Why do so many adults read YA fiction?

[BadOctopus]

There is a trend that seems to be on the rise of full-grown adults reading books that are meant for adolescents within the 13-17 year old range. There's not necessarily anything wrong with reading young adult fiction once in a while; in between the adult fiction and classics that I read, I like to throw in some Lewis Carroll or Roald Dahl, for a good dose of nostalgia. But I know some adults who read YA fiction to the exclusion of other material.

I know, I know. People have the right to read whatever they want, and the fact that they're reading YA is better than reading nothing at all. But... why? What's causing this trend? Is it because adults are under stress, and they prefer the simple plots and easy resolutions of YA novels? Are they trying to recapture their adolescence? Or does it have to do with the declining reading comprehension of the average adult, and the fact that YA fiction is just... easier to read? Any theories?

 

[prplchknz]

They want to?? I don't believe the hype that education is worst than it ever has been. I think it's for once in a really long ass time available to the masses vs the elite and as a result the more people you have to teach all learning at different speeds and try keeping up with 40 kids and teaching all of them. I think people appear dumber now cuz there's too many people in schools and it's too mass produced and I think most people learn best individually and as a result they either don't care. the more people with a degree in a single field from college the harder it is to get a job in that field, because the number of jobs stay roughly the same but the number of people with qualifications go up. So I don't think people are less intelligent then in the past, but rather people who probably shouldn't go to college are going, because that's what we're told. and now it's un pc to say hey you know maybe university isn't for you but maybe you'd be a good mechanic. Though I think mechanics are smart I don't understand that shit. I'm like i press a button the car starts i have two peddles i press them and it magically goes. oh and it tells me when i need oil. beyond that i'm like lalalalalala.

 

[Qlip]

I have more than a couple friends who are writers, who have MFAs and also read YA. It's a niche of literature that is in many ways wide open to different ideas and narratives. It's fresh.

 

[Vasilisa]

on adulthood

Against YA

The Death of Adulthood in American Culture

The Birth of Adulthood in American Culture

THE 20 STAGES OF READING by LYNDA BARRY

 

[Southern Kross]

Because it can be a lot more fun, easily satisfying and engrossing. That and the ideas behind them can pose more interesting questions/scenarios. They have more of a spirit of adventure and like to ask "what if?". Adult fiction can really lack that.

 

[Showbread]

It's easy, exciting, and the stories are engaging? I'm 22 and I read a pretty good mix of non-fiction, historical fictions, classic literature, mystery/thrillers, with some YA fiction thrown in every once and awhile. I found the Hunger Games to be extremely engaging, and I liked the characters. I read the Divergent books while I was traveling because they were light and a good way to pass the time. I also come back to the Harry Potter series from time to time, but I feel no need to justify that.

By no means are either of those series fine literature, but every once in awhile it's nice to get sucked into something. I would say reading YA fiction is kind of like watching chick flicks.

 

[prplchknz]

It's easy, exciting, and the stories are engaging? I'm 22 and I read a pretty good mix of non-fiction, historical fictions, classic literature, mystery/thrillers, with some YA fiction thrown in every once and awhile. I found the Hunger Games to be extremely engaging, and I liked the characters. I read the Divergent books while I was traveling because they were light and a good way to pass the time. I also come back to the Harry Potter series from time to time, but I feel no need to justify that.

By no means are either of those series fine literature, but every once in awhile it's nice to get sucked into something. I would say reading YA fiction is kind of like watching chick flicks.

how i feel about anything really. people should like what they like, but the social police insist on alienating those who don't want to participate in life they way they deem as approriate. it's like STFU, what other people like to read, watch, or listen to does not effect anyone. I can like dumb shallow things but that doesn't mean i only like that.

 

[Mal12345]

They read YA fiction because they are light-weights when it comes to reading fiction.

 

[Showbread]

They read YA fiction because they are light-weights when it comes to reading fiction.

That's kind of like saying people who drink beer do it because they are light weights with hard alcohol, which is silly. People drink beer because they like beer.

 

[Mal12345]

That's kind of life saying people who drink beer do it because they are light weights with hard alcohol, which is silly. People drink beer because they like beer.

Some beer-drinkers like to experiment with specialty beers; but most are brand-loyalists. Either way, the statement "I do like my beer" or "I do like my liquor" makes more sense than "I do like my Young Adult fiction."

I outgrew Young Adult fiction just before I entered adulthood. My tastes just changed and I didn't like reading it anymore. Long before I turned 12 I stopped reading Dr. Seuss because it didn't interest me anymore. I went toward the youth adventures and detective novels. When I no longer identified with youths, I could no longer care to read about their adventures.

 

[Southern Kross]

They read YA fiction because they are light-weights when it comes to reading fiction.

I minored in English lit at Uni and have read plenty of great, complex fiction as well as YA. I just like variation.

It's no different to film. How many people only watch complex, intellectual film?

Snobbish, joyless wankers, that's who.

Personally I enjoy a good blockbuster as well as something by Malick, Altman, or Kubrick.

 

[Mal12345]

I minored in English lit at Uni and have read plenty of great, complex fiction as well as YA. I just like variation.

It's no different to film. How many people only watch complex, intellectual film?

Snobbish, joyless wankers, that's who.

Personally I enjoy a good blockbuster as well as something by Malick, Altman, or Kubrick.

You like all kinds of fiction, both higher and lower, therefore what I said doesn't apply to you.

As for me, lightweight reading means something Stephen Kingish. And his kind of writing constitutes probably the lion's share of all modern fiction. The magical adventures of Harry Potter don't interest me in the slightest.

 

[ScareBear]

My issue is with content. I would prefer to read YA because I don't have to worry about much cursing or sex. Plus the YA section seems to center around unique ideas and possibilities (a school for witches and wizards or post apocalyptic societies).

 

[Crabs]

maybe it appeals to the young at heart. it's like a fantasy vacation from all the responsibilities of being an adult.

 

[Passacaglia]

I imagine that a few people do read YA fiction due to low reading comprehension; but then people tend to avoid doing things they're not good at, so I suspect that most people who don't read well would rather be reading the tv guide.

I myself read the Chronicles of Narnia because I had somehow gotten to my 20s before reading this classic fantasy series; I read the Hunger Games because it was recommended to me, and I read Catching Fire and The Mockingjay because the entire trilogy is just so original and compelling; I read all seven Harry Potters for much the same reason. (I even camped outside of a bookstore with some friends and a lot of cosplaying teens on the eve of the release of The Deathly Hallows just to get a copy at midnight!)

Long story short, I read good fiction, whatever the big-word count is. I suspect many adults do the same, with some of them favoring YA fiction because the light reading is better for the bus ride home, or the business flight to wherever, or those few free minutes here and there when they find themselves with nothing to do.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

We live in a culture where lines between adolescent and non-adolescent pursuits, hobbies, media have been blurred. Grown men collect toys, middle aged moms read teen vampire romance novels, young toddlers accompany parents to the firing range for target practice.

Similarly, the lines between high brow and low brow media have been highly blurred, practically erased completely. A person might be listening to Philip Glass one minute, Weird Al the next. John Seabrook | Stories | Nobrow Culture There is nothing wrong with this.

[MENTION=13589]Mal12345[/MENTION], I wouldn't argue Stephen King is anything but lightweight, yet it's interesting how the resurgence of horror literature as a genre to be taken seriously in the latter half of the 20th century can at least in part be credited to his popularity. Obviously there'd been Mary Shelley, Poe, and others who'd written intelligent horror before King, but by the mid 20th century, horror fiction largely resided in the realm of dime pulp novels. King can at least partly be credited with bringing it back as a genre to be appreciated in both popular and academic circles.

 

[uumlau]

There is a huge difference between one who reads YA fiction on occasion, and, for example, Bronies. Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the record, I would much prefer to read Harry Potter books than 50 Shades of Grey. And I don't like the Harry Potter books that much.

 

[BadOctopus]

[MENTION=9310]uumlau[/MENTION] I'm hesitant to watch that clip, for fear that once I watch it, I cannot unwatch it.

 

[uumlau]

[MENTION=9310]uumlau[/MENTION] I'm hesitant to watch that clip, for fear that once I watch it, I cannot unwatch it.

UnWATCHing it is easy.

UnHEARING it is difficult.

Unfortunately, you don't even need to click on it to hear it in your head, so your mind has already been poisoned.

 

[chubber]

UnWATCHing it is easy.

UnHEARING it is difficult.

Unfortunately, you don't even need to click on it to hear it in your head, so your mind has already been poisoned.

I just keep seeing the parrot (Iago) from Aladdin, walking on Jafar's shoulders rambling about the book.