I love books. All kinds of books. But I will say I
tend to gravitate to the fiction variety. I can be found reading non-fiction
once in a while, but it better blow my mind or I’m not interested. If given the choice of fiction, YA is by far
my favorite.
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| Courtesy of asme.org |
I’m so tired of people slamming YA. Belittling it
and those who read it. If I was a fab lawyer like Jessie Humphries, I could argue
my point better but I’ll just have to settle for listing why I LOVE YA.
YA
is still relevant in my life—As much as we would
like to think that once we are out of high school we never have to go back, the
truth is SCARY. The world is HIGH SCHOOL. I can’t count the times I’ve listened
to what is going on in at my hubby’s office and thought it sounds just like
high school—rumors, lies, gossip, stealing others work, etc. Even among women I know, I feel like I’m a
Sophomore again.
YA
helps me understand my teenagers—I have two (yep, I’m
that old). I love to read YA and talk to my boys about it. As I read, I
remember teens are moody, learning, confused, insecure, whiny, sometimes
selfish. But that is okay, because they are still trying to find their place in
the world.
YA
lets me explore feelings—When I read YA (or most fiction) I
feel like I am living the story. When I read non-fiction I feel like I’m
sitting through a lecture. Yawn. YA is always heavy on the feelings. Teens tend
to be more dramatic in the expression of how they feel :)
In
YA I can dig for meaning—I can find truths in fiction that
aren’t readily apparent. If I read a YA story that explores the theme of
selfishness, I have to work to understand how it affects the characters and me.
Reading a non-fiction book about selfishness generally doesn’t change me as
much.
Everyone can love what they want. Reading is such a
personal experience. I would love to see a little more open-mindedness and a little
less judgment. A girl can wish.
What kind of books do you LOVE and why?
Angie
Side note—Here is an old post called Fiction and Empathy. It includes a study that explores the idea that reading fiction
actually makes people more empathetic than people who read non-fiction. Just
saying :)
