Sunday, October 23, 2016

On Being A Snob

I am a pretentious prick who scoffs at most of what passes for literature out there.

No, I can be honest and admit it.  I'm not the usual consumer of mass marketed books that everyone seems to love.  For example, I hated The DaVinci Code.  I thought the plot was simplistic, the characters lacked depth, and that I could've written a better and more compelling book while sitting on the toilet.  I think Twilight is drivel designed to appeal to the base emotions of 14-year old girls who don't fit in in high school.

To some people, this makes me a bad person.  At the very least, it makes me extremely picky.  I look down my nose at most books out there because I think most aren't very good.  If people choose to shun me as a result, that's fine.  I know what I like, and I won't change that to fit in.

The reason I consider myself a snob when it comes to novels is that I want smart books with depth and characters that seem real.  Endings I can see coming a mile away annoy me, and any book not consistent within its own universe strikes me as lazy.  I can get shallow by reading the front page of any newspaper, so why would I waste my time on terrible stuff?

And I know I'm not alone.  Mas market books appeal to society at large, but let's be honest - most of society doesn't regularly devour books.  Most people read two or three books a year, usually on the recommendation of a friend, or because it happens to be the "in" thing right now.  True readers, the ones who gobble up books at more than one a month, know how hard it can be to find an enthralling story.

Here's the thing, though - those of us who are snobs not only have to accept that fact, but we also have to accept that it's going to be hard to find a book we really like.  We have to accept sifting through tons of debris out there to find the occasional gem that we can go back to time and time again.  It means accepting limitations on our selection rather than shaking our heads in frustration because what's out there just isn't good enough.

It's okay to be a snob.  It's okay to be picky.  Embrace it.  Don't worry about what other people will say when they find out just how discerning you are.  Also accept that you don't have to be picky about everything, and that the occasional guilty pleasure(maybe you like Warhammer books) is a great escape.  Stop worrying about what other people, including other snobs, think about your tastes.  After all, reading is supposed to be enjoyable, and even snobs deserve enjoyment.

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