Yeah, it's cheap, so yeah, shut up.

Today is Celebrate Your Light Reading Day! Er, well, that's the focus of this post, anyway.

Some backstory: I have a weakness in my character for light, fluffy novels that don't need me to think about them too hard and just let me enjoy the ride. Commonly known as "chick lit", which I'm not sure if I dig, but to me it's all just easy reading. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love me some heavy stuff that challenges my viewpoint on the world and all, but sometimes you just need a palate cleanser. Promise, all of the books on today's post are just that.

To start off: most things by Meg Cabot are recommended highly, except for maybe The Princess Diaries because seriously, that series is overrated. I have the first three and Mia's voice gets annoying fast. I avoid it like the fucking plague. Her other stuff is much more interesting. I bought Avalon High a while back and I love it. It's Arthurian legend 101 in teenagerese. (Teenagerese: the voice and language of the current 14-17 year old set. Can be very enjoyable in moderation. Not to be confused with Juno-speak, which, though similar, is its own category.) Quick, satisfying, and if you love anything related to King Arthur, this is the easy read for you.

Another Meg Cabot book I love love love is The Boy Next Door. Mel's next-door neighbor has fallen into a coma, and walking her Great Dane Paco is interfering with Mel's work! Never fear, her neighbor's nephew, Max Friedlander has gallantly swooped in to take care of the dog and her two cats! But why does he insist that she call him John? And why do none of the rumors of Max Friendlander, Playboy About Town seem to match this laid-back, Grateful Dead-loving man? Prime example of easy romantic read - focus is on the romance, but there's a subplot that's also unfolding; it's charming and quirky and cute, and the romance is absolutely adorable, true to Cabot form. John is all too perfect. I'm just waiting for this to be made into a movie. (I will be first in line to buy tickets.)

Getting away from Meg Cabot, another easy rec is the Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison, starting with Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. Basically? Follows the life of crazy and wild teenager Georgia and her romantic ups and downs, not to mention her hilariously dysfunctional family. Rennison is a comedy writer, so these books are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. They do it to me every time, and I've read and reread these books more times than I can count. Also, I can completely understand Georgia. Shaving off the eyebrows? Been there. (Okay, well, it was more like accidentally taking off a quarter of one, but still. You fuck up your eyebrows and trust me, everybody notices.)

On the teen-lit front, I just bought a book called Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman. It's Much Ado About Nothing in teenagerese! I love it!! Considering Much Ado is only my favorite Shakespeare play ever, to see a teen remake of it made me squee out loud in the bookstore. (Yes, I am easily impressed.) So I shelled out the $16 for the hardcover copy and whaddya know? I love it. It's narrated by the Beatrice character, Geena, and oh my god her and Ben's romance is too adorable for words. I can't tell you how freaking cute this book was. See? Easy read, and adorable. Sometimes, it's just what you need. I mean, I could buy something artsy that pushes the limits of what's acceptable in prose and whatnot... but sometimes you just need to read a teen romance. It can't be helped.

To counteract all the teen books on here (what can I say, teen romances are the most adorable), I'll also rec Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. It's what American Gods would be without the philosophical musings, the implications of what America has become, the meaningfulness, and Neil Gaiman. It's light-hearted and witty, I'll give it that. The Greek gods exist, and they are the only gods, and they are losing their power. Also, Aphrodite is a phone-sex worker. (That's really the only job any of the gods have in the book that's worth mentioning.) It's funny and sarcastic, and if you want to take it seriously (which I don't), I'm sure an argument can be made to the effect of "how would the Greek gods find a niche in today's London?" - but then again, the same sort of thing was covered in American Gods to a much better effect.

Short and short of it? I'll always prefer American Gods, but Gods Behaving Badly kinda fits the myths of the gods' trickeries and capriciousness. I won't get into how the myths are supposed to be parables and not actual true stories of what the gods are like (I promised this would be short), but if you enjoy the Greek myths for entertainment, I think you'll like this. Also, it's really fun to watch Artemis wince every time someone talks about sex.

I have loads more books, because I am a sad, sad woman, but I'm pretty sure you can live off of these. As long as one is discerning about the fluff they read, you can find some damn good fluff out there. See: a lot of stuff they sell in airport terminals. You have no idea, the light fluffy books I find there. Easy read extrordinaire.

So go out, buy yourself a light novel, and then sit back and enjoy not having to think too hard. Everyone deserves a break now and again, right? Ta for now.