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The Book Snob Book Tag

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This is the first book tag I’ve done in a while so firstly, thank you to the wonderful Esther @ CozywithBooks for tagging me in the Book Snob Book Tag! 

I very much enjoyed reading her responses, so you should check those out here. We started blogging around a similar time and her blog is constantly evolving in impressive ways, so do consider giving her a follow.

Credit to Booktuber Tia and All the Books for creating this tag – check out her channel if you’re into all that booktubing goodness!

And now, onto the book tag in question – the Book Snob Book Tag!

Book Snob Book Tag Questions

Adaptation Snob: Do you always read the book before watching the film/ TV show?

I will usually try to read the book first. 

After all, an adaptation is just that – a showrunner’s adaptation of an author’s writing. When you watch the cinematic version first, it delivers a bias as to how those characters look and behave. You will never be able to read the book without preconceptions.

Because of this, I’d rather read a book through my own eyes, rather than the prism of another’s.

That isn’t to say that I always prefer the book. For example, whilst I don’t particularly have much love for Game of Thrones as a franchise, the TV show is very well produced and far superior to what I have read of the books.

Format Snob: You can only choose 1 format in which to read books for the rest of your life.

Which one do you choose: physical books, eBooks, or audiobooks?

From an environmental standpoint, I probably ought to say eBooks (I suspect this is worth a blog of its own), but paperbacks are the goldilocks zone for reading for me.

Hardbacks are too unwieldy and often look better on the shelf (missing the point of reading). eBooks are fantastic – and to be fair I probably read more eBooks right now – but they aren’t very sexy, are they?

Paperbacks just feel right. There’s a vague authenticity to them that’s difficult to explain. I suppose in a world where we’re constantly paying for live services (Netflix, Xbox Game Pass, Disney+, etc.), there’s something genuine & sincere about consuming actual, tangible goods.

Ship Snob: Would you date or marry a non-reader?

Of course.

I often rephrase this question around gaming. ‘Would I ever date or marry someone who doesn’t play video games?’ – a huge passion of mine – and there the absurdity is laid bare.

If I absolutely adored someone, but they didn’t like playing video games, why would that be a dealbreaker? The same applies to reading – we don’t all enjoy the same things, and it’s unreasonable to compel our loved ones to do so.

If said hypothetical partner didn’t respect my passions however, or actively tried to steer me from them, then that’s another issue. I just don’t believe in forcing people to change against their will.

Genre Snob: You have to ditch one genre – never to be read again for the rest of your life.

Which one do you ditch?

Easy. Romance fiction.

Specifically of the spicy, Mills & Boon kind.

I understand that there’s a strong market for it, and i’m certainly not judging the readers or authors in that genre, but it’s absolute white noise to me.

Sorry folks – not my bag.

Uber Genre Snob: You can only choose to read from one genre for the rest of your life. Which genre do you choose?

This is the hardest, most gut-wrenching question. 

Largely because the idea of only ever reading a single genre for the rest of my life is my bookish equivalent of hearing thee sound of one hand clapping. This is predominantly why I pride Tales from Absurdia on being a genre-agnostic blog.

However, if I had to choose, it would likely be philosophical literature. Anything published by Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, or Dostoevsky for example.

Community Snob: Which genre do you think receives the most snobbery from the bookish community?

This is a difficult question. I know that plenty of literary sorts get quite lairy about YA fiction, but when you consider that Bookstagram, BookTok, BookTube, and co. are largely populated by YA content creators, I think it’s fair to say that YA is pretty popular amongst most people.

I’d argue that commercial romance fiction probably receives the most snobbery – and as you may have gleaned from my earlier response, I probably fall into that bias myself.

If I see a book cover with a glossy male torso, or one of those minimalist Jilly Cooper-style book covers, I just glaze over.

As do a lot of people, to be fair. I just can’t deal with them. Sorry!

Tags

I’m tagging the following four bloggers to partake in the Book Snob Book Tag – they’re an excellent bunch, so do check out their blogs!

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1 thought on “The Book Snob Book Tag”

  1. I agree, hardcovers are kind of unwieldy haha. I still love them to bits because I tend to read on the desk so I’m not holding anything. Great answer! Hope you enjoyed ?

    Reply

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