Tag Archives: readers

Up with books and readers. Down with literary snobs. via @matthaig1

This post by Matt Haig entitled 30 Things to Tell A Book Snob is too good to keep to myself.

There is something innately snobby about the world of books. There is the snobbery of literary over genre, of adult books over children’s, of seriousness over comedy, of reality over fantasy, of Martin Amis over Stephen King. And it is unhealthy. If books ever die, snobbery would be standing over the corpse.

So here is my message to book snobs:

1. People should never be made to feel bad about what they are reading. People who feel bad about reading will stop reading.

2. Snobbery leads to worse books. Pretentious writing and pretentious reading. Books as exclusive members clubs. Narrow genres. No inter-breeding. All that fascist nonsense that leads commercial writers to think it is okay to be lazy with words and for literary writers to think it is okay to be lazy with story.

3. If something is popular it can still be good. Just ask Shakespeare. Or the Beatles. Or peanut butter.

Read the rest here.

Taking a ride on the big yellow bus = researching my readers!

Today I went on a field trip with my daughter and 55 other K/1 kids.  I can’t remember the last time I was on a school bus.  How kooky!  I forgot that little people can’t even see over the seats so it’s like being in a little space pod.  And the wheel wells kill the leg room.  And stopping at train tracks.  And the way you slosh around in your seat during curves.  And no seat belts!  That feels weird, weird, weird.