An alien voice under a duvet of dreams.

To read or not to read? November 20, 2009

This post is generally a reaction to a post on Noble Savage‘s blog about Twilight and young adult literature. Now, while I was not offended per se, I did feel a little begrudgingly towards it.

So I will put my hand up and admit that I read children’s books. Well, of course I do at the moment, it’d be a bit daft if I didn’t considering I am immersed in a children’s lit course. But I enjoyed reading kidlit before the course began. There are many reasons that I do.

1. I have a child.
2. It’s a little bit of light entertainment. (Books like Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl.)
3. Sometimes it’s the best way to get large themes across succinctly. (Books like Northern Lights and Little Brother.)
4. ‘Cross-over’ fiction is some of the best fiction around. (IMO)
5. I would like to write a cross-over novel, so keeping an eye on the market is a must.

And that’s just to name a few of the reasons. But reading children’s literature when you’re an adult seems to have a social stigma attached to it. People tell you to get a life, to grow up and stop living vicariously through books aimed at teenagers. But do you know what I say? It’s my life. I enjoy these books and I will stand by them. And guess what? I also enjoy reading books for younger children, such as Neil Gaiman’s kids books (usually aimed at the 5-8 years – Wolves in the Walls – and 9-12 years market – Coraline and The Graveyard Book), and even Charlie and Lola books have their appeal for the interaction of word and image. What I have to ask is why do the people who think it’s childish for adults to read kidlit have such an averse reaction? It’s not like we’re smoking in public. It’s not harmful to their health. So why the problem? The simple statement of having been mortified about your mother enjoying teenage fiction doesn’t seem enough. I mean, I would have loved for my Mum to have read the books I was reading so that I could have talked with her about them, and I would hope that when it comes to Princi being that age that we would be able to share whatever type of literature, be it Shakespeare or Harry Potter or whatever is popular then. I think it is silly to ignore certain books because they are not demographically aimed at your ‘age market’.

Now, I wonder, how many adults would own up to something like Little Women, a book directly targeted at girls – or dare I say it, young adults – being one of their favourite books? How about Treasure Island? Alice in Wonderland? Anne of Green Gables? Tom Brown’s School Days? Are these acceptable because they are considered classics? So what’s the difference with people quoting Harry Potter or Twilight as their favourite books now?

I understand that some books are directed at kids. I wouldn’t read Hannah Montana (sickly sweet Disney pap) or Sweet Valley High (not my kind of book), but I have read the Potter series and Twilight. While I enjoyed Harry Potter, I hated Twilight despite my vampire addiction. For me, the advantage of reading Twilight was the lesson in how not to write (while the story had potential, the execution was dire. Still, it hasn’t stopped the books selling in their millions).

Twilight was the main problem in Noble Savage’s post. Yeah, the papers have focused on the release of the film (as is the way of media relations and advertising these days. Bandwagon, anyone?), but as with the books if the newspaper articles don’t interest you then don’t read them. Not only that, as young adults, aren’t teenagers reading newspapers too? Don’t they want to appear more mature by reading “respectable, grown-up” media? So why shouldn’t the papers try to sensationalise these films? Not only does it garner attention for the film/book/whatever, it also increases their unit sales. As for the arguments about adults jumping on something that is targeted at teenagers, well, why should that stop someone who is not in the targeted age demographic from reading them? Isn’t that one of the reasons why authors, librarians, teachers, and the general public petitioned against age banding on children’s books? Okay, the argument there was for younger children vs. older children, but it’s still relevant to this argument (young adult vs. adult).

So, as it is, I’ll continue to read and enjoy the stories found in children’s and young adult literature. It’s only fiction, after all. And, as C.S. Lewis said:

I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.*

I think that says it all. Fiction, whatever it is and despite who it is marketed to,  should be enjoyed by those who want to enjoy it whatever their age.