> I just can't get a grasp on why it becomes avant garde to bash popular anything.
>

Mousie -

I hate to burst your idignant bubble here, but I don't "bash" authors out of a desire to seem popular or in the know. If anything I'm just an opinionated and difficult little swine. I actually think Stephen Kings work is pretty poor, with the exceptions of "The Shining" (which I read again over christmas), and "The Dark Half" (which I bought because it had a cool cover). Having sat down and read the majority of his writing, since the next accusation would probably be along the lines of "well, you obviously haven't read...", I can honestly say I think its pants. Doesn't anyone else think that "Hearts in Atlantis" was awful?

> So a lot of his works have been made into movies which didn't convey the same anything as the books.

I never said anything about that. Where did that come from?

>and goodness knows, all "pop" culture is somehow subpar for its popularity.

No, the majority of pop culture is subpar as the market is flooded by poor material mimicing the few popular yet original ideas that sell well.

Bourne