Book snob

Sara1954. Ive just brought it on my Kindale I hope im not dissapointed.

Many years ago I read an article written by a journalist who decided she would earn some easy extra money by writing a Mills and Boon novel, After three weeks she gave up, having discovered that they were not nearly so easy to produce as every one thought, were a particular genre, and needed skilled writers who understood, and didn't patronise, their market.
What so much successful, popular fiction has is that page-turning element, a good plot and a satisfying conclusion, something that is sadly lacking in so many of the deathless-prose type of literary prize winners.

when I want a bit of cheering up I love Sophie Kinsella her books make me chuckle

I help out in a charity shop and see a lot of people donating books adults and childrens all topics. Again a lot of people buy them adults and children. If the books did not go to the charity shop possibly put in recycling or maybe just general rubbish. This way at least someone else gets a chance to read a book that they would not buy at full price. Where I volunteer they sell adults books 50p each hardback and paperback and childrens books 20p each. I know some charity shops charge a lot more as when I have been on holiday at times I have looked in some otherwise I normally never bother.

I still have a copy of The L-shaped Room Rosycheeks

I like all types of books and im not a snob but I wouldnt read a mills and boon because I would just be sitting there thinking how corny. I have lots of favs Jane Eyre Ive read loads of times, David Copperfield too. Of course Fifty Shades of Grey all 3 and enjoyed it at the time. In my teens I read The L ShapedRoom,which if still in print I would read again but I expect it would be very dated. The film is nothing like the book. Horror books I like but my Kindle is full of different types of books.
Some people are book snobs but then there are snobs for everything. I do love reading if its a good book I read it from cover to cover and nothing else gets done.

If I look on a FB book club group I belong to there is such a wide variety of likes and dislikes. Some rave over Crawdads others found it dire. Chic lit, detective fiction, psychological thrillers, Chinese writers, romance, historical fiction all get a mention. I’m currently enjoying romantic fiction by Carolyn Brown, suggested by a friend. It’s all Texas cowboys, y’all and sweet tea- a big change from Jonathan or Faye Kellerman detective series which I was rereading before.
Read what you like-and thinking of that I must get my ghost books by Manning Coles out again.

I have given away thousands of books in the past and even as I’m writing this I have about 500 bagged up and ready to ship off. We had kept a ‘library’ of books that we had accrued since moving to this house 20+ years ago, but we’re now expanding our home office into that room, so the books have to go.

We have non-fiction books on just about every topic you can think of, plus a wide range of novels. I had read most of the ‘classics’ by the time I was 25 and, to be honest, now I remember very little about most of them. I like to read biographies of people who interest me, I read books authored by writers whose views are very different to mine, I read poetry and chick-lit and detective stories and ‘modern classics’ - and my memory is now so bad that I can read a book and a month later I can be half-way through the same book before I realise I’ve only recently read it! ?

Our local museum and Children's Hospice charity shop both have excellent book departments.

I have three children, two were voracious readers, number 3 only read what he had to read for academic purpose and Tin Tin comics?.
I used to despair.

He went away to India for 6 months age 18, no TV no WiFi…..his sister sent him off with an epic book called Shantaram, it was the first proper book he’d read for pleasure and yes of course it opened the floodgates.

I don’t care what anyone reads as long as they are reading, it’s so important to be able to get lost in a book wether it’s a Mills and Boon bodice ripper or Tolstoy.

i read 3/4 books a week, my reading is a mix of everything, i have to use a kindle as my eyesight has got bad, i was at the library, twice a week to get large print books, there is not as many of them and they only change every 3/4 months, my son got me a kindle as he could see how fed up i was without my books, i get my books now from amazon most of them are free, when a new set of books come out they usually give the first one free and then you can more if you like the writer. lots of younger people read using there phone or kindle, my son is 39 and has never read a book in his life.

Shelbel
I agree, every time I order books, I have to include one previously unread author.
Sometimes of course it’s a disaster, but often I discover something which I really enjoy.

It’s odd that some of my most enjoyed reads recently have been what could be described as teen fiction Discovery of Witches, Hunger Games and Divergent series none of which I would normally read.

Where the Crawdads Sing totally got me
and I can get lost in a Dan Brown whilst on a beach lounger.

A couple of years ago I set about widening my reading scope. I've read all the classics that interest me but also found a love of William Boyd, Paul Theroux and John Irving. One of my all time favourite books is The Poisonwood bible. I'm on a 4th read of it.

I just think it's important to keep widening your choice as that's how we find new joys

I suppose there’s a bit of a book snob in all of us.
I always say to my much smarter friend than me, what’s this rubbish you’re reading then? Some trashy sex and shopping novel?
Partly in jest of course, but occasionally I recommend a book I think she might enjoy, and she always hates it.
Horses for courses

I knew a woman who wrote some of the Mills and Boon books. She told me they were given the bones of the characters and story line and needed to flesh it out sort of thing - also so many pages etc etc.

I have a fairly large library, currently standing at 700+ books. The subjects and authors vary, but if looking at someone's library tells you what you need to know about that person, I think most people would run from my house in terror!

There's a whole shelf on serial killers, another on true crime, almost a full bookcase on witches and witchcraft through the ages, then there's the classics, the modern literature, the reference books, a couple of chicklits for when I want a nice easy read, and other miscellaneous books. I never download, I prefer the feel and smell of an old book to anything electronic.

As someone said, a good book is like old friend I want to revisit, the others go to the charity shop.

I started my career as a librarian so I used to see readers with all tastes from Mills and Boon to the classics. Even light novels and coffee table books have their place if people enjoy them.

Its sad that reading books is a lost skill because reading online is a different experience. You can stuff a paperback into your pocket and you dont need wifi or a charged up smartphone to read it if your standing in the queue for Asda or waiting for your train.

It sounds just fine Marydoll

I have many classics on the shelves so look like a book snob but have just finished a Santa Montefiore book.
(Not read some of the classics inherited from MIL!)

That actually hasn't come out the way I wanted. I actually sound like a book snob.

As a student I had to read books which were chosen for me; as an adult I enjoy reading books I choose for pleasure.
They don’t have to be high-brow, just escapism or me.

When I was teaching, we used to be pleased that children wanted to read books, it didn't matter what genre it was, as long as they were reading. One publisher brought out books for reluctant readers in comic book form. They were very well received.
Who are we to judge what type of books people read?

When I was studying for a second degree, I used to read Mills and Boon medical romances, as bit of light relief from all the heavy stuff.
The local librarians, were sisters and I had taught their children. They were sworn to secrecy and used to keep a stash under the counter for me.

I'm equally at home with Sartre, Camus etc., so please don't judge a book by it's cover!

I've had other crazes wih books. one was books about women travellers/adventurers. At the time we had a good local library which had a good selection.
And they had a new series of Samuel Pepys diaries which I loved. And Rusian novels and short stories.
I think it's to do with my interest in history. I've kept several books on aspects of WW2.
So I'm probably a book snob.

Callistemon

They're probably the ones that are left over in the charity shop and will end up being pulped.

Our local Red Cross shop manager said "No paperbacks and no cookery books, please".

No paperbacks?? I don’t buy anything else from charity shops - hardbacks are too heavy to read in bed.

I used to work in a local library, and of the ‘weedings’ we put up for sale, it was always the paperbacks that sold first.

I once had a friend who was an English teacher and she loved to read Mills and Boon books!