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January 11, 2006
Just read!
While adding links to my post on books you should read even if no one else is talking about them, I noticed something that has always disturbed me: age "limits" on books. On Amazon, they are called "reading levels". Apparantly, since the protagonists of some of the books on my list are teenagers, the books must be "Young Adult" literature - and therefore easy for old adults (Hah!) to dismiss. So what are the characteristics of "Young Adult" books? Well, the aforementioned age of the protagonist; if the story were a movie, it would probably not be rated R; and in general, I suppose the average Young Adult novel is shorter than the average Old Adult novel. None of these should really deter anyone over 20.
Some books should probably come with a minimum age limit, as they are easy to read, but very violent or tragic, but as Harry Potter surely must have proved by now, an upper age limit is ridiculous. So, the moral is: just read! And listen to recomendations about books you've never heard of. I mean, you don't need yet another accquaintance to tell you they liked The Da Vinci Code or Sophie's World. The number of books sold should tell you that these books are popular; that doesn't mean that you will actually enjoy reading them. I dare you to raid a kid's book shelf instead!
Posted by Julie at January 11, 2006 1:39 AM
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