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

[leilia]

LOL Young Adult fiction is just classified as that by publishing houses wanting to get the disposable income of teens

[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

[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.

[bellemistoire]

Ah, he's a lit snob, fabulous. You know, I often find Literature to be self conscious and pretentious and boring and I'm betting that's pretty much the only thing on his approved reading list. Having read works set in Cherry Orchards, Russian Gulags, Revolutionary France, British Moors, and magical fantasy lands populated by magical sword swinging pages (including one girl pretending to be a boy), I'll take Tamora Pierce's magic YA knights-in-training novel any day.

Reading, I like it to be fun.

[leilia]

Reading, I like it to be fun.

WORD ON A STICK.

This is why I hate most required reading because it takes the fun out of reading. I've read classics. Enjoyed some. But most I've gone "Meh" at. Even a lot of modern fiction I feel is boring. If I want to read the next "Great American/British/Russian/Nationality of your Choice Novel" I will. But Reading is my escape. It's my first love. And I made a choice that I am not going to waste what little time I have reading stuff that isn't fun.

[docnerd]

I am not going to waste what little time I have reading stuff that isn't fun.

Yes. Even nonfiction doesn't have to be boring. Over the years, I've gotten a lot better about stopping reading a book that I'm not enjoying. I no longer feel compelled to finish what I've started.

[profbutters]

My English major students often admit that having a book assigned to them can take the edge off and make it feel like a chore. I'm really pleased that they feel cool about admitting this in my classroom. I do usually point out that part of being an English major means you're going to have to read some books you don't like, but if you're not an English major in college or teaching English, or required to in some other way, I don't see the point.

I will seldom walk away from a book, but I put down The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory and there is a good chance I will never finish it. I should donate it to the local library. It's in great shape, and someone will love it.

[theafterimages]

Yeahhhhh I pretty much side-eyed that guy a lot. (Though I was surprised by how many literary snobs crawled out of the woodwork over at ONTD's post about it! I mean, guys, you're posting at ONTD. The debate got surprisingly heated, at least on the first two pages, which was all that I read before becoming bored and wandering off.)

[profbutters]

Hee. I admit to posting in that thread. I think it pops up on p. 28. I got sucked in, I guess. The New York Times article brought in Perry Nodelman, who is a big name scholar in children's lit, and he tore the author a new one. I have his book, The Implied Adult, around here somewhere, and it is getting read very soon.

[docnerd]

I seriously think he just trolled everyone, and is sitting back laughing at everyone going "RAEG" in the comments

[profbutters]

Umm--does this mean you won't read anything written in the first person? I do hope not.

[docnerd]

No, not at all. I don't have problems with first person (Dresden Files yay!), but it's that combination of first person and present tense. Even third person present tense feels strange, but first person present... I can't get into it. Part of it is like, "if you don't know how this is going to end up, why the hell are you narrating? This could be the most boring thing ever, you don't know!" And again, because it's POV character, even in present tense there's no sense of suspense, because the author's not going to kill his POV character (except for very, very rare occasions, see also Dresden Files yay!).

The other thing I hate with first-person is head-hopping. It killed the Kane Chronicles for me, which is a shame, because I enjoy the Percy Jackson books by the same author. I allowed Rob Thurman to get away with it twice (and once it even worked out to her advantage, since the other head was a werewolf stuck in wolf form who was slowly losing his mind and going full-wolf), but if she does it again, she might go On Notice.

[profbutters]

My issue with first person is that you're stuck in the character's head. If you hate that character, you feel like you're in jail--at least I do.