Quote:
Originally Posted by delphidb96
No, I did not say that. I do not believe that authors should be forced to suffer by boycotting. However, any careful examination of Oprah's reading habits and suggestions will make it clear that she has very narrow tastes - for one thing, SF needs not apply. Hunh? With a simple wave of her hand she can dismiss an entire genre???
Derek
|
That brings up and interesting question to me. Does she have a responsibility to give all genres equal time? It would be nice if she enjoyed SciFi and recommended it because I think there are a lot of folks out there who would enjoy it if they tried it. They're just not exposed to it. However, she's one person recommending books she likes that she thinks her audience will enjoy. Personally, I pretty much dismiss romance and fantasy novels out of hand. It's not my taste. I'm not knocking it but it doesn't appeal to me. I wouldn't rule out a book for it's membership in one of these clubs but I don't don't find myself browsing those shelves in the book store. I don't feel the least bit unjust about it. I don't have her power to shape tastes, of course. Do people here feel that her power obliges her to open up her recommendations to things she may not like? Would people be less "Anti-Oprah" if she did?
Myself, I don't see why she should have to be all things to all people. I think it's a separate issue that "genre fiction" is marginalized. Further, I don't think there's a huge intersection between SciFi fans and Oprah fans so I don't see why she should necessarily branch out from her own tastes (which seem to be successful with her established fan base) to gain their favor.