Book snobbery in book groups

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
I love reading, above almost anything in life. I have a very wide range, i like trying different genres. Sometimes so called children's books can be exactly right for information or to go back to being a child. Like Ladybird Books or as I'm currently reading, books like Little House on the Prairie. It's delightful.

I certainly don't ever look down on anyone for their taste. I think any reading is good news, it really is all about enjoying the experience of whatever makes you truly happy and relaxing.

I quietly left a classic literature book group which I had enjoyed at first because when in the mood I do like classic literature and am perfectly able to read it. I know my level though and it is firmly in the middle as I am not an intellectual. I felt quite overawed and inferior because people on there were frankly so stuck up! It was all vying with each other, as if it was a contest or a showcase of their superior minds. I became scared to post, for fear of looking stupid.

I believe reading is for everyone and not a contest.

So now I have joined another much more relaxed group, where everyone just enjoys reading.

Just like food and wine snobbery, book snobbery does exist - would you agree? Or is it just me feeling like I do when I watch University Challenge and realise I know so little!
 

Like you, @Rose65, I love reading. I always have a wide selection of books on my Kindle. I don't belong to a book club but I would have done the same as you had I encountered such snobbery. You're not stupid. They were ignorant and ill-mannered.
 
Rose65 said:
Just like food and wine snobbery, book snobbery does exist - would you agree? Or is it just me feeling like I do when I watch University Challenge and realise I know so little!
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Uni Challenge was one of our favourites when we had a TV. It's actually surprising sometimes how little some of those students know when it comes to things like the geography of Britain ... and other places. It was always Only Connect that used to make me feel dim.
 
I know what you mean. The club I belonged to was full of intellectuals. The selections were usually good and varied so I hung in there even though I sometimes hesitated to speak up. I stopped going when I no longer drove at night. I totally agree with you about reading whatever you enjoy. Some books geared to younger readers are precious. I buy a lot of books from Abebooks to save money.
 
Balzac said:
Uni Challenge was one of our favourites when we had a TV. It's actually surprising sometimes how little some of those students know when it comes to things like the geography of Britain ... and other places. It was always Only Connect that used to make me feel dim.
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I love Only Connect..if I get 2 or 3 answers correct I'm over the moon.... I almost always get the puzzle wall before the contestants get it...:D....University challenge is kinda boring for me.now.. It's all specialised subjects.. basically which students have just got their degrees in... so they know the answer almost immediately.. but when it comes to General knowledge their very limited in their knowledge..

You won't have seen it if you don't have a TV but I'm loving the newest Quiz.. the 1% club.. it gives 100 people ( the whole audience basically) the chance to win the jackpot.. by answering general knowledge questions....and a little logistical thinking..
 
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Alizerine said:
One of the greats on Jeopardy said he prepared by reading schoolkids books on geography and history because it was presented in an easier format than in books for adults.
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I'm all for people learning in any way they can, just so they learn. These days people learn faster and at a younger age due to the Internet... only problem with it is that youngsters are often exposed to information their Brains are really to young to accept.. and that's a bit of an issue...and will be more so in the future IMO
 
My DD joined a book club. They even encourage them to read extensive reviews of the book prior to the meeting. She’s new to the area and this has been a good way to meet new folks.
 
I've had that same experience with snobby book groups and have had others tell me they've had the same experience. My most recent experience with a book group which was composed of gals much younger than me was that one of the members didn't like me because I was a Boomer. It was nothing she said exactly but I really think that was the reason. But I quit going due to health and driving issues.

Some years back, I thought for a while I might try to start my own book group and did an informal poll on about 3 sites I'm on--can't remember if SF here was one or not--of bookclub leaders and what they thought made their club lasting and successful, i.e., people would only not attend if they were deathly ill and few if any spats. And the clubs ranged from very strict (one was composed of retired grade school teachers who had a rule of no talking about anything at all other than the book being discussed, not even a similar book!) to very relaxed ("We only talk about the book for about the first 5 minutes; then we chat, snack and drink wine." :) ). And all the lasting, successful bookclubs had one and only one thing in common: all or most--usually all--of the members were friends before they even thought about starting a bookclub.

There's a worldwide group called The Silent Bookclub which I think would be right up my alley. They meet in different public places (coffee shops, etc.) so no one has to stress about hosting it ("Oh, no, my place is too small or such a mess" etc.) and each member takes a few minutes to talk about a book they're currently reading/have read/want to read and then the group spends the next hour or so silently reading their own books. Sounds perfect to me: you get to be around (and socialize with if you arrive a little early or hang around afterwards) other book lovers but yet don't have to read and listen to a long discussion about a book you just don't like. They've got chapters all over but unfortunately the nearest one to me is a 2-hour drive away in each direction.
 
I've been a life long reader.. from age 6 or 7 I was borrowing books from the library.. I would read my mothers' Medical encylopedias when I had nothing to read at home... I've read just about every genre in my 60 years of reading.. there's never a day when I don't have one or more books currently being read.... My idea of a nightmare would be a Book Club...

You open yourself up to ridicule.. or derogatory comments if your opinion of a book doesn't match someone else's.. A book is a very personal thing.. it's read how you wish to read it..how you understand the author..how you imagine the scenarios...

Nope not for me..never !!
 
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Nope .... no bookclub for me. To begin with haven't the time and don't read pure fiction.
If I find a club one day when I am too ancient to do anything else, if they discuss the classics e.g. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky which I was reading from age 13, then I may be interested!
When I read I become the character ... unfortunately most people are superficial readers.
 
I don't want to join a book club. If I think a book is good, that is all I want to say about it. I'm not going to justify my taste in books, and I'm not going to read more than a few chapters of books I don't like, no matter how many prizes it is has won, or how highly recommended it is. I have an excessive amount of books that I want to read already, more than enough to last longer than my life.
 
There seems to be a wide range of book clubs. Some are an excuse to get out of the house and drink wine with friends. Others are more serious. The one I belonged to was at a seminary and full of educators. I thought I might learn something, and I did. I was also introduced to a few new authors I probably wouldn't have discovered on my own. The only refreshment available was from the water fountain in the hall.
 
Before the pandemic I was involved in my local library's bookclub. It has been disbanded and I doubt it will return.

It was wonderful. Read authors I never would have thought of reading and had lovely, intelligent older women in it. No oneupmanship, only camaraderie. I really miss it.
 
I read with a kindle and have access to two different libraries so always good selection. I tried several book clubs but decided I’d rather be reading another new book than discussing one already read. I remember too many instances of “you don’t understand. What he really was saying was ……”
 
helenbacque said:
I remember too many instances of “you don’t understand. What he really was saying was ……”
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Yeah, and the one I loved was, "You know, I've been to Paris many times and that's not how it is there at all." "Oh, really? How recently were you in Paris? Because I was there just last month and I found it exactly as this author described it." And then the argument and one-upmanship was off and running; phooey on that.
 
debodun said:
I'm not a snob, at least where reading is concerned. I read this heart-pounding adventure a while back...

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On that subject... We know a senior couple who are insufferable.. He's a power hungry Bombastic El Presidente of the Gated community in Spain .. she's the not so bright xhit stirring.. wife... the saying around that community by the residents is, why are their (adult) children called Janet and John..... because that's the only book they've ever read :ROFLMAO:
 
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Alizerine said:
One of the greats on Jeopardy said he prepared by reading schoolkids books on geography and history because it was presented in an easier format than in books for adults.
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I started getting more interested in physics when I was 60 than I was when I took the class in high school, so my son gave me a book titled The Cartoon Guide to Physics ...illustrated, of course.

It's a real page-turner.
 
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