Sorry, no you don’t get to dictate taste…

That’s quite the accusatory title, isn’t it? But of course, I don’t mean *you* per se- just the *you* who tells people what they can and can’t like- this is turning into a “not you, you” moment…

Anyhoo, the subject of taste was abuzz on the blogosphere a while back (sorry I forgot to bookmark posts!) and I wasn’t initially going to respond since I’ve touched on the topic a few times before. But then, I noticed a trend of comments on my “favourites” posts, both new and old, and it started to play on my mind again. Because apparently, saying you like/dislike something is controversial. We’re back to the primary school level of argumentation with your opinion doesn’t match mine, therefore you’re wrong, so there!

Let’s start by clearing something up once and for all: you can’t be wrong about your own personal taste. I cannot tell you how ridiculous I find the “you’re wrong” comments whenever I talk about my favourites. I mean, they’re my favourites. Now, I usually attribute this to unfortunate wording- but I’ve also encountered plenty of people irl who seem to have no qualms telling me that I’m wrong about my own personal taste– somehow these *ahem* charming people know me better than I know myself- so that’s cool 😉 In all seriousness, an opinion is subjective and whether or not a person likes something isn’t really up for debate. Art speaks to the soul– and we cannot be held accountable for what we do and do not like.

There are of course plenty of things to contend with when it comes to books- and I do hold that some books are objectively better than others. People are of course entitled to say what they want, but yeah, it’s a bit daft to say “Shakespeare is crap”, even if you don’t like his work (surprisingly people do say that and my response is pahahaha I should be so crap). That said, whether something is more technically good or bad does not always affect taste. I’ve disliked plenty of well written books- books I’ve gone out of my way to say “I understand why other people like it”- and that’s not a platitude, I genuinely mean the book has literary merit, even if I didn’t connect with it. And at the other end of the spectrum, I’ve enjoyed plenty-a trashy book. Nothing wrong with that. Books can be entertaining, lovely and make you exuberantly happy without being the next Middlemarch. I won’t pretend it’s on a literary par with a classic if it isn’t, yet I’ll happily sing its merits till my throat’s hoarse if there’s something, anything about it that catches my fancy- and I can’t say fairer than that.

Nor does it matter if a book is obscure or popular. I think we’ve all had the moment where we’ve been in love with a hidden gem and not understood why it’s not got *all the acclaim*. And I know a lot of you feel me when it comes to those dreaded overhyped books. Then there are the world famous hits it’s trendy not to like (I can’t tell you how many times I was told at uni that it was too obvious to like the Beatles- whatever that means 😉 ). The point is, we will ultimately form our own opinions- and that’s okay. Which brings me onto my most important point…

I don’t care if you like what I like or hate what I hate. Everyone’s entitled to hate what I love or love what I hate, as I stated in my “I don’t care, I didn’t write it” piece eons ago- I’m not going to take it personally. But I’d actually like to take it further than I did there: even if I did write it, it doesn’t matter. There will always be people to love and hate your work- that’s not only a part of life, it’s a necessary part of life. The world is a richer, more interesting place thanks to diverse thought and ideas. Talking to each other is how we learn; discussing even our greatest differences is how we grow and is the path to reaching common ground. Realising that other people like different things is all part of getting along like adults and it’s not worth tearing each other apart for things outside our control. Especially when it comes to whether or not we prefer DC to Marvel (I’ve probably started a comment war haven’t I…). And I think that’s a message we could all do with learning.

So what do you think? Is taste debatable? Agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

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