4.01.11

There are people of recent wealth who never allow themselves to enjoy anything that is popular. They're called "snobs"--English is said to be the only language that has such a word. You can find them at expensive colleges where they watch  polo and squash, never football, basketball, or baseball. They never read books off racks in drugstores and supermarkets. They seem to think that looking bored is admirable. In 1602, according to Joe Gores, the librarian at Oxford University was told not to include the writings of William Shakespeare: his work was too commercial and trashy. The separation of fiction into categories like mystery, suspense, and romance, is for marketing purposes that have nothing to do with quality of writing. Booksellers want to know what shelf to put them on.