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Why do Authors bash more successful book?
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Sure, I can see coming across as jealous being an issue for some but I have decided that I'm going to be a writer who also reviews. In order to do that honestly I have to offer honest opinions, good and bad. I think there's a point at which the criticism can turn quite ugly and I try to avoid that, but I also think it's a bit beyond the pale to say that one is acting in a classist fashion if one doesn't generally enjoy popular fiction. Even if a person has a harsh opinion and makes it public, well, that's part of the whole deal with being a writer. I've had reviews that made me spend a whole night lying on the floor wondering why I'd ever bothered to put a single word to page, but it was their right to offer me that criticism. I don't have to agree with what they said, but as long as they keep it about the work and not me as a person they're acting in an acceptable fashion.
Not that classism isn't a factor sometimes, mind you, but I don't know if I quite think deriding popular fiction is a good example of said same.
So I've been trying to come up with a plausible theory on this idea of bashing-due-to-popularity in literature and literary merit vs. entertainment. Although I've never actually bashed, I have squirmed at the thought of admitting that I've read books that have been bashed. For instance, I used to LOVE Oprah's Book Club. I thought she picked great, deep books that had a lot of meaning, but I was embarrassed to admit that I was part of that pack. So why did I feel so embarrassed?(I'm going to be completely transparent and in no way trying to be mean :0) Here's why:It all stems back to the adage of there being two kinds of people: the shepherds and the sheep. I fall into a third category, which is that I don't want to necessarily lead a bunch of sheep around but I sure as hell don't want to be a sheep. That being said, I think there is a stigma with reading/enjoying a popular book because it has that "sheep" stigma attached to it-one of blindly following for crowd and choosing the "popular" read.
Also (and this may sound a little nuts, but this is the former goth who sat in the corner of a little, po-dunk, country public school talking)I think the idea of "popular" carries negative connotations to it that stem back to adolescence. There's either a lot of pressure to conform to the popular or to buck against it.
Finally, as others have mentioned, I think that maybe not the bashing but the hesitancy to read popular literature comes from the idea of substance vs. entertainment. The Oscars vs. blockbusters analogy was spot on. If you want the blockbusters, more power to you. If you want Oscars or Sundance, kudos.
Really it all comes down to aren't there better things in life than fretting over things you dislike and exhausting energy hating them? To each his own, man!
Tabitha, good conclusions!It's another damned if you do, damned if you don't situation, I feel. I was given very high recommendtions for Chelsea Cain. I can't stand her writing style. And now I worry some of my recommending friends secretly hate me.
I've been trying, in vain, to talk to people about it and move on from the trauma, but oh no, she's too popular, how dare you for not being a blind sheep. I just wanted a little therapy discussion, that's all. Yet, no one will have an open discussion with me. It's either love or hate, nothing between, and heaven forbid we should just talk freely...
In another group, Chelsea Cain was brought up. All I said was I don't like the writing style or the characters. I was then accused of jealousy and told that "you just don't get it."
Oh give me a break...
i got the same attacks when my old writing club was all over meyers. i had to step away from that point. it seemed they were into the latest ya stuff (mortal instruments, divergent, hunger games) and i couldn't stand it all. maybe i'm getting old?
There is NOTHING wrong with bashing a book, really. It's just a book. I think if it gets vicious or personal towards the author, that's not okay. But this idea that all popular things got that way because of objective merit is imo flat out wrong. There are a ton of factors that go in to what is popular, and certain stories and authors are privileged over others, often unfairly.
Having seen so many popular trands come and go over the years, I've often found when people bash a book, they're more so bashing the blind fantaticism that's attached to the book.If people simply said, I liked reading Twilight (or insert popular book name), at worse, agree to disagree. But when it becomes, this book is the greatest literature ever written and everyone HAS to love it, it's not about the book anymore. It's about fantaticism.
It becomes a vicious cycle. Fans bash. Authors bash. Fans fight back harder. Authors fight back harder. Both parties are battling an invisible monster.
When it's simple. Agree to disagree, and move the fuck on.
Tiger wrote: "I'm really uncomfortable with this example. Those two positions imo are not interchangeable or equally defensible. "But which is more defensible is open to interpretation as well.
That's true, Lily. And don't get me wrong I LOVE a lot of tacky, terrible things. Miley Cyrus. Violin. Denny's food, once in a blue moon. But I would never argue that those things are objectively good, compared to other things in their same category.
I love watching B-rated horror movies. I find it a lot of fun. It's not meant to be taken seriously. I've been accused, in passing, of being "distasteful." Well, excuuuuse me for having a hobby.At the same time, I wouldn't call Troma a maker of award-winning thought-provoking films, because that would be simply wrong. It's fun, for those who like it, nothing more.
People ask me my opinion of Twilight, I say I can see the appeal, mindless entertainment, but I don't agree with the lack of choices for the characters. I'm neither hating or loving, I'm just indifferent. To be brutally honest, I really feel that the extreme haters equally as bad as the extreme loving fans. It's all the same. Blind.
I admit I am a serious LKH anti-fan. But my anti-fan status isn't hurting her one bit, so I don't feel so bad. I'm just a nobody on the internet whereas she sleeps on a mattress made of money. :P
I think bashing a book is different to having a bad opinion of a book. If I don't like a book, oh well, tried it, it didn't work out. I won't read it again. Let's face it, if you don't read stuff that's not to your liking on occasion, your reading is pretty one-dimensional.Bashing is when you jump on the bandwagon and bash it because the majority do so. 50 shades and Twilight are two examples. I don't like the Twilight books because they're not my kind of thing but I wouldn't go all out to criticise them to anyone because its the 'cool thing to do.' I never understood it. If you don't like it, stay away from it.
Oh, as far as Twilight goes I think it's deeply problematic but some of the criticisms are just silly too. OMG VAMPIRES DON'T SPARKLE. Oh my bad, I forgot that there's a single vampire source book out there that we all must worship and emulate. (and don't say Dracula, there are way more vampire myths than just Dracula)
That's one thing I found weird. When the news first started about 50 Shades, though I didn't have much interest in the story, I decided to investigate. I just looked for reviews online, to give me an idea of what the fuss is about. All sex? Well, there's always money in porn, so that's easy to understand.When I saw Amazon reviews, and this was in the very early days, the reviews consisted of one person saying the writing is bad, or something similiar, followed by a looooooong list of comments bashing the reviewer with nonsense like "you just don't get it."
As far as I can tell, that's the so-called popularity. Love to hate it. I guarantee anyone who tries to propel that love to hate bandwagon, will only increase the popularity, which is exactly what's happened. The more people hate on a book, the worse it gets for everyone.
Lead by example, not bashing.
I've never read any of the Anita Blake books. I have no interest. Great idea, but if Anita isn't Whedon's Buffy or better, I'll never have any interest. As a result, I have no opinion of the author, and I never want to have an opinion.
Mod
Bandwagon make people inarticulate and unreasonable. There are plenty of bad books in the world but "to each their own" just doesn't apply to haters.
One thing I've gone to notice about book bashing is that it's less about the book and more about the author's opinion on certain subjects. sort of like Ender's Game. because of the author's views on race and homosexuality I've seen so many people bash him, and care less about the book that they're doing the bashing on.
If someone is an obvious unrepentant bigot I'm not sure you can call it bashing
I've barely discovered the whole controversy, so I don't know much about it. But that was just the example I had in mind. There were others where I've seen things turn from negative review to a mob mentality bashing. All because the author responded and the choice of words were not the best, and from there it just gets out of hand into a bloody disaster.
Yeah, I'm with Tiger on that one. That's more like stating facts. Now, having said that, when it becomes an obsessive mob mentality and people just won't let go, that's going too far.I've often said, never mistake the author for the fiction. Personally, I hate Orson Scott Card's political views. (Personal opinion here, folks!) I see relections of his views in his writing and don't like it. But at the same time, I never knew the guy. I don't agree with his opinions, but never knew him personally. So it seems silly to bash the author, when it's only fiction. Though, to be perfectly honest, I could bash him if I wanted to. But I don't wanna.
Yeah I think that's another good reminder that if you're an author, it almost always behooves you to stay out of it. Unless you're being accused of a crime you didn't commit or something like that, engaging will only make you crazy. As for Anita Blake, well. Literary criticism is a thing and it's not necessarily bashing. I think it's fine to take apart a book as long as you're following certain guidelines. I mean, we must all think that a little or the harsher reviewers on goodreads would be jerks in our eyes.
Lily wrote: "Yeah, I'm with Tiger on that one. That's more like stating facts. Now, having said that, when it becomes an obsessive mob mentality and people just won't let go, that's going too far.I've often s..."
The thing with him is he actively donates money to and advocates for anti-gay hate groups, so at that point he can't receive ENOUGH hate, in my opinion. No one is obligated to tolerate intolerance.
That said I've had a friend get one star reviews from people who didn't even read his book because he made a blog post people felt was sexist, and this guy is an indie author. That seems unfair to me.
Can you call it literary criticism when it's not lierature...?
Technically, all written works are literature.
Don't feel bad, I share your feelings (my sister loves LKH. I just don't get it...)