Thankfully, I am not a teenager anymore, but sometimes I like to get nostalgic and reflect upon the days when my pudgy, controlling boyfriend cheating on me was an event akin to the apocalypse and no one articulated my feelings better than Davey Havok of AFI, bless his tranny heart.

For others looking to take a simultaneously funny and painful stroll down memory lane, may I recommend these literary gems to get you in the hormone-laden mood.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: Written as a series of letters to an unidentified recipient, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a charming little novella told from the perspective of Charlie, a shy and introverted freshman. True to teen book form, Charlie experiences all the usual touchstones of adolescence – crushes, family drama, drugs, sexual experimentation – but what makes the book stand out is Chbosky’s simple, straightforward writing style.

With excerpts like, “Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made airwaves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something. ‘I feel infinite,’” The Perks of Being a Wallflower is like reading the journal of that quiet kid that sat next to you in English that you always wanted to make out with. Plus, it was published by MTV in the days when the network was still clinging to some shed of credibility. Ah, memories. Read More »

Firstly, yes, this issue warrants more than one part!

I love romance novels. It’s not the easiest thing to admit because the genre has such an ugly stigma attached to it. Romance novel aficionados are supposed to live alone and own too many cats and collect Precious Memories figurines. Or, worse, people think that fans of the genre have no love life of their own and are living vicariously through the amply chested heroines that populate these novels. More learned opponents even go so far as to claim that romance novels are overly simplistic, poorly written and, yes, anti-feminist.

All of this couldn’t be more wrong. These ideas are all products of a society that likes to privilege what they see as “high” culture–literary novels, foreign films, classical music over lowly romance novels, horror movies and country music. There is the implication that if you like the one, you are smart and if you are a fan of the other, then you are stupid. It’s condescending and insulting. Just like with any other genre of entertainment, fans of romance are varied and complex. Read More »