I like having a concept of literature to aspire to read more of. I like the idea that there exists literature that will give you so much more if you put the effort into it. I certainly recognize that there is truly excellent pieces of writing out there that can be appreciated as a higher and subtler example of quality. I admire and enjoy reading some of the more indepth discussions that you two, and people like you, have - even when I'm not able to really take part myself.

Basically, I like the sort of stuff that you and Stephen read and the way you get so much out of it, and I have no illusions that something like Dragonlance is any good at all - I'll probably never read it again, myself, and I'm not exactly an "elitist snob" by any stretch of the definition.


But despite all that, you guys are so goddamn condescending. You two, specifically. You don't just espouse the qualities of great literature, you also constantly insult or put down things that don't meet your high standards. You make people who DO enjoy these sort of things feel bad about themselves or like they're being personally attacked, which is why you often get such defensive reactions. And nobody's going to try to argue that Dragonlance is high literature, which is why nobody ever really successfully argues back - because the problem isn't with what you're saying, it's how you say it, and the backhanded judgment that's implicit in it.

Basically, you're both condescending jerks about something that should be interesting or even inspiring to those of us who haven't invested the massive amounts of time and energy into literature that you both have.