Sometime back I was reading Jim Mansell's `Take a Chance on me’ while waiting for my daughter's tennis class to get over. An acquaintance stopped by to say hello and glanced at what I was reading and said, `Oh, you read chick lit?' Facial expression made it clear that I seem to have lost a bit of his respect after that.
Does reading chick lit make me an idiot interested only in fluff and frivolous? I am a proud chick lit reader...I identify with it, it speaks my language, talks about things that affect me. And last but not the least, it makes me laugh. Just because I read Marian Keyes, Nisha Minhas and Jim Mansell, among others, should I be apologetic about my reading choices?
I have a problem (read `BIG’ problem) with the culture of elitism which takes the burden to decide what is good for humanity, in general, to read/watch/do.
While growing up, I remember struggling with Doctor Zhivago. I felt I just had to finish reading it to fall into the category of `has-read’ Dr Zhivago (category of `brave enough to finish reading the book’). What a waste? I disliked it totally but the ridicule, which I thought will follow ensured that I kept my opinion to myself. The second example of this is PG Wodehouse, who is revered in our family. I don’t say I hated it but clearly he is not one of my favorite.
Chick lit is just one example. Treatment meted out to Chetan Bhagat is another. He was initially panned by the critics for language; subject; plot; basically everything. The readers didn’t mind any of this and lapped up his books. So-called elitist not only continue to look down upon Chetan bhagat but also the people who read him.
I say, down with elitism!!
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