Literary Snobs

So, I have received some unfair criticism on my top ten book list. The top eight have remained safe, (being classics) but people seem to disagree on the “literary value” of the last two. I can easily argue that Diana Wynn Jones ranks with the best of the great children’s authors (I realize this puts her right up there with C.S. Lewis, but it’s a place I think she has earned). Howl’s Moving Castle is arguably her best work, so it gets on the list.

As for the Sookie Stackhouse novels, well according to my personal definition of “literary value”—a work that withstands the trial of time—those novels probably don’t have it. This doesn’t mean that I don’t find them enjoyable, entertaining, and a fun way to pass the time. Sometimes, that’s all that matters in a good book. Charlaine Harris may not have the alluring writing style of Tolkien, (a fact that she herself admits to early in From Dead to Worse) but she is funny! I enjoy reading her work like I enjoy a good action film, and it wouldn’t hurt my feeling to be compared to her as a writer.

So, there’s my defense, now give me a break. Stop being literary snobs and enjoy a fast-paced, entertaining work of fiction every now and then.