Here is a conversation I have had a thousand times before:
“You’re the Keeper? Can you recommend a good book?” someone would ask me.
“Sure,” I’d say. “What are you interested in?”
“Oh, I’ll read anything.”
“Anything? How about a good science fiction book, then?”
“Oh, no, I don’t read science fiction.”
“Do you read horror?”
“Certainly not!”
“How about mysteries?”
“No, I said no horror.”
“Not all mysteries are scary.”
“Well, I don’t like them. Something else, please.”
“Okay, do you like graphic novels?”
“Graphic novels don’t count as reading.”
“Actually, anytime you read words, it counts as reading.”
“Well, I want a book.”
“They are books.”
“They’re like comics. They’re dreadful, horrid things. I don’t like anything graphic.”
“Now, that’s just poor word association. There are plenty of graphic novels that are family friendly.”
“Well, I don’t want one.”
“Alright, how about a fantasy book?”
“No, I don’t like fantasy.”
“Perhaps you should tell me what you do like.”
“I like contemporary books.”
“Fiction or nonfiction?”
“Fiction! Nonfiction is boring.”
“Anything else?”
“No, any contemporary fiction is fine. Like I said, I’ll read anything.”
Genre snobbery sneaks up on you. We all have our favorite genres. These are the sections of the bookstore that you make a beeline for, or the types of movies and TV shows your streaming service recommends to you based on your watch history. And we all have genres that we don’t look through as much. That is perfectly normal.
However, the snobbery can creep up on you. You start assuming. You might start thinking that science fiction and fantasy are childish, or that horror stories would give you nightmares. Perhaps you think romance is full of sugar and spice and gag reflexes. When someone suggests a story to you, and you find out it’s in a genre you hate, you instantly reject it. It doesn’t matter what it’s about or how good it is or how much someone promises that you’ll love it. And therein lies one of the dangers of genre snobbery: You have no idea what you’re missing out on.
If you don’t read science fiction, you’ll miss out on Isaac Asimov. If you don’t read fantasy, you’ll miss out on N.K. Jemisin. If you don’t read romance, you’ll miss out on Jane Austen. If you write off mysteries, no Agatha Christie for you. If Lin-Manuel Miranda thought nonfiction was boring, we wouldn’t have Hamilton. And you’d be surprised to find out how many hit movies and TV shows were based on graphic novels and comic books.
Yes, I know that graphic novels and comic books are formats and not genres, but they are often treated with the same contempt as the genres I’ve mentioned here, and many people do label and treat them as genres. So, all the more reason to include them among the misunderstood.
Now, I’m not saying you should force yourself to watch horror movies when you know you’re easily scared. All I’m saying is don’t write off something simply because of its genre. At least look into it before you decide. You might be pleasantly surprised.
I dare you to go and find a book or a movie or a TV show or anything else that’s in a genre you’ve never considered before, and see it through. Then do it again. And again. And again. Don’t be afraid. The worst thing that could happen is you find a story you don’t like. When that happens, just set the story down and go find another one. The story won’t be offended, I promise. But, it will be offended if you refuse to give it a chance. As I’ve said before, if you want to find good stories, you have to make sure you’re open to them in the first place.
I don’t care what I’m missing out on, you say. Why should I bother with other genres when I’m perfectly comfortable with the ones I like? What’s the worst that could happen if I don’t try new ones out?
Then you run the risk of a closed mind. A mind that only sees its narrow view of the world because it has never been exposed to anything new. No new ideas, no new ways of looking at things, no learning. Think this won’t happen to you because your genre is varied? Think again. The snobbery doesn’t content itself with broad genres. It’s incessant. It can make you averse to various subgenres, authors, and formats. You’ll find yourself reading the same types of books over and over again, but you’ll refuse those same books in audiobook form. You’ll cringe every time a story that’s different crosses your path. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read your favorites. Go ahead and enjoy what you love, just don’t let it consume you.
Challenge yourself with the above conversation to see if you are a victim of genre snobbery. Then take it one step at a time. Keep enjoying what you love, but also be brave and try something different once in a while.