Oh, come now, Sean, you know you flaunted it just a little bit, admit it!

For the record, since you asked, I fall into the category of "Never read him and don't like him", mainly because I like strange objects covered with fur that break your hearts, and he always seems to be writings very normal, smooth, well crafted objects that don't break your heart. Also, I like underdogs and despise valedictorians.

It vexes me ever so how verbose this got!

But agreed, Franzen seems like a douche IRL, but he's a good writer. Even if his books aren't your cup of tea, denying his talents outright seems petty at this point.

@1 -- How do you really know what his books are like if you've never read him?

Sean, do you mean the subtext in this post? The Indian Jones thing, and then returning with poison darts sounds like Harold Bloom.