Being a snob creates too many limits


Book snobbery takes many forms in my life. For example, when I worked in bookstores, thinking my life was over because all my friends were lawyers, I spent a lot of time mumbling “Philistines!” as I reshelved A Hundred Years of Solitude under G instead of M.

But the truth is that if you reshelve a book like that to its proper spot, no one can find it. This is true of Out of the Dust, as well. (Hold it. Have you not read this book? It’s the best depiction of dust bowl life that I’ve ever read.) It’s a book for kids, written in verse. But you cannot sell any children’s books by putting them in poetry, so the world is a better place if bookstore workers (who are all literary snobs) would put the book in the young adult section.

Speaking of young adult books, I don’t think I have ever mentioned here that I still read a lot of those. As far as I can tell, the only difference between them and adult novels is that the author explains subtle emotions a little more explicitly in young adult novels. Perfect for someone with Asperger’s, right?

I saved all my childhood books thinking that I’d read them to my kids. But when I offer my girl books, my boys don’t bite. I thought this might happen, but I still carried all my books with me from Chicago to LA to Boston to LA to NY to Madison to the farm. Maybe I was hoping the boys would be gay. I think gay boys might be into reading Ode to Billie Joe.

So I have all these books that I am never going to share with my kids. I am thinking I can share them with your kids. Send me an email with a list of five books that your daughter likes, and I’ll send your daughter one of my books. And I’ll even do book group with her if she wants. Although now I won’t be able to read the book again because she’ll have my book, but whether I can remember the content of a book has never stopped me from discussing it.

I am thinking now that maybe I’ll get thousands of emails. So, there’s a deadline: you have to send me an email within 24 hours of the publication of this post.

(Which, now that I think about it, is a great way to get people to subscribe to my blog. So, all you people who are reading this post more than 24 hours later, you missed out on a great giveaway probably because you aren’t subscribed. Subscribe now to get the opportunity to receive other packages of stuff I saved that no one wants!)

Back to my books. I try not to be a snob. Because I think it just closes doors. For example, I have written before about not being a language snob. If you are, then you stop yourself from learning about language. And being a snob about copyediting perfection is terrible, too — you end up never writing anything because it takes too long. Even career advice snobbery is bad, because people who fail give the best advice. So it’s no surprise that I find book snobbery self-destructive as well; when I’m a snob about books, they take over my house.

You can tell a lot about yourself by how you organize your books. I used to cultivate my lesbian book section. That was in my early twenties when I was surrounded by women in bikinis playing volleyball, and really, who wouldn’t wonder if she was gay, spending days like that? But then I tried it: I answered an ad for a woman who was a ballerina with the Joffrey and she had just retired and gotten breast implants. Try to imagine this. She was so incredibly hot. But lesbian sex was boring to me.

And, please do not tell me that I should have tried someone else. Because I did. It was during my bulimia days. I went to a lesbian bulimic overeaters anonymous group, and everyone was gorgeous, and I got picked up. But still, it was not all that satisfying.

So I moved Annie On My Mind to young adult novels, and Oranges Aren’t the Only Fruit to literature, and Nice Jewish Girls to Judaica, and then I was not a lesbian any more.

But for decades, books took over every apartment I had. I never had furniture or decorations, only books.

In New York City my books were in storage, but I always knew I’d take them out sometime. I ended up taking them out here, on the farm. The farmhouse is not that big—only two bedrooms—but if you’ve lived in New York City for a decade, a two-bedroom house is huge. I didn’t want the books to take over everything though.

I thought of giving all the books away. But I remember how much I learned when my parents left for-my-age-inappropriate books all over our house. I want to make sure that my boys grow up with access to Willie Master’s Lonesome Wife.

So I started sorting books by color.

And then I did it by size. Like a Philistine. Suzan-Lori Parks next to Donald Barthelme. This has never happened here before, but it seems okay. There’s a reason that plays are published in the same dimensions as short stories.

It used to be that I would identify myself by my books. I wanted people to see me as someone with incredibly wide-reaching knowledge. Now I identify myself with my house—I want it to look fun and interesting, and to be a place where my kids will have that magical sort of childhood that combines safety and surprise.

You will notice there are not any work-related books. Anywhere. Which is odd because I receive at least one in the mail every day. I don’t save those books because they bore me. I wish I didn’t have to write that. But I think they bore you, too. That’s why you read this blog.

The best advice about how to conduct yourself at work is to know yourself, and get new information—from outside your own experience—about what is possible in the world. And that is what fiction, and plays, and poetry, and this blog, are about.

82 replies
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  1. J-Lo
    J-Lo says:

    @ Compinche-thanks so much! I was going to say the same thiing.
    I guess I’m a book snob: I hated (HATED) when Oprah selected “100 years of solitude” for her book of the month thing (how dare she tried to get the masses read Gabo!?), and I don’t buy paperbacks-ever.
    Is there a support group for us snobs? ;-)
    PS – btw, love your writing P.T.!

  2. Shawn
    Shawn says:

    I haven’t seen anyone mention it yet, but you can also get 1 free childrens book a month until they are 5 through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library charity. My wife signed up for it when my son was born and I have been pleasently surprised with the number of great books they have sent. My son will be 4 next month and we read every night. He loves the Llama Llama series, but there have been a ton of other great books that we would not have been introduced to without using Imagination Library.

    I would think that if you were a newer children’s book writer, somehow convincing your publisher to participate in this program would help get your name out there quite efficiently. Anyway, thought I’d throw that out there. Great post P.

  3. Grace Briones
    Grace Briones says:

    My husband and I have read to our daughter (now 3) since she was a newborn. It’s our ritual that every night after bathtime, that we cuddle into her bed and read books. Often, my husband will re-read the same book in Polish (husband’s origin), which is so fun and a great way to learn the language. I definitely agree that reading is the gateway to knowledge, tolerance and love. Reading together is quite possibly the best memories you can share as a family, too.

  4. David Warr
    David Warr says:

    Hi Penelope, I love your story of wanting to put books in lots of different categories at the bookstore, and I love all the stories that others have shared here. It’s wonderful.
    I’m new to your blog and have signed up, even though I’m too late for the offer, just as you’d hoped.
    David

  5. Monica O'Brien
    Monica O'Brien says:

    First, you are right about young adult books being less subtle with emotions.

    Second, saying you read Young Adult books might be misleading. I got excited for about half a second and then realized that you probably mean stuff by Roald Dahl and Judy Blume. Okay, so technically those are YA, but they are probably more like YA classics that I read when I was seven. The world of Young Adult books has changed a lot in the last 10-15 years and teenagers would probably consider your version of YA books to be children’s books, the same way they’d consider Hannah Montana a children’s show even though the characters are teenagers.

    Please correct me if I’m wrong though. I would love to hear what YA books you are reading if you mean current YA, stuff that has been published in the last five years.

  6. suba
    suba says:

    I loved (and still do) to live among books, with floors covered in books and all I needed was a gray, rainy day. When I had to move and the books went away, I fell in depression and had to visit a psychiatrist who didn’t get it. It’s an odd addiction.

  7. Jackie L
    Jackie L says:

    Yowza… This post has spawned some dialogue! I too am not into acquiring *stuff* at all But books are really souls, aren’t they? There is no way to keep them to yourself; they must be shared with others who will love them or allowed to express themselves in all sorts of multi-functional ways like home decoration or as a resting spot for a wine glass. I now plan to sort my books by color.

    I am not a snob because I find THAT boring (except sometimes about having lived in NYC as well because I am nostalgic about it and was proud of myself for selling off so many of my boxes of books). But, I am lucky to work at a small online used bookstore whose employees are honest-to-god bookworms… passionately engaged every day in promoting literacy in our national community. I don’t mean by buying & selling books from people all over the place, but by thinking up cool ways to put quality used books in peoples’ hands like you are doing (recycling the trillions of published books out there, another laudable act).

    I realize you weren’t out to save the world, but you just may have saved someone today.

  8. Matt D.
    Matt D. says:

    What an awesome post!

    I still have many of the books I read from my childhood, and it is awesome watching my children read them now.

    Thanks for a great post.

  9. sarah roberts
    sarah roberts says:

    My mother gave away all my children’s books when I reached my teens. I still haven’t forgiven her.
    Before you mail off all your books to the daughters of loyal readers (if you haven’t already), would it be too much to ask for you to post a list of your kids book names and titles?
    Thanks.
    I love you.
    Sarah

  10. sami
    sami says:

    love this post.
    I move a lot and each time only half of my books move with me.
    I have two kids and they have started their own book pile.
    It is hard to leave my books behind and I am thinking i’ll either have to donate them all to the library and have my own library wing, or open a small book store. I don’t know if i could sell them as i am far too attached to them. I read them once and just like to have them on hand to reference. I have a growing chick lit section, business books and i think i even have the studio small spaces one.
    liked knowing there are others who love curling up in a cozy spot with a good book.

  11. Savvy Working Gal
    Savvy Working Gal says:

    Based on your recommendation, I read Out of the Dust. Wow what a book! I could almost taste the dust. Billie Jo reminds me of Francie from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn a favorite from my childhood. Speaking of book snobbery, I searched the web to see what others were saying about Out of the Dust. I found a comment from a young gal who wrote how she hated the book and had been forced to read it by her teachers. She listened to it on tape and thought it was hilarious to hear how Billy Jo pronounced things. She found her accent to be really stupid and funny. What does the commenter write about – her blog is devoted to bible verses.

  12. jypsy
    jypsy says:

    …until this Valentines Day. Nice timing :) Thanks!
    “Who is this woman? Why is she sending me a book?…..”
    “Google her”
    “Who is this woman?….”
    “Did you Google her?”
    “No”
    “Well….”
    Looks like you hit the nail on the head, I’ll be in touch, let you know…

  13. ipad3
    ipad3 says:

    A actually great submit by you my friend. We have bookmarked this page and will appear back following several days to examine for any new posts that you simply make.

  14. Nur Costa
    Nur Costa says:

    Are all the pictures with books in your house?? I’d love to see a ‘house photography-guided-tour’
    Your house in the farm looks so much interesting. Would you consider sharing more how you store things? (I hope this doesn’t sound paranoid).

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