You remember all those months ago when I said that I would make a video about the reactions people at my new job had to YA? All the dearest criticism I've heard? Well, folks, here it is. Indeed this video idea was in response to an article, suggesting that people should be less judgmental about their reading...
In the above video, I tell you about:
...is to recommend books to people on a case-by-case basis. I want to believe in those "YA Books for Adults" lists, but heck, if Catching Fire is something that doesn't "fit" within a coworker's perception of good literature and only Man Booker Prize Winners or The Goldfinch does, well, I've got to find something else up my sleeve than a casual list. (Plus those lists always rub me the wrong way. More than half the readership of YA is already adult. What exactly are you trying to imply with those lists?).
Maybe I ought to recommend something from my best books of 2014?
Or maybe my favorites are a little too young in taste in these cases? what to do, what to do :O.
Mind you, this is only MY COWORKERS. My brother was once like, "Oh, you still read all that?" *indicates large array of YA books* "I thought that you would've outgrown it." Or my mother, who doesn't like to read any speculative fiction, anything fantastical or "silly," which YA is to her. "Are you reading another one of those vampire books?"
*bangs head against desk*
What do y'all think? What's the best way to handle those situations and what books do you tend to recommend to people who are like Adult-Literature-Is-So-Superior-To-Young-Adult-Literature? How do you combat the bias against young adult literature?
In the above video, I tell you about:
- a man who said "That's embarrassing" re: reading Catching Fire
- another man who said that the Harry Potter movies were enough for him
- a woman who stoutly REFUSED the idea of The Goldfinch ever being considered YA (despite me not even suggesting that)
- a woman who, when I said that I read YA, admitted to only ever having read something by John Green... you know... the savior of YA.
- another man who said that he could flip to any page of any YA novel (that he was reading) and feel like he would still understand what was going on (aka said with a wry smile, like YA is that uncomplicated)
...is to recommend books to people on a case-by-case basis. I want to believe in those "YA Books for Adults" lists, but heck, if Catching Fire is something that doesn't "fit" within a coworker's perception of good literature and only Man Booker Prize Winners or The Goldfinch does, well, I've got to find something else up my sleeve than a casual list. (Plus those lists always rub me the wrong way. More than half the readership of YA is already adult. What exactly are you trying to imply with those lists?).
Maybe I ought to recommend something from my best books of 2014?
Or maybe my favorites are a little too young in taste in these cases? what to do, what to do :O.
Mind you, this is only MY COWORKERS. My brother was once like, "Oh, you still read all that?" *indicates large array of YA books* "I thought that you would've outgrown it." Or my mother, who doesn't like to read any speculative fiction, anything fantastical or "silly," which YA is to her. "Are you reading another one of those vampire books?"
*bangs head against desk*
What do y'all think? What's the best way to handle those situations and what books do you tend to recommend to people who are like Adult-Literature-Is-So-Superior-To-Young-Adult-Literature? How do you combat the bias against young adult literature?