A Crisis of Literary Proportions

This morning I received a Recommendations e-mail from Barnes & Noble. I opened it hoping for suggestions of new books to enjoy, based on my recent purchases. When the only suggestions listed were for teen romance/adventure novels, I felt a wash of shame come over me. I've recognized this problem, as I indicated in my New Years Resolutions note on Facebook. I didn't realize the seriousness of my addiction until this morning.

I used to be such a good reader. I remember a time, not that long ago when I eagerly devoured thick volumes about important historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Teddy Roosevelt, and political leaders like Hugo Chavez and Aung San Suu Ki. Even as a child I remember reading an entire series on British Monarchs. In the last two months I’ve read seven books – The Hunger Games Trilogy and the Twilight Series. Is this what I've come to? Someone who can only be satisfied by soft-core teen literary porn?

Where must I go to find redemption? The weight of so many unread "classics" has become almost unbearable. I could always just ease out with THE vampire novel, Dracula. Will that merely lead to backsliding and The Historian or Let The Right One In? Should I start easy with something light and humorous like Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, perhaps? Or do I just go for it, and dive into The Next 100 Years by George Friedman? Of course I could take a different path and finish one of the dozen "adult" books I've started in the last few months. That hardly seems like a good way to start fresh though. Any suggestions for good books are always welcome. The circumstances are dire and I'm afraid it won't be long before I break down and sink into the mindless abyss of James Patterson's new teen series; that must be the lowest of lows.