Why I Don't Read YA

There are a lot of popular things that I have chosen not to do over the years:

Ombre hair

The low carb diet 

Learn how to shuffle (dancing... not cards)

Disneyland Season Passes

Coach Bags

Carry around a small yappy dog in aforementioned Coach bag

And none of those things are necessarily bad things... they're just not for me. And I'm here today to tell you why I feel the exact same way about YA books. 

This is definitely not the popular route to take in blogging, or even the literary world, right now, but, as usual, I don't really care. And, right off the bat, let me tell you that I completely and totally understand why some people gravitate towards this genre. I mean, some people look really good with ombre hair, just not me. And Coach purses are great, well-made bags, I've just never found one that suits my tastes (I'm more of a Fossil girl myself). And the low carb diet is obviously a miracle worker, I just like cookies and pasta way too much.

And my opposition towards most YA books isn't derived from this up-and-coming camp that thinks they're corrupting today's youth. Let me tell you, today's youth is already pretty crazy- it makes no difference if they read about dystopias, vampires, love triangles, or other various situations that conjure teenage angst. In terms of appropriate content, again, they're making babies and getting caught with weed (or worse) the way it is. Does it cause depression or result in a lack of hope about the future of humanity? Not so much. Basically, today's youth will go through a hyper-emotional period of experimentation whether they read YA books or not.

My dislike partially comes from the fact that I feel like many of these books aren't challenging on a literary level. I've read The Hunger Games and The Age of Miracles (I don't care what anyone says, it's YA) and neither knocked my socks off. I've flipped through my students' books and looked at first chapters of others online and I'm just not overly impressed with the writing. Of course all books don't exactly have to be Pulitzer Prize candidates, but as a whole the dramatic, adjective-heavy, "I'm trying really hard to be _______" just doesn't work for me as a reader. Strike one.

Strike two: the subject matter. I know, I know, there's a plethora of topics that YA novels delve into, just like regular big kid books. But there's a lot of similarities and sub genres that simply aren't my taste. I generally don't do vampires, parallel worlds, wizards (unless their names rhyme with Shmarry Flotter), warewolves, zombies, fortune telling, or time travel. And then there's the teenage angst- the romance, the friendship issues, the family problems, the "I've made mistakes but I'm still a good person" plight, and just general "woe is me, no one understands me because I'm seventeen" nonsense. That being said, I do like coming of age stories, but not when they're being written to fit YA fiction, if that makes sense. For example, Catcher in the Rye; JD Salinger didn't write it with the intent of marketing it to teenagers with a boldly designed cover and aspirations of a series. It was authentic and genuine, he wasn't forcing it into a pre-labeled box.

Speaking of series writing- there are so many in YA! For the most part, I'm not a fan of  (JK Rowling and Laura Ingalls Wilder are exceptions). I don't like leaving a book on any sort of a cliff hanger; it's one thing to allow the reader to imagine the ending, but another to require that they read yet another book in order to obtain true closure. I know many would disagree with me, but I feel like series writing is a little gimmicky and sometimes seems like a total marketing strategy (and a very successful one). Plus, I have trouble with commitment- it's been years since I read the first book in The Millennium Series and have yet to return. 

As I read blogs and talk to people, I feel like YA fiction almost becomes an addiction, and I don't want to drink the Kool-Aid. So many pick up The Fault in Our Stars and BOOM! They've completely abandoned the classics and contemporary adult fiction. I guess it just makes me a little depressed that YA authors are the ones getting these impressive book deals when there are some truly talented adult authors with staying power that are overlooked because their novels may not sell as many copies. And that idea of staying power; my gut tells me that in ten years YA fiction isn't going to be nearly as popular as it is today.

Plus, I work with teenagers all damn day. I really, really don't want to go home and read books starring the hormonal little creatures I just got done hanging out with for seven hours. I see their drama and their growing pains front and center. I see the backstabbing, the drama caused by break ups, and the stress caused by familial problems all the time. On the more positive side, I witness the happiness of new relationships, the excitement over college acceptances, and the optimism that comes with a new job at Starbucks. I spend more time with young adults that I do regular adults; please don't make me read about them too. 

If you're a YA reader you've thought of at least twenty-seven reasons why I'm wrong and are starting to hate me. Good! You should be defensive about what you read. Knowing what we like is important too, though, and me saying I don't like YA is no different from someone else saying they're not into sci-fi, fantasy, or bodice-ripping romance novels. But I'm not completely opposed to the genre and have had my moments of intrigue when I've seen John Green books repeatedly. So, you YA lovers, convince me. I dare you.

Gary Shteyngart is Pretty Damn Cool

(Source: http://www.lfla.org/event-detail/572/Gary-Shteyngart)

Someone once called me a Gary Shteyngart groupie, and as I fought the LA traffic at 6:30 pm on a weeknight to get to his reading at the LA Central Library I had to agree, at least to some degree. I've read, and loved, his three novels, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, Absurdistan, and, his most recent, Super Sad True Love Story. I'd sneak into his class if I was ever near Columbia, and, obviously, I'm willing to drive over 120 miles round trip to hear him read. In the literary world, this is being a groupie. So be it.

The reading was at the Los Angeles Central Library in the downtown area and was put on by the ALOUD program, which I've confessed my love for before. They do an outstanding job putting on programs, many free, featuring amazing authors like Isabel Allende, Michael Cunningham, and Ian McEwan. It's always great to be around fellow readers, and I love seeing the diverse crowd they always attract.

This particular reading proved to be quite humorous, not surprising given the fact that Shteyngart's books make me literally laugh out loud, something most novels fail to do. He read his excerpt expertly, complete with Russian accents- you could tell by the tattered papers he held that he done this a time or two (surprisingly some authors don't appear natural when reading their own writing). He then proceeded to converse with ALOUD's Justin Veach, whose quirkiness matched the author's well. They spent a sizable portion of the hour discussing the future of literature and the physicality of the book (death to eReaders). His comments on the importance of reading matched those of Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451- books make you think, and the ability to stop and start them allows you the leisure to do so. Shteyngart expressed concern about the speed at which the world is moving and how difficult it is to write relevant novels. A novel can take several months or even years to write- when it's published any "current" events that it mentions or focuses on are already old news. Not to mention the fact that people aren't reading as much as they used to- the general population works hard, all day, and it's much easier to turn on Mad Men and feel intellectual, rather than tackling Tolstoy an hour before bed. His frustration is obvious without being depressing or even pessimistic; his next projects include writing his memoirs (so he can unload his immigrant baggage), then a pilot for HBO (I guess I may have to start watching TV), and then perhaps a new novel.

Another reason why I love the ALOUD crowd: old and young alike chuckled at his frequent references of the fictitious store in his novel, "Juicy Pussy," his suggestions that people start using the acronym JBF ("just butt fucking you") at work produced loud laughter, and no one heckled him when he threw in a subtle zinger at our previous president.

I'm eager to see how Shteyngart's future endeavors pan out. And no, I didn't throw my bra on stage.

Super Sad True Love Story trailer:


No, this isn't how he usually talks (and yes, James Franco took his class).