by Erin Mitchell
This post was inspired by a segment on RTE Radio 1 about THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, during which John Connolly valiantly tolerated some pretty impressive book snobbery. Click here to listen (popcorn at the ready recommended).
1. Use the phrase “transcends the genre” frequently and in a complimentary fashion. (For more on this, please read Sarah Weinman’s excellent piece on the topic.)
2. Damn genre authors with faint praise at every opportunity.
3. Choose one or two popular genre novels and refer to them as your guilty pleasure. You need not have actually read them.
4. Have (ideally snarky) opinions about books you wouldn’t be caught dead reading.
5. Speak often and loudly about your love of reading, but take no action whatsoever to encourage other people to read.
6. Should you accidentally (or under duress) read and enjoy a genre novel, be sure to point out the ways in which is isn’t really a genre novel (see #1).
7. Should you happen to encounter a writer of said genre novels in the course of your fabulous life, be sure to educate him or her all that is wrong with genre fiction.
8. Never, ever set foot in a library, unless it is a private one or you are attending a specific (ideally invitation-only) event.
9. Criticize common readers whenever possible. Sharing lists of obscure books you absolutely adore on social media is an excellent means to illustrate how much better you are as a reader and a human being, and be sure to express your shock and outrage should any of your “friends” not have read and appreciated them all.
10. Remember that people who live outside wherever you do (or New York City or London) and/or possess less formal education than you do are lesser life forms, and couldn’t possibly know a single thing about Real and Worthwhile Literature.
Together, we can make the world safe for Real Literature and save potential readers from themselves.
GREAT! I remember talking to an Creative Writing Professor some years ago and telling him my goal was to write a book in every single genre. He grimaced and said, "We don't teach genre." I felt sorry for the students. His name was Fenton but I can't remember if that was his first or last name. I think he wrote a mem-wah.
Posted by: Becky Masterman | February 27, 2015 at 10:04 AM
"Whoever expects thrillers to be real...they can be extremely cliched." *smacks snobby woman*
Posted by: nelizadrew | February 27, 2015 at 10:13 AM
Yes!!! I have met all of these book snobs!
Posted by: Janet Rudolph | February 27, 2015 at 10:57 AM
Great piece, Erin! In my poor, unsophisticated stupidity (hmm, can stupidity be sophisticated?), I shared with someone that I was excited about attending Bouchercon and explained what it was. The person looked at me like it was lovely that I had a meaningless hobby. Arghhh!
Posted by: Kathy Reel | February 27, 2015 at 11:27 AM
I'm on a panel at a teaching-writer's conference in April and I'm highly concerned that I will need to smack some people. Thanks for the link to that essay. I need all the ammunition I can get. I told Sara Paretsky that I would take a buzzer to the conference and use it anytime someone said "transcend the genre."
Posted by: Lori Rader-Day | February 27, 2015 at 08:22 PM
Grrrrrrr. Do the people who say these things actually read any 'genre' fiction?
Posted by: Lynne Patrick | March 04, 2015 at 07:37 AM