Graphic Novel Reading Group discussion
Self-Promotion, etc.
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This person says that graphic novels are a waste of library space! What do you think of a comment like that?
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It's her opinion, and she's entitled to it, as long as she has no power to actually keep GNs off library shelves. The propensity of some to carry their dislike for something into territory that smacks of denying access of that thing to other people is always troubling. The hates GNs, fine. She thinks they don't belong in libraries, fine. She takes action to KEEP them out of libraries ... different story! (It is a dumb opionion, by the way--but people have the right to be dumb. In my opinion ;-))
I can understand if she hates graphic novels as that's her opinion. What bothers me however is saying that they do not belong in public libraries (even though they are technically books). There are people who check them out.
Joshua wrote: "I can understand if she hates graphic novels as that's her opinion. What bothers me however is saying that they do not belong in public libraries (even though they are technically books). There are..."Totally agree.
does she also feel that movies and music do not belong in libraries? Those clearly aren't books.
It's her loss. Personally, I think Romance novels are a waste of space and landfill. I bet they keep some women very unhappy with the men they have (Unrealistic expectations).
btw, I'm female. And I read romances only when they're embedded in literature..
My big complaint about libraries is there are no longer 'old' books in them! If they're over 3 yrs old (and not checked out much) they're sold in those library book sales. I've snatched up some very good, classic books... for $1. C'mon!!
It has to be a Best Seller to keep it even that long (I rarely read best sellers... it's opinion; has not much to do with actual writing ability. I know many that should be on the list.. but it's called the best SELLER book list for a reason. Money talks. )
More often than not, when someone makes the comment that they 'hate' something it's either because they have limited experience with it and therefore do not understand it or they have tried one and discounted an entire genre, as is the case here.I find it particularly difficult when ignorant people are vocal! If it's on a forum - I tend to ignore it. If it's in person - hold me back. I cannot suffer that type of fool LOL
It's just immaturity, that's all. "I don't like it so no one else should get to enjoy it!"They can't do anything about it, though, so no need to worry. A lot of people like that just enjoy being 'edgy' by going against what they perceive to be the popular opinion.
That sucks that that is her opinion but then maybe she hasn't read a graphic novel that suits her...
Here, here on all the graphic novel love. Side note on libraries (and librarians) weeding: Generally we weed based on how often an item has circulated. We have to have room for all the new books coming in, so if something isn't being checked out, we might have to weed it! We just don't have the shelf space for everything. It often makes us sad to take out the old stuff. So if there are things you want to stay at your library, be sure someone's checking it out from the library and make a librarian happy! :)
Alex wrote: "I find it sad that they took the time to come to a group that they don't belong to in order to leave a hateful message. If it is published it should be available at a library. There is plenty I a..."I agree with everything you said. But I have one thing to add. Maybe I didn't say it in the original post, but she didn't come on this group & leave that comment. It was part of a review she left for a book. I guess I didn't make that clear lol.
Manga isn't everybody's thing.as for graphic novels in libraries,it varies
watchmen, blankets, nasicaa of the valley of wind-yes
animal man, lost at sea, azumanga diaoh - maybe
power pachyderms- I'll let you decide.
About weeding: they used to circulate them to other libraries that have small budgets or even to bookmobiles.I stopped using libraries because I don't care for "best sellers" like spy novels, romances, or Twilight clones. No reason for me to go when that's all that's available. :( I'm speaking from actual experience here, in Colorado and Oregon.
I buy my own from used book stores, since they have the books I'm looking for.
I find it sad that graphic novels often get looked down upon.
I'd be interesting to know if someone like her enjoys going to movies like, Spiderman, Superman, Batman, The Avengers, Green Lantern, Sin City, Watchmen, 300, AVP, Blade, Captain America, Catwoman, The Crow, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Elektra, From Hell, Ghost Rider, Constantine, Hellboy, Walking Dead, Howard the Duck, Hulk, Iron Man, Kick Ass, Judge Dredd, The Mask, etc. etc. etc.Not saying all of these and others are any good, but it sure seems that Graphic Novels and comics sure are an influential piece of entertainment and our culture.
Here's more movies based in some way on comics.
http://www.imdb.com/list/4dJnAsPmHzw/
All I would say to her is "You can think that, just don't say it, because nothing really is a waste of space and what about '50 shades of Grey' isn't that a waste of library space? I would say no, because there are some (strange) people who like it. Like I said, nothing is a waste of library space, you can still hate manga and graphic novels, because that's just your opinion, but really keep it to yourself because someone might kill you."
I haven't read it, but don't want to. So, what Scott said ^ :)
I'd like to see Scalped made into a movie or tv series. I just finished Vol 9; read my review if you like.The series started out slow and unimoressive, but it's not staying that way!
I don't really feel like anything is a "waste of space in a library." For pretty much every genre, there's a person who wants to read it. I don't like 50 Shades of Grey but a ton of our patrons do, so we provide it. Libraries have to balance how to get as much of what all patrons want as they can reasonably provide. On the other hand, it also just depends on who's doing the selecting. Our library had a ridiculously small graphic novel section until we got some staff members who were familiar with them and could help guide the selection and reiterate their importance. And a last note, if you don't like what your library has, often you can suggest things for purchase. But if you don't speak up or check things out, then they don't get purchased or they are weeded out.
A graphic novel is a combination of the art of text-based writing and the art of drawing. In my opinion, libraries should have about 20% space for graphic novels. - Christopher Huh, Author of 'Keeping My Hope'
I used to work at one. I DID ask. Got a "sorry, we don't do that.." :/
Meran wrote: "I used to work at one. I DID ask. Got a "sorry, we don't do that.." :/"Well that's pretty lame. Even with our budget getting smaller, we always at least attempt to get something before we deny people.
Odds are high this person is a troll. Ignore it. If she does "HATE" manga & graphic novels, then what is she doing reviewing one? (And I do use the term "reviewing" loosely.) Odds are good she just wanted to get the fur up on those of us that appreciate the storytelling & art form of that genre. Her loss. I can only pity people that thumb their noses at stories like "Maus", "The Long Halloween" or "V for Vendetta".
Well, the troll began a good conversation, airing our views and concerns, so something good came out of it ;)I meet a lot of under-intelligent people, sadly. I can only hope they'll grow out of the phase they're in, lol
I used to think the exact same way as the commenter, until I started actually reading more of them. The first graphic novel I ever read was Watchmen and even though I loved it, I still had that opinion because I thought that Watchmen was probably the only good one out there because it had been the only graphic novel ever recommended to me. Now I know better and I think this commenter is being a little too straight forward with their opinion. As someone said before. Graphic novels are books and books belong on book shelves and for reading purposes. It's their opinion, but I am still a little bothered by it and have every right to be.
Has she ever heard of a thing called graphic literature? Even though I prefer literary stories, there isn't wrong with graphic novels per say.Now she may have found one with a bad artist, but its still one graphic novel.
She has a right to her opinion, but commenting on a book and lowering the rating just because she does not like the genre is ridiculous. It is like commenting on a book, giving it one star, and proceeding to write a comment saying that she did not like the book... because it was a book and she does not like books. It is not judging the book based on the content, only her personal prejudice against the formatting.
Unfortunately I think this is pretty prevalent among a lot of people in the prose reading groups. Luckily a lot of my own friends also reads comics.Its kind of silly, after all what would that make Japanese light novels? Half literary credit?
I'm sorry some people are like that, lowering a rating, etc... I don't care for Romances or Spy Thrillers.. Should I just start picking some and lowering their ratings too?I won't, of course. It's best to just ignore these people. Give them any attention and they could ruin the site experience for you! And that's definitely a bad thing! :(
Meran wrote: "I'm sorry some people are like that, lowering a rating, etc... I don't care for Romances or Spy Thrillers.. Should I just start picking some and lowering their ratings too?I won't, of course. It'..."
So how do you guys rate things that are outside of your preferred genre that you have read, didn't like, and didn't expect to like (like you mentioned spy or romance novels)? I'm curious, because I will occasionally read something I hate because it is so well liked or a classic or whatever. It's not fair to the book to give it a bad rating, but on the other hand it messes up the recommendation algorithms if I rate it higher then what I personally feel.
I don't let my feelings interfere. If it was well written, it gets those chops. If I didn't understand it, I split the difference, after all, it might be my fault, but then the author may have been too obscure (it would get a 3 star), if the intention was to arouse and it worked, it gets a 4... But I usually bypass those books... If ANYTHING is written by formula, it gets a 2 star. If its just really bad, by being not entertaining and lots of errors/typos, it gets a 1 star. I also mention ALL of those comments to explain my position. I do try to be fair.
And sometimes, I'm surprised. Big points for that :D
Does that sound fair?
Good point Scott, I don't often post reviews, but I suppose if it's a "great book" that I don't like explaining why would be fair. And Meran, if it is well written, but I hate it, I do not want Goodreads to recommend similar books to me that I will also hate. Netflix and Pandora, for instance, do an awesome job of playing stuff I like based the items I've rated. I want the same from goodreads (since I'm assuming they all are similarly concocted).
But my inner struggle is having to say something is bad that not necessarily is bad at the expense of the author for my purposes. I think I'll do that though, Scott, even if it's just a "thats not really my bag" kind of comment and leave it at that. Thanks
Whoever this is, he/she is on the losing side of history. Librarians are usually well ahead of the curve when it comes to graphic novels (aside from a few books I could mention inappropriately shelved in "Young Adults", but that's changing too).Twice in the distant past I had to bring copies of Maus to bookstore owners and inform them that it didn't belong in "Humor". Plenty of people are out there with little exposure to this medium, but at least we won't see that sort of thing anymore.
@Robert - Power Pachyderms? with a name like that how can you go wrong???? That surely must be worth some shelf space. (This is pre google search for aforementioned shelf filler)
I don't use Goodreads as a Recommendation Generator. I get plenty of that by just following favorite authors or reading reviews by friends. Or just about, on the 'Net. My To Read bookshelves are already big enough. Rating a book honestly, not by Feelings is appropriate, I think.Others won't "feel" as I do. I do get a few liking my reviews. (not that I'm working for that. ;) )
I don't like quite a few "Bestsellers" ... That makes my reviews different. Either someone will be intrigued by what I wrote, in a positive or negative way... Or they won't. I'm not here to generate sales. Lol
I write my reviews for me, strangely enough. It helps me remember the book later. Also, it many times helps me appreciate the book in a deeper manner.
I recently read The Filth, as a part of the Graphic Novel reading group. Now, I'd never have picked this one up to read, on my own. And most of the way through, I despised the thing. Kept wondering WHY I was bothering... Also WHY??? We're others recommending it? It won by votes! Another "Bestsellers" thing? But at the end, I got it. Now, I want to reread it, to depen my enjoyment.
And no, this one wouldn't be stored in "Humor" either.
Or "Superheroes". Graphic Novels are under appreciated, there's no question of that. Though it may be way to get others to read who normally do NOT. Of course, then THAT could bring the, down in the sight of "real readers"... When people SEE my literature library, than see my graphic novel/comic book "collection", they clam right up... How could I possibly want to do BOTH?? Clue: it's great writing, with ART! :D
Meran wrote: "It's her loss. Personally, I think Romance novels are a waste of space and landfill. I bet they keep some women very unhappy with the men they have (Unrealistic expectations)."
I completely agree.
I have no problem with opinion of the person who said graphic novels are waste of space. It is just opinion. I don´t agree though.
My opinion is that there is lots of junk in libraries in general and if people would start saving space for "good stuff", bookshelves would be almost empty.
If romances are on the shelves, graphic novels have every right to be there too.
Josh wrote: "@Robert - Power Pachyderms? with a name like that how can you go wrong???? That surely must be worth some shelf space. (This is pre google search for aforementioned shelf filler)"Trust me, Josh, I don't wish Power Pachyderms on man nor beast. It wasn't a pretty scene, the parade of Turtles knockoffs.
"Let's just start by saying that I HATE manga. Graphic novels are NOT my thing under any means. I honestly would say that I feel that graphic novels are a waste of book space at the library (seriously, I'm not trying to be a bitch here). I just really don't like them, although I can somewhat understand why others do. Sorry, but that's just my opinion."
The comment doesn't offend me until she says that graphic novels are a waste of book space at the library! Am I the only one that's just slightly offended? Or am I just being overly sensitive? I mean, I know it's her opinion & not everyone will like graphic novels, but the way she said it just seemed rude to me. What do you think of that comment? Please don't ban me for posting this, I just really needed a place to vent. And no rude comments please.