashy books are frequently sexual in nature and may elicit enough shame to disguise with a discreet dust jacket. A personal favorite, Jaqueline Susann’s Once is Not Enough definitely fits that bill. Even as a young teen, I found that tome hilariously entertaining for the depths it was willing to plunge.

So, in the spirit of the #GarbAugust reading challenge currently making the rounds on Booktube, I’ve added a few new-to-me trash books to my August TBR, including a recently acquired vintage copy of Riders by Jilly Cooper. I’m hoping the book lives up to this wonderfully trashy cover. The only shame I feel is that it’s taken me so long to read it.

Shame aside, it’s comforting to know I’m not the only one who appreciates good trash. Do check out booktuber CriminOlly videos to learn more about the fun challenge and follow #GarbAugust If you have any favorite trash books, please leave your true confessions below.