What I Read

Recently, a co-worker spotted me with a copy of City of Ashes, book two in the Mortal Instruments trilogy. When my colleague asked what the book was about, she was a bit taken aback to learn that I was reading [whispering] young adult supernatural fiction. I could only laugh at her surprise. Then I proceeded to tell her why I ready YA fiction, despite being an almost-33 year-old:

1) Most books are relatively clean. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not a prude nor do I think all books that contain sex scenes should be burned. But I have enough life experience, and imagination, that I don't need every gory detail laid out on the page in front of me.

2) I need the mindless entertainment. YA novels, in general, aren't very deep. They are quick, easy reads that entertain me. Between work and school, I get enough of the "serious" stuff. Give me the fluff, already!

3) Escapism. I'm an adult (though some might disagree) and I love to forget all my worries and live in some imaginary world that deals with with the supernatural. If you give me a choice between a dissertation on American foreign policy and a fat novel about demon-hunting teenagers, I'm going to pick the demon hunters every time.

Then, in the aforementioned conversation, I proceeded to make recommendations: The Morganville Vampires series, Vampire Academy, The Twilight Saga (with the caveat that Twilight is the best and the rest run downhill but you have to finish them because, well, it's Twilight), Mortal Instruments, Wicked Lovely, (warning: this series gives my nightmares...it's very dark). I have the first four books of the House of Night series but I've not read them yet. I'm also wanting to ready the Blue Bloods series.

So, there you have it, why I like YA fiction and my favorite books in that genre. If you have any recommendations, send them my way.