I just read an article about an American writer who has dominated the New York Times best seller lists for the last few years that I’ve never heard of.
I could tell that the author of the article was a bit patronizing about the quality of the books – they definitely aren’t “literature”. Still, I love to read, so I’ve downloaded one of the books onto my kindle. ‘I’m no snob’ I thought ‘but luckily one benefit of a kindle is that no one will be able to see what I’m reading…’
So, clearly, yes I am a snob. It seems I want everyone to think I’m reading intellectual stuff rather than potboilers. But why should I be ashamed about what I’m reading? Is there any book published that I should want to hide? Porn?? Surely a legitimate genre, although I hasten to add not one I’ve ever read. (Actually is porn a genre of book, if it doesn’t have pictures? I’m too afraid to google it) Really, I’m being wildly optimistic that anyone who sees me reading would have the slightest interest in what I’ve downloaded to entertain myself, and that anyone would assume I was reading anything other than some generic bestseller anyway. Do I look like an intellectual? Do I want to? What should a random middle aged lady be reading?
My head hurts. At least I know that the kindle will take up much less space in my carry-on bag when I go overseas in a couple of weeks (did I mention I was going on holiday again? No?)
