Reply #46: I think it is a function of what you have been exposed to

[tigereye]

comparatively. I have a BA in English Lit., so I had to read a lot of old-school, classic writers - Tolstoy, Voltaire, Woolf, Doestoevsky, DH Lawrence, lots of poetry, non-Western writers, etc. So my tolerance for a lot of what ends up on the Bestseller list ( and often good stuff does) is rather thin. But that said, I also like mysteries and the Harry Potter books that we read to my kid, so I don't begrudge people enjoying pop culture in all its forms.

It's kind of like how I feel about commercial radio - I feel sad that so many people never hear the wealth of great music that I was exposed to on non-commercial radio. Commercial radio only gives you the tip of the iceberg, and I suppose mass market culture and paperbacks, etc. do the same.