I have been reading
fiction for several years. I have enjoyed many books and short
stories in that time with exceptions which just did not grip me.
However I have to admit, that I have not always been fair.
I can admit it.
I have been a snob.
If the book was not
by a well-known author with excellent reviews and awards behind it, I
just felt like it was a waste of time to read it. I was not willing
to give anything I had not heard of a chance. Life is short and what
is the point.
Right?
Through most of my
twenties, I even shunned modern books of any kind. Only the
classics- those books which were well established and here to stay-
could get my attention. I went through every classic I could find,
from Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment to George Orwell's
1984 to J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye to Cormac
McCarthy's Blood Meridian. They were all excellent and very
well-written. However, I must admit, they did not all grip me.
The truth is crime
fiction is really my genre. For the longest time, I could not even
pinpoint my favorite genre to read, much less write. And I could not
even decide on a genre which I wanted to really delve into.
However I did decide
and have since read several books in that genre and while most have
been around for a while and well-established, many of them have
actually been written in this century.
This year, I really
went out of my gourde.
I read a few novels
available on the Amazon Kindle. One had a meager price and the other
was absolutely free.
Can we say
turnaround?
Now while I know
that some classics even are available on the Kindle for free, I was
giving an unknown author a chance. While my instincts a few years
ago would have warned me to stay away from such trash, I took a
chance.
I am very glad I
did.
The books were by
authors who are unknown to most, but each one was excellent. They
were well-written and very professional. I found myself immersed in
each one and thought, other than a big name on the cover page, what
was the difference?
There was really
none.
If the author had
been well-known, I would have read the book and totally thought 'Wow.
Another good one. That guy just keeps going.'
Yet, I think that my
old attitude comes from an old place. In years past, writers had to
go through the major houses to get published. This brought with it a
certain prestige especially when the author's books sold well. Wow.
What a mountain they climbed. They must b geniuses!
Well, some of them
were.
However, with the
uprising of self-publishing a lot of things have changed. Now anyone
can publish for very little cost. Now does this mean a lot of bad
books are out there?
Yes.
It's much different
than the old days with traditional publishing where every published
book was spectacular.
Wait a minute.
Actually there were
many less than quality novels back then, too. I don't think the
e-revolution will hurt much of anything. I think it will only open
up more doors for more writers. After all, the editors, agents and
publishers miss talent often just like in any other form of
entertainment. People are human. They make mistakes.
And I now realize I
made a big one. The saying “You can't judge a book by its cover.”
has been around for a long time for a reason. The words inside the
book are black ink on paper. What the author does with them can only
be discovered when we open the book and open our eyes to the fact
that lots of great books are put out every year and may not go on to
be classics but are nonetheless worth a read.
If you have been a
snob as I have, I urge you to open up. You could be missing some
truly great stories out there.
What are your
thoughts? Are you a snob? Are you open to anything? Any regrets?
