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Why Read The Classics?

Well, for one thing, they’re available. The Brevard County Library System in Florida pulled the erotic bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey from its shelves this week after determining that it didn’t meet the library system’s selection criteria. Library services director Cathy Schweinsberg said,

“Nobody asked us to take it off the shelves. But we bought some copies before we realized what it was. We looked at it, because it’s been called ‘mommy porn’ and ‘soft porn.’ We don’t collect porn.”

What I find most interesting about this is that the intrepid reporter covering the story (click here to see it) did a little browsing in the library catalog, and found a variety of well-known erotic titles, including The Complete Kama Sutra, Fanny Hill, Lolita, Tropic of Cancer, Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and Fear of Flying (if she ever leaves journalism, she could have a bright future as a readers advisory librarian). When the library director was asked why these titles, with content of a similar nature, were on the shelves, she said:

“I think because those other books were written years ago and became classics because of the quality of the writing… This is not a classic.”

(I wonder if they own Twilight?)

So if I want to check out erotica from the Brevard County Libraries, it has to be well-aged, and well-written. (I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t live in Brevard County). But this whole incident raises an interesting point. There are many who look down on the horror genre- on post 1974 horror in particular (to use Becky Siegel Spratford’s demarcation) and who wouldn’t dream of having those nasty covers, those possibly badly written books, anywhere nearby, because they’re not old enough and haven’t been canonized yet. And a lot of books ARE badly written and never will become classics. But people want them. They want that feeling. It’s not fair to dismiss the desires of your readers and users, whether those desires involve erotic Twilight fanfiction or ravening zombies.

If you happen to have a library that doesn’t have the horror fiction you are looking for, it doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. They are in disguise, lurking in the depths of the library- Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson… Jekyll and Hyde, Dorian Gray, Dracula, Victor Frankenstein. If you can’t find the latest, try out the early greats. And then harass your librarian to get you the new stuff while you read… the classics.

Posted on May 5, 2012 by , Reply

Fifty Shades of Shame

I haven’t read Fifty Shades of Grey, but I am outraged by the media’s assumption that women are reading it on ereaders because they’re ashamed for the world to know what they’re reading. While it’s true that most of the copies sold have been ebooks, some of that is probably because print copies have been scarce. I can’t speak for all women, of course, but the last time I checked the catalog in the Indianapolis library system, there were 77 holds.  That’s 77 people, probably mostly women, who are okay with marching up to the circulation desk to check it out- 77 people who aren’t ashamed to read a physical copy with a cover that other people might see, even though Dr. Drew announced his disapproval, the media has anointed it “mommy porn”, and many reviewers have not been kind (Jesse Kornbluth at the Huffington Post called it “a sad joke”). The point is, it’s turning a lot of people on to books. Those people are not hiding their taste in reading, they’re celebrating it. Good for them. It’s fine to keep your taste in reading private, of course. But no one should be made to feel that they need to justify or defend it.  Why do I read genre fiction on my ereader? It’s not because I’m worried that someone might see I’m reading a book without the Oprah seal of approval. It’s because I read so damn much of it that if I bought physical copies of everything I read I’d be buried in them, and sometimes I’m too impatient to wait for the library.

Whatever you read, be it Fifty Shades of Grey, gory zombie novels, steampunk with parasols, witty Regency romance, or all of the above… here, we stand by your right to read what you want, the way you want to, regardless of what anyone else says, does, or thinks.

 

 

Posted on March 28, 2012 by , Reply

Reading Is Not A Competitive Sport

Dang it, just as I was writing about how crappy it is to shame readers about what genre and format they read, somebody at The Guardian was doing her best to insult both genre readers and the formats they read in, with startling efficiency. I am not a “furtive” ebook reader! I do not read ebooks to hide my addiction to genre fiction! And I think it’s revolting to inform readers that they SHOULD be furtive about their reading tastes- that they should buy the classics in hardcover for display purposes (instead of buying whatever they like to read in hardcover for the purpose of actually reading). Contrary to the assertion the author makes, READING IS NOT A COMPETITIVE SPORT.

If it were I would lose. I tried, but I can’t even keep track on Goodreads of how many books I’ve read this year already. The shelves you see on entering my house are not where I preserve “classics”. I am not doing my reading to impress anyone or to win anything. And I am angry that someone who thinks that displaying award winners to show how literary you are is more important that you, or me, or anyone, reading what we love. There is no shame in that. It’s something to revel in. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

Posted on February 10, 2012 by , Reply
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