You hear this sentiment from literature lovers all the time, but not in so many words.  They’re the ones who have read every modernist and post-modernist classic, though maybe they are lying about finishing Infinite Jest.  When I tell them I read fantasy and sci-fi, they respond with an ominous “oh,” and that look, half distain and half dismay.  Everyone knows, fantasy and sci-fi aren’t real literature, but poor pulpy substitutes.