Do my reading preferences make me a book snob?

[JaffaCake70]

Today a work colleague called me a 'brainiac' because I said I prefer reading biographies to fiction.. I don't even know what this means. Can anyone shed some light on why I would be deemed a 'brainiac' because of my reading preferences?

I don't think people who read fiction are any less intelligent than those that prefer auto/biographies. I thought it was a weird sweeping statement. I just prefer reading about real people rather than fictional ones.

YABU - It was a compliment, stop over thinking.

YANBU - It was an insult because your work colleagues secretly hate you.

Sounds pretty mean to me.
I read a mix of fiction and non fiction, depending on my mood. I love a good autobiography, and have read many by famous sportswomen, businesswomen (Karen Brady), politicians (Hilary Clinton, Harriet Harman both very good), actresses etc.
We hardly ever discuss what we are reading at work though, what is being watched on TV is a more common topic (or was in the office BC anyway).

which caused me to add owning a VW camper van to my bucket list!

Haha!

I've wanted one since I was a teen in the 80's which made me very uncool! But then I'm an 80's rock chick with a hidden hippy heart

Vegetarian over 30 years, socialist, environmentally aware for many decades etc

feel like you're a kindred spirit now!

What a lovely thing to say thank you

I think Marilyn was far more intelligent/intellectual than she dared show in public, and probably more politically and socially aware and engaged too. Personally I relate to her as a fellow sufferer of endo who's lost pregnancies

Posted sooner than planned!

I think she would have become as she aged an even more fascinating and more rounded public persona, I can see her having become more interested in character parts and more than happy to play "unsympathetic" even villainous roles.

Don't know what to make of her death, yes there were certainly reasons her death benefited certain people, but she was also erratic and addicted and possibly had mh issues - I've always wondered, as have others of course, if she might have been bipolar, would explain a lot.

What's always been odd for me is she was born the same year as one of my grans and of course we just remember her as being so young, hard to get my head round that.

There was a photo of my gran, who was a natural blonde "done up" in "movie star style" it was a gift to her parents around the mid 50's and she looked so glamourous yet was a married mother of 3 at this point!

Biographies are easy-reading....she must be a bit dim.

Surely it depends on the biography. A celebrity ghost written autobiography vs a biography of a historical figure that started as someone's DPhil thesis are two different beasts. Maybe she was thinking of the latter. Still a silly comment to make but since intelligence is generally considered A Good Thing then it's a compliment.

I am suspicious of people who claim never to read fiction, I read anything

Me too Mac I have a friend who doesn't read OR watch films or Netflix series! She watches a bit of reality TV and does some craft...which is fine but God! Where's her escapism!?

I read history books and crime fiction
No idea what that means - we don’t really discuss reading choices at work
My lot think I’m weird anyway because I rarely watch tv and don’t have Netflix or prime or sky

This one's a cracker if you like a bit of old school Hollywood:

www.amazon.co.uk/Louise-Brooks-Biography-Barry-Paris/dp/0816637814?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

and yes to The Divine Feud too. I've heard that Mariah Carey's new book is a great read too.

This link is to a piece of fun about reading identities:

www.bookdepository.com/revealyourshelf-quiz

I don’t think it was a compliment or an insult. Just a strange comment as there is nothing intellectual (or otherwise) about reading mainly biographies, it is just a preference.

The content of the comment is odd - I don’t think there’s any reason why fiction/non fiction means anything at all about intelligence.
The way she said it ‘brainiac’ would confirm for me that I’m not going to pay much attention - sounds either like
A 6 year old or as if she was very unsure of herself/affectation for some reason.
Just ignore as we all do all of
Time when we hear odd things which are irrelevant or downright wrong !
Btw I do think fiction/non fiction is possibly indicative of difference - I haven’t read fiction for a long time having read a lot when younger. Ine degree was eng lit fgs. I also haven’t worked out why or what it all means. Nothing to do with brights though.

I develop a twitch when I hear 'genre' spoken in a French accent (from a non French person that is)

I can't answer your questions as them having an opinion does not mean you have to take that opinion on, so it is does not have to reflect on you at all

I thought you were going to say you read the classics from your post title...
I wonder what the person who commented reads if she thinks biographies are such a high form of literature.

@seayork2020

I develop a twitch when I hear 'genre' spoken in a French accent (from a non French person that is)

I can't answer your questions as them having an opinion does not mean you have to take that opinion on, so it is does not have to reflect on you at all

Am I supposed to pronounce it Jen-er, then?

Got no idea, but it's a French word, so , like other ones I have read but not heard (as fancy words weren't a feature of my childhood), I always say it that way.

Weird. Biographies are the lowest form of book genre imo

What you read or don't read doesn't make you a snob.

How you feel and act towards people with different reading choices or none is what can make you a snob.

What a weird comment! I have reasonably highbrow reading habits and I loathe biographies. I mean... the comment might be fair enough (if rude) if you only read biographies of German philosophers and obscure classical composers etc. But considering that the most popular biographies are of slebs and sports stars, it hardly seems like a particularly accurate accusation!

Personally I find reading biographies less demanding than fiction. Almost a guilty pleasure.
I think your colleague feels threatened by you reading, full stop.

You read what you enjoy, god knows what’s she’d think of me then fiction, mainly history novels, medical operating theatre books.

It depends on tone of voice and the context of the rest of your interactions with this person. For some, "brainiac" would be an insult. For others, it would be a friendly teasing comment.

In answer to your topic title, reading preferences don't make one a book snob, but one can certainly be snobbish about books. If you're not making snide comments or glances at what other people are reading or saying things like, "Oh, no, I never read romance or fantasy!", you're probably not a book snob.

Why don't you ask her what SHE likes reading and have a conversation about books?

I only like non-fiction. If we all liked the same things, we'd be boring!

@Bluesheep8

Why don't you ask her what SHE likes reading and have a conversation about books?

It was during a conversation where she was talking about books that she like to read that the comment happened. It went something like this:

Her - 'I like Martina Cole, Sophie Kinsella...'

Me - I've never read any thing by those authors, I tend to only read biographies these days.

Her - 'Yes, but you're a braniac aren't you?'

brainiac LOL