Book Snobbery

There's something that's been really bugging me lately. It's happened around me so many times in the last month that I took the time to sit down and put my thoughts on it into words. I have to say, book snobbery really angers me. There's little that annoys me more.

I don't care what you read, it doesn't make you better than people who read books you don't like. No type of book is inherently better or worse than another, you just like it more or less. Not every book that you didn't enjoy is bad. I will admit there are books out there that may be so poorly written that you may not like them for that reason, but most books weren't bad, they just didn't match your personal tastes. And even when it was writing that turned you off, most of the time it still wasn't bad, it just wasn't a style of writing you enjoy. There are almost 7 billion people on the planet, it's pretty conceited to assume your personal taste is the barometer for quality.

Even if your taste was so amazing that it defined good and bad, there's going to be a variety of quality in any genre. You're going to have a few stellar books, a few stinkers, and a whole lot of stuff in between.

Reading 1-5 books/series in a genre does not make you an expert on the genre. It's not even a good sampling, given how many books are published each year. Do not complain that you read: Harry Potter, Twilight, whatever, and YA sucks. Don't tell me you read one of your mother's romance novels when you were twelve and you're just not into that crap. And for God's sake, don't be one of those people who says I've never read one of those books, but I don't need to. If you haven't read one of those books (no matter which books those refers to), keep your mouth shut, you have nothing to add to the conversation about that genre.

You want the right to talk about it? Look up a list of the best books in the genre and go read at least a dozen, focusing on trying to find ones with stories/writing styles that suit your tastes. If you're not willing to put the time in learning about a genre you haven't earned the right to talk about it derisively. If you do put in the time and after all that reading you still haven't found anything you like, by all means, tell people you're not a fan. Just don't call it crap because it isn't your cup of tea.