That's Fine, You Can Read Nicholas Sparks; I'll Stick With Tawna Fenske

I wanted to expound on a couple thoughts regarding yesterday's post - you know, the one that talked about Nicholas Sparks and what a (strangely, irrationally) self-aggrandizing individual he seems to be.

Now, I noticed that some people have either A) Taken issue with the kinds of stories Sparks writes, or B) Assumed that I was taking issue with the kinds of stories he writes.

Here's the thing: I respect what Nicholas Sparks does. The reason I respect him is not because, "Well, he makes a lot of money, so good for him." No, I respect him because: He gets people to read. In fact, he gets lots of people to read. The value of this cannot be overstated (or...can hardly be overstated, I should say - I don't want to give Jordan #2 a chance to overstate it and prove me wrong).

Look, I'm not a Literature Snob. Well, maybe I am - but only a little bit. I mean, I enjoy Grisham - I think he used to be really, really good at what he does (until he started trying to be more literary and kind of lost my interest). My dad loans me the Jack Reacher books after he finishes reading, and I always get a kick out of those. Right now I'm reading Neil Gaiman - not literature, but not bad at all. My older sister reads nearly nothing but Chick Lit - she thinks I make fun of her for this, but I don't. I think it's awesome that she's always reading. Heck, I even promised my girlfriend I would read a Stephanie Meyer book (my girlfriend loves Vonnegut and Steinbeck and Jonathan Safran Foer - so, I don't know. Right? How bad could it be?).

The point is (as far as I'm concerned - and I think this ought to be the case with any of us Writers and Readers), it doesn't really matter what you write. If you wrote something that 14 people and your grandma read, awesome. Hey, you got those people to read! If you wrote something no one will read in 50 years, but that a hundred, or a thousand, or a million people are reading right now, that's awesome. All those people are reading. In an age when books have so much to compete with, we all should be happy when people are happy reading.

But see, let's take Tawna Fenske. She writes "quirky, offbeat romantic comedies." That's not what I would usually read. Her first book comes out in August of 2011, though, and you know what? I plan to pre-order it as soon as it's available. I'll read her book because she seems to really love what she does. I'll read her book, because I'll bet my favorite pair of shorts that she has some great stories, stories that are plain fun to read.

I have had Nicholas Sparks on my "Writers To Read" list for quite a long time. I wanted to test him out, because I want to read as many different and various writers as possible. And hey, he sells a lot of books. Hey, he has some interesting story ideas. Hey, he gets people to read. Why not give him a shot?

But I've taken him off my list now. Why? Because (well, mostly "Just Because," but I'll expound anyway; Because - ) he took shots at Cormac McCarthy. He compared himself to Hemingway. He stripped himself of the last protective vestiges of humility and gratitude, and he left a poor taste in my mouth.

I have nothing against the books he writes. I have nothing against the kinds of books he prefers to read. But if you research writers from the past or from the present, I dare say you'll find that 80-90% of these writers list Hemingway among their influences. And I'm not sure you'll find a single one other than Sparks who would pick up a Hemingway book and say, "...good stuff. That's what I write."

No, no, no!

I'll stick to Tawna Fenske and Cormac McCarthy and the real Ernest Hemingway - and Nicholas Sparks can stick to himself.

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