And then there's this guy

[profbutters]

Adults Should Read Adult Books.  Discuss amongst yourselves!  I shouldn't be typing at all, since I just got a steroid shot to the wrist. Thank GOD I am not phobic about needles, but I still don't like it and it feels ikky.

Here's how the article starts:

"The only thing more embarrassing than catching a guy on the plane looking at pornography on his

Comments

[mzyra]

... Define adult. You know, besides sexual content. How does young adult and adult fiction differ? Because, besides the idea of adult-rated that you wouldn't want younger people reading, a story that classifies itself as 'adult' seems rather pretentious. And if a story chases being adult-rated for sex or violence when it isn't really necessary for the story and its feel, well that seems immature. Other than those, what counts as adult? Because implicit in that is the notion that teens wouldn't be able to understand or enjoy them, which is an unfair assumption. Once books get to the stage of being written to the full ability (so no deliberate simplification for younger age groups or whatever), it shouldn't matter; a fair number of teens can read at that level, and some adults can't. Sure, there are stories that are more adult-orientated, maybe told from the point of view of a parent or someone who younger people may not be so capable of relating to, but who says all adults can either? And teen or young adult books might be set more in high schools or colleges, but most adults have been through those situations, and maybe they want to mentally relive it. Maybe teens don't want to just read about what's likely for them, and maybe adults don't want to do the same for themselves. A good story is enjoyable to everyone with sufficient understanding and empathy for characters, and heck, it might help people to understand each other better if they read things that related to other groups more. By about most people's mid-teens I think it largely just comes down to what genres people prefer. I started reading Terry Pratchett when I was 13, and I'll probably continue to do so as long as I can - I don't care who it's aimed at.

Sounds to me like somebody's either very pretentious, or rather insecure in his adulthood. Real men can wear pink, and real adults can enjoy stuff from their/aimed at childhood.

[leilia]

Just a point of clarification, YA books can contain serious violence and sex in them.

Hunger Games has massive violence in it.

Twilight has headboard breaking sex scenes.

And then there are those that consider "I know why the caged bird sings" YA fiction. Which is about child abuse, rape, pedophilia and lots of other things. But it was a book I had to read when I was 15 in High School.

Of course let's consider two staples of YA fiction, "Bless the Beasts and the Children" and "Lord of the Flies." Both feature serious ass bullying and let's see slaughter of animals and in one cannibalism. That's great children reading material... But they are classified as YA books.

YA Fiction is more defined as who the publisher thinks the core audience is going to be. It's all a money game. If they could get away with it, they'd classify Mario Puzo and Eric Van Lustbader as YA fiction to make it sell more.