"Adults Should Read Adult Books" anyone else bugged by this?

[achab1984]

Sounds like a very shallow man

[Katika]

First of all, you're not really supposed to "learn" anything profound from fiction.  I mean, yeah, you get the life lessons and crap, but fiction and NON fiction are two different beasts completely.  If you want to actually learn something, pick up a text book.

Second, the only "adult" fiction that I've ever read were in my high school lit class and were so boring that I pretty much avoid ALL fiction that is not marked "fantasy."  Reading fiction novels should be for entertainment and pleasure.  If you gain life lessons or insights, that's wonderful, but most people that write fiction just have a story to tell. 

Since The Hobbit so recently came out in theatres, I'm curious to know what the author of this article thinks of Tolkein's work - if that's "adult" or for "tweens".  Since he seemed to make a stance that only "older" literature was "mature," I'm thinking that he would consider it adult material. Well, the cartoons from the 80's proved quite clearly that even those deep stories could be "simplified" for a younger audience and still tell essentially, and for the sake of this argument, the exact same story. 

Quite frankly, I've never read any Twilight or Harry Potter or Hunger Games.  I tried Harry Potter and just couldn't get into it from the first chapter - nothing against how it was written or what the story ended up being about, it just wasn't my cup of tea.  However, I do know that there are people who greatly enjoy all of these series.  I don't read much fiction anymore, due to college creative writing classes permanently skewing my ability to shut my editor up, but I still don't think that age should have anything to do with what you read.  (That's a lie - some "adult" books should not be read by young children, certain degrees of sexuality, violence, and crude language ought to be introduced to one's reading library later than other selections.  I dunno.  Maybe this guy likes violent, trashy romance novels?)

He just wants to cause a stink and gripe about something.  I don't have much room in my life for people this closed-minded.

[cuddlebuggy]

Who cares what some random guy says? We are mainly adults (women and men) who collect ponies and dolls! Guy would have a coronary over that!  If I collected thimbles or spoons from each state I'd be normal,  but instead I collect children's toys and read books like HP, Neverending Story, The Princess Bride etc...
 At least they're well written. The last best seller I read geared toward adults was terribly written (50 shades, baby!)

[Yurusumaji]

Someone may have already mentioned this, but The Hunger Games is not a "kids" book. I would say it's appropriate for 16+, which is not an age range that includes "kids". First of all, this guy is lumping every human being under the age of 18 as a "kid" and second of all, he doesn't seem to know anything about the books he's bashing since The Hunger Games is quite complex and involves mass amounts of death, suffering and growing pains in a society that's trying really hard to kill off its young citizens.

My favorite series is the Artemis Fowl series. Yep, it's a "kids book". Nope, I don't care who knows that I read and enjoy kids books. If a book is well-written, enjoyable and thought-provoking then I'm more than happy to read it no matter who the target audience is.

Being embarrassed by everything everyone else does that does not affect them is exactly what makes this guy a douche and a waste of anyone's precious brain cells. I really don't give a rat's rear end if this guy thinks I'm an embarrassing adult. I do as I please and he can be as upset about it as he wants to, because his emotions concerning my lifestyle don't bother me any. That dude is going to have an aneurysm if he's stressed and embarrassed over every adult that doesn't act the way society says they should. He's so immature about it he doesn't even realize how immature he really is.

[Echo_Shell]

I'll read what I want and let silly people write whatever silly articles they want.  Doesn't offend me - just makes me giggle.

[melodys_angel]

honestly, I dont think this person has a right to tell me what I should and shouldnt read.

I also believe he fails with the different genres and what they fall under.

Am I still a kid for preferring action/adventure/fantasy books?  Am I no less of an adult for not liking the same  content my mother does?

*shrugs* Just do what you do and keep on reading.  This person doesnt know any better.

[LuvlyMelody]

To me, this guy is just a butthurt hipster who needs to get off his high horse because people are reading more Young Adult books that are more popular than his book.

Sounds to me, somebody's jealous.

The Hobbit was written as a children's story, so does that mean all adult Hobbit/LOTR fans should be ashamed that they like a children's series?? (Made a lot of money from their movies and books)

The Hunger games has kids killing other kids, and it's apparently considered a book for a younger audience, so does that mean children at the age of 12 or even younger should be ok with watching Battle Royale, since it's the same genre/age group as The Hunger Games apparently?? (Made a lot of money from their movie(s) and books)

Harry Potter has magic. Apparently as a child, you can have a huge imagination, but once you hit adulthood, all your imagination should be denied/hindered and you have to act 'Mature' the whole time?? (Made a lot of money from their movies and books)

Twilight.....yeah. (Made a lot of money from their movies and books)

The level of unwarranted self-importance on this one, yeesh.

[Cumberbatch2012]

That's no good at all.  I don't care what age group the book was aimed at, if it's a good story, I'm going to read it and I am not embarrassed about it.  Heck, if I want to read a book written for infants, I'm going to do it and nobody can say anything.  If this guy is so offended seeing certain books in my or anyone else's hands, he can look the other way!
 

[DoctorMowinckel]

It's an article that was written and published to get a reaction. This will probably be posted on Reddit, tons of people are going to read it, the page is going to get a huge traffic spike, and some of those people are probably going to bookmark this guys page so they can keep going back to it and feel like they have something to feel self righteous about.

Don't follow the link, don't leave a comment, don't give the guy the time of day. It's a troll who wants attention. Ignore it.

[Leopard_Print_Unicorn]

Adults should read adult books. read what they want to because they have earned that right, as adults.

This guy is probably just mad that HE didn't come up with something like Twilight, Harry Potter, etc., and make a gazillion dollars. 

[NoPonySpecial]

Don't you love when hipsters insult books they've never read? And this is going to sound random, but is it a thing we're supposed to be impressed by when someone knows who David Foster Wallace is? I've been hearing hip youngsters tossing his name around a lot lately. I mean, I know who David Foster Wallace is. I've read some of his work. Am I supposed to be thinking I'm better than everyone else now? Because if I'm entitled to smart-people treatment because of this, then I'd like to know!
  This guy is waiting for my sarcasm to die down

[Leopard_Print_Unicorn]

Don't you love when hipsters insult books they've never read? And this is going to sound random, but is it a thing we're supposed to be impressed by when someone knows who David Foster Wallace is? I've been hearing hip youngsters tossing his name around a lot lately. I mean, I know who David Foster Wallace is. I've read some of his work. Am I supposed to be thinking I'm better than everyone else now? Because if I'm entitled to smart-people treatment because of this, then I'd like to know!
  This guy is waiting for my sarcasm to die down

I bought a house so I'd have a lawn to tell the hip youngsters to get off of it! j/k, but I'm so over having to be cool, and I would hope that most "adults" are as well, while we're on the subject of adults and what they should or should not do

[Silver_mirror46]

he's being a presumptuous twizzle, everyone should have the right to read whatever they want

[kellyponyfeathers]

The guy sounds artsy-fartsy to me.  He can keep his world of layers upon layers of modernist psychobabble and symbolism that isn't really there, thank you very much.  Believe me, I'm an English major, and I was forced to read a bunch of critically acclaimed nonsense that just seemed like a load of crap to me.  In my experience, people like this who get a kick out bragging about their own highly developed literary palettes don't have any real wisdom to offer about finding a good pathway in life.  They're usually as poorly adjusted as the messed up characters in the books they read.  They may sound smart, but their lives are almost always a total disaster.

[Salli]

Do you know what this guy said after he wrote this article?

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Poor muggles. I feel bad for them.

But they do make me laugh 

Also, I would read Horton Hears a Who on a plane. And I would read it in the rain. And on a train or in a tree, Seuss is just that good, you see.