Hey!
When I was a kid I was always a book-nerd who’s loved spending time in the library with a nice Young Adult Novel, usually ones with characters in some futuristic setting who start out having tension between them but grow to bond (and in most of my books) love one another over going through trials/tribulations of some sort together.
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I always loved those books as a kid, but now that I’m an adult (20M) trying to get back into reading, I’m finding that I can’t bring myself to be interested in any other genre of books? I’m having a tough time letting go of my attachment to that specific kind of book that I used to read as a kid, but I know as an adult it’s kind of weird to keep reading YA novels about bonding/coming of age lol, so I was wondering if anyone else experienced something like this, and if so, how did you expand your book pallet, so to speak? Thank you so much! 🙂
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(PS I am trying to read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina bc I heard it’s a love story, so maybe that’ll be the link I need to expand my reading? Will update!)
by zhuk236
6 Comments
You can still read YA as an adult however as I have aged I am less interested in them and seek other forms of book with higher stakes/more mature topics/characters.
New adult is a great transition from YA to general fiction, it’s similar to YA with older characters and themes but the format is similar.
It’s important to note there is no age limit to books. Recently I’ve been re reading some books from my childhood and I’m having a great time reading them even though they are “children’s books” so read what you enjoy! It’s for your own pleasure, not anybody else’s.
First, nothing wrong with reading what you enjoy, that’s the point. While it’s not my cup of tea, know plenty of adults that read YA.
I think starting with Tolstoy is a ballsy move.
My recommendation for transitioning would be to try The Dark Tower by Stephen King.
For futurist settings, I highly recommend Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood.
I find NK Jemisin is a really good ‘bridge’ author. She sort of has the trappings of a YA series, but likes to flex her writing abilities by tearing things down and re-building them. “The Broken Earth” trilogy is REALLY good and ties into a lot of adult issues and social justice theory.
Something I sometimes do is I try to find a culture, or a time point in history I want to know more about, and read fiction books associated with that. A lot of writers use fiction to express their feelings about their lives, interests, and broader ideas, you can sort of backtrack and find fiction books that address topics you’re interested in.
So like, maybe you want to know more about . . . IDK, Jewish culture and history. Look up “best Jewish historical fiction” and pick something off that list. You want to know more about the movies, look up “best Old Hollywood fiction” or grab a pop-history on Old Hollywood. Maybe you’re thinking of getting politically active, but aren’t sure where to start- look up fiction books associated with the movement, and start from there. You don’t have to start with the most intense, scholarly texts on a topic, just find something that you’re INTERESTED in and work from there.
There’s quite a big gap between YA and Anna Karenina, it’s a classic but very dense in comparison. I would work your way through some in between steps first. What YA series / books did you like and what do you remember best about them? maybe people can recommend some similar books for adults.
I have similar issues with my friends pleading with me to finish series they loved as teens, but I can’t bring myself to relate to the characters/dialog.
I actually only came to this realization a few days ago. My falling out of love with reading for so many years was because I couldn’t relate to YA characters/struggles with coming of age anymore.
I had to start looking at YA as it’s written for a younger audience/self, and I’ve found this has helped me be a little less critical of them. I’ve also found books that have similar plots to ones I loved when I was younger, but are targeted for a mature audience and it’s helped a ton.
Currently I’m reading a YA book along side a more mature book too break up anytime I get tired of angsty teenagers and their drama XD I’ve slowly been able to work my way through the “Grisha Cronicles” thanks to this method. I hope you find something that helps and enjoy your reading