Mid-Season Finales already? Here’s what to read and watch: The Guilty Pleasure Edition

I think that we have established that mid-season TV show finales are the worst and really it’s a marketing ploy to get higher viewership for November sweeps. However, the somewhat brief hiatus gives you time to finally catch up on important things like  the alternate reads from our Boozy Book Club that have been sitting on your night stand (I prefer this imagery rather than just ebooks sitting on your kindle app shelf); find out what this Barron’s character is and why it inspired TN writer Elise to write poetry about losing days of her life to the books;  watch all those shows that people have been oddly demanding about you finally catching up — “Doctor Who”, “Friday Night Lights”, “Battlestar Galactica”, etc.  While all of those ideas sound good (and really, why haven’t you watched “Friday Night Lights” yet?), sometimes you  just want to escape and watch/read something incredibly girly (read: guilty pleasure.)

Guilty Pleasure Reading

Fine, I admit it: I have read Lauren Conrad’s L.A. Candy Series. I admire Lauren Conrad for turning her reality fame into a brand with multiple clothing lines, a life style blog, and books – both fiction and non fiction. While I am not 100% convinced that she wrote the books completely herself, I do think she based the stories on actual situations that happened on “The Hills” — another complete guilty pleasure of mine.  These quick reads can occupy you through the long weekend or December evenings with nothing is on TV.  And although you may try to read these to find some awful writing and  to find something that isn’t perfect about LC, the writing is not half bad. REALLY. Characters and the premise are quickly established and you just get to enjoy the semi-autobiographical story. Bonus: try to figure out which stories are really about Heidi Montag or Jen Bunny.

 Guilty Pleasure Viewing

Netflix has become my go-to source for most of my guilty pleasure TV/Movie watching. You can probably guess that I have rewatched the entire “The Hills” series, but that is not my suggestion for hiatus viewing. If you are like me and enjoy dance and cheer movies with the biggest stupid grin on your face, you will certainly be on board with these guilty pleasure recommendations. First, let me introduce you to the so-bad-it’s-good dance TV show from Australia: “Dance Academy.”

The show follows a young Tara Webster, who dreams of escaping her sheltered farm life to go to the big city (Syndey) and become a ballerina. Lucky for her, she gets a scholarship to attend the dance academy! Too bad her country (or is it outback?) technique isn’t up to par with her fellow classmates. The show has some great awkward teenage story lines, boys to crush on, and dance! Better yet, the episodes are short and you will find yourself 5 episodes in before you need a bathroom break.  Seasons 1 & 2 are available on Netflix’s instant watch.

Between books, booze and tv shows, you should be covered this holiday season!

What are you favorite guilty pleasure reads or views?

Feature Image Source