Stuff I Shouldn't Let Bother Me.

I find it frustrating that people can’t separate what they like and don’t from what is good and bad. I was looking through a list of the worst books ever written on Goodreads, and there were a bunch of classics on the list. I don’t just mean best sellers. I mean Steinbeck and Faulkner and the King James Bible. In art the test of time is absolute – it’s scoreboard. If it's relevant a century later then it's good. No matter what anyone thinks. Just because someone doesn’t think the Bible is true doesn’t mean it’s poorly written. Just because Ann Coulter is evil doesn’t mean she can’t craft a sentence. The fact that she upsets so many people is proof she’s a good writer. And if you have a problem with Harry Potter, put the Haterade down and step back. I understand Dan Brown’s stuff and Mein Kampf being on the list; they’re badly written. When I read Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes. Mein Kampf isn't bad because he was a mass murderer. It's bad because he was illiterate. These are “Worst Book” candidates. I liked Angels and Demons but I understand that it sucks. The Grapes of Wrath nearly bored me to death, but Steinbeck will still be ruining the lives of 11th graders everywhere a hundred years from now – scoreboard. The group that bothers me most is the Haters, the frustrated writers whose great American novel is just too far ahead of its time to be published, the wannabe lit professors that can’t enjoy brain candy for its own sake. Maybe Twilight is written for ‘tween girls not pipe smoking old guys, and from what I understand Caitlins and Madisons all over the world can’t get enough. Remember Cassio’s words to Iago in Othello, “Don’t hate the player. Hate the game.” That’s the Bard.