Am I the Asshole For Preferring Adaptations to the Original Books?

Well, hello there! Welcome back to another genius installment of that instant classic, Am I the Literary Asshole?, a biweekly column that wants to dig down to the bottom of the human psyche in order to offer it a beer. I’m your host, Kristen Arnett, and right now I’m prepping for AWP. That’s right, it’s the yearly writer’s conference and everyone’s invited to the party in the hotel bar! I’m doing a few readings and just generally hanging out, so if you see me around the convention center, please say hello! I might have secrets to share with you…

In order to get this pre-game started, why don’t we just go with an ol’ bar standard and just serve up a couple of old fashioneds? Let’s get to sipping and take a look at our first question of the day:

1) AITLA for only reading classics? I mean, I’m subscribed to the whole “you’ve only got a limited amount of time on Earth so might as well read the very best,” and I enjoy it, I really do. I just absolutely dread whenever the fact that I read comes up in a conversation I have to meekly assent that, yes! I am that snob that only reads Melville and Faulkner and Pynchon and etc. I don’t look down (very much) on those who read whatever they like, but Jesus I despise proclaiming myself as “above them,” as much as I don’t mean to.

This is an interesting question! Mostly because I think you already know the answer.

You can read whatever you want, friend. That’s the great part about reading: you make the decisions. If you wanted to only read Wikipedia articles all day long you could do that, too, but I’m not sure exactly how much you’d get out of it.

What I’d like you to consider here is the fact that you felt compelled to write into me about this. You already know what you like to read. Now I’d like you to ask yourself why you like to read those things. Is it because you’ve been told that they are “the very best” that we have to offer? Don’t get me wrong, I understand that these authors that you’ve mentioned have indeed written classics. But they’re also very much western, very much white, very much straight, and very much men. It doesn’t make you an asshole to only read certain kinds of authors, but it does make you extremely limited in your scope when it comes to literature as a whole.

You say that you “don’t look down (very much) on those who read whatever they like,” and I’d offer up a rebuttal here: you absolutely do look down on people who read much more broadly than you. I have to wonder if you wrote in so that I could absolve you of your guilty feelings? It’s not asshole behavior to prefer certain kinds of fiction, but buddy, it is absolutely asshole behavior to assume that it makes you better than everyone else.

I’d urge you to ask yourself why you dislike reading outside of your very small scope. Growth is a good thing. Reading more broadly and widely and outside of our comfort zone allows us to have care and empathy and understanding for those who are different than us.

Consider expanding your repertoire. I bet you’ll find life a hell of a lot more interesting.

How about another round of drinks while we check out our next question?

2) This is my terrible secret: I prefer remakes of books as TV shows and movies. I tend to think that their original versions are worse and would much rather see it on screen. I never tell anyone this because it’s embarrassing, but it’s true. Does this make me an asshole?

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have this!

I don’t think this makes you an asshole, but it does make me question what books you’re into. I also wonder what remakes specifically you’re discussing here. Are you a reader of literary fiction? Genre fiction? Speculative? What are the things that you’re reading that pale in comparison to the big screen?

Obviously I can’t know the answer to that, but I can ask a different kind of question that could possibly illuminate things for us. What is it that you like about reading? Is it a form of escapism for you? Do you find that the escapism is more dramatic when you’re watching things versus when you’re reading them? I also wonder about your reading practices. Do you sit and spend time with the page, or are you powering through in an effort to just engage with the plot? If you’re slamming through a book just to find out the outcome, it would take away a lot of the enjoyment that comes from sitting and taking your time with the text.

We are a society that is currently suffering from short attention spans, and a lot of that comes from people wanting content that is quick and easily digestible. People aren’t using their brains. It makes them uncomfortable to think about things that require conflict. It can be difficult to sit and really take our time. I’d like you to consider reading with more purpose and intent. Tell yourself that you’re going to engage with the text slowly, in order to savor it. I love movies and TV shows, too, but they offer something very different than a book. Try to remember what it is that you like about reading. Offer it your time and undivided attention. See if anything changes.

Well, that calls for another drink! Let’s order up a last round and dive into our final question:

3) Can readers be friends with non-readers? I mean like really, really great friends?

This isn’t an “Am I the Asshole” question, but I think it’s an interesting one, regardless!

I think you can try to be friends with all kinds of people. That means non-readers, too. However, I think sometimes it might mean that you have less of an intense friendship. Is the non-reader a fan of different kinds of art? Music? Theater? I think having a creative mind and a willingness to engage with art in a similar fashion could bridge the gap between those who love books and those who aren’t huge fans of reading. But if you’re looking for a friendship where you can sit and discuss all the latest releases, intimacy with a non-reader might be non-negotiable.

What is it that you’re looking to get out of a friendship? Maybe that’s the bigger question. We can always be friends with people who have different interests than us; but it’s possible that your interests could be too far divided for you to every get incredibly close with one another.

And yes, that’s all the time we have for today! Join me next time when I’ll be back from AWP and have all sorts of juicy stories to spill. Please send me your anonymous questions! I’m looking forward to reading them upon my return!

Baltimore,
Dad

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Are you worried you’re the literary asshole? Ask Kristen via email at AskKristen@lithub.com, or anonymously here.