You Are All Awesome

 There is usually a point during NaBloPoMo where I'm really happy I decided to do it again, and it comes at various points, but not usually so early.

For various reasons, I have stepped away from the book club I've belonged to here in Ottawa since before Angus was born, so... 27-ish years? It was the right decision, and I have missed it, but not enough that I am questioning my decision. 

But WOW, everybody talking about book stuff on yesterday's post was fun! I wrote and published it a bit anxiously because 1) I do most things a bit anxiously and 2) I was afraid of sounding like an elitist. But I DO have some elitist opinions about talk show hosts recommending books, I DO! I am really happy for any author that Oprah Or Reese or Jenna recommends, because they're going to get huge publicity and more money. I am really happy that people that love these women will hear "go buy this book" and home in on their nearest bookstore like they're a sleeper agent that has been activated by a code message.

But I do want to make it known, somehow, that THEY'RE not the same kind of reader I am. Like Nance said, I don't want a copy with a sticker or, worse, a NON-REMOVABLE icon on the cover because I don't want people to see me reading it and think I'm only reading it because Oprah told me to. And I know this is dumb! And looking at all the lists yesterday I realized that ALL of them had books on them that I loved as well as books I didn't love. And if a friend recommended that many books to me and I didn't like some I wouldn't automatically think they're bad at recommending books. So am I just a snob?

Yep. Little bit. And I think I'm comfortable with that in this case. Those people that only read Oprah-recommended books likely have skills and strengths where they excel and I do not, but reading is not one. And the issue I often have with books that catch some kind of wave and everyone reads them - like Fifty Shades of Grey and The Da Vinci Code - is that often they are an example of a genre where they are thousands of other books that are as good if not better, but people tend to read that one book, talk about it as if it's the be-all and end-all, and then never read another book in that genre. 

Do you remember The Celestine Prophecy and/or The Shack? Both of these were popular during my time at the bookstore, and people would come in and rave about them and say they were so glad "a book like that" was making it out to people. I read them both. They were populist dreck. The Celestine Prophecy was a bunch of faux-mystical claptrap and The Shack was badly-written and had cringe racial stereotypes (IN MY OPINION, I hasten to add). I would have to close my eyes to prevent myself from rolling them when another customer came in rhapsodizing. 

But also, that's fine. Any book that goes stratospheric, whether I think it's good or not, has something arbitrary happen somewhere in the process. There are likely books in the slush pile that are just as good (if not better), as books that get published, although I worked at an audio publisher for a while and worked my way through a slush pile, and I have to say, there are fewer buried treasures in there than I hoped there might be ("UFOs, Religion, and You" - not good, friends, it was not good).

I would say this makes me hopeful for my NaBloPoMo momentum, but tomorrow is my longest work day and then I'm driving five hours on Thursday for a weekend away, so not so much. Still, fun.

Pictures of my bookshelves, pretentious and less so.