Reader-Bashing: This Should Be A Thing

Okay, so you know when you're scrolling though social media, looking at articles, and checking up on the CBLV blogger website *winkwink*. You see some kind of mention about a book that you read at some point in time and enjoyed.

Or, better yet, you see an opinion list on the best and worse books ever. Lo and behold, a book (or books) that you enjoyed is on that list of worse books. Then you make the mistake of reading the comments. Oh boy, these comments are mean!

Readers insulting other readers for liking a particular book. Reader-Bashing. I don't know if that's a term but, I'm going to make it one.

If you really disliked a book for personal reasons and you want to share your thoughts, okay. But, I don't understand the insults and name-calling that some readers (and writers) hurl at each other for liking a particular book or genre. We don't know what they're thinking, their true reasons for reading it or what they'll get out of it. Right?

For example, here are some books that have made multiple "Worst Book" lists:

• Twilight (series) by Stephanie Meyers 
• Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
• 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• Wicked by Gregory Macguire
• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Shouldn't the focus be, "At least they're reading."? Doesn't this "reader-bashing" thing sound kind of dumb? It is. Let's be nice to people with different reading interests. If you want to read Twilight, 50 Shades of Grey or The Da Vinci Code, go ahead. No need to explain why. Just don't forget to read other stuff, okay?

-B