Warning: Subjective writeup ahead!
This has seemed to prove true in my life. I know many people who you would not think would ever read, that end up reading amazing sagas that most people have never heard of. I have been introduced to great series (such as The Wheel of Time) by such people, the ones who seem better off smoking a joint. On the other hand, people who obviously read more often than you could ever hope to have taste in books that would be better off helping heat the steak.
More often than not, the people who have tastes that clash with mine are English teachers. They will swear by a story that, once read, proves to be horrible. These stories are usually written to play on peoples sentiments and soft sides. I should know. I wrote a series of five poems for a class. I did so feeling absolutely no emotion, yet the BS that I fed into my keyboard was enough to gain me an A+ on the project, a teacher who thought me a renaissance man, and a recommendation to try to get them published in the school newspaper. From my point of view, they are just plotless gimmicks.
It seems to me that this sort of person is a product of "the system." In other words, they were brought up or taught to think that "this is good." I've seen this so many times. I ask the person in question why he/she believes a story to be good, and receive a simple "it is beautiful." No more answer. When I am telling someone the merits of a particular story, I can cite examples and provide reason, not just a simple "I like it because it was good."
People will not look up to me because I read Romeo and Juliet backwards more often than forward. They will not look up to me because I have read every one of Oprah's books of the week. I don't care. I would rather be with the guys who are believed to be doped up all the time, because they read things with a quality about them, such as innovative plot, that the "distinguished reader" will never experience.
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