About 10-15 years ago (time is elastic when you’re getting older) a phenomenon known as guilty pleasures appeared in music loving circles. People admitted they loved best selling pop songs by Hall and Oates, The Carpenters, Leo Sayer and the like. Prior to the internet, the NME music writers had some kind of Stalinist stranglehold on the taste of its readers that the hippest music fan had to free themselves from. Surely a relief, because there shouldn’t be guilty pleasures when it comes to the culture and art you enjoy.

You can sometimes find this kind of thing among book lovers who reluctantly admit to loving John Grisham or Jilly Cooper, the books they keep on the bedside table. I believe in reading for reading’s sake as much as for enlightenment and love talking about all kinds of book. One man who loves his esoteric poetry also celebrates his love of Bestsellers, stories that are easy to read, that make him want to pick up his book and just unwind and enjoy the ride. Hats off to him.

An interesting if unscientific observation from the Life of Books survey is just how many books people mention that I have read or at least know something about. Good stories travel well and lots of people enjoy them and while a good read isn’t always a bestseller, in general a bestseller should be a good read. a satisfying read. Here’s an acoustic version of my song for the project, it’s called Bestsellers and dedicated to the esoteric poetry fan who loves a good read.