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I've heard a lot of negative comments about my reading over the years. Most of these negative comments were of the "reading so much will make you crazy" followed by a silly anecdote and "grow up, when you get married you won't have time to read because you will have to deal with real life". I've been married for years and I have always made time to read every day - I even got my husband reading! These sorts of comments don't bother me in the least, and I will generally not hesitate to make a snappy remark in return.
I read a very large variety of things - I do a lot of academic reading (mostly related to linguistics or classics), but where fiction is concerned I read and enjoy anything from Homer in the original greek to the latest YA fiction and children's books. As far as genre reading is concerned I prefer fantasy and sci-fi over other genres, which does not mean that I won't read other genre fiction as well. I feel that everyone has the right to read what they enjoy without judgement, and without having to justify themselves and their choice in reading material.
The snobby remarks that I've received about my reading material have pretty much exclusively come from friends who are also graduate students. NONE of these people are big readers (the three book snobs that come to mind are actually quite close friends of mine and have been for years, and we are all well aware of one another's reading habits), reading perhaps one or two novels a year (always very 'serious' novels, and they later tell me that they just don't know what to read anymore...), the rest of their reading consisting of books that are either required readings for a course or are needed for their theses. I always tell them to loosen up, and that they should read something fun once in a while, something that you wouldn't normally find in their book repertoire. It really does wonders for me in times of stress to pick up something lighthearted and enjoy a good read under the blankets.
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