I think librarians need to look at YA books and graphic
novels from a different perspective in order to put aside any negative connotations
concerning these types of reads. YA
novels are many times more creative and dig deeper into the emotions of the
characters than adult reads. Teens need
to relate to their protagonists; therefore, the lead characters of these books
need to have full character development.
Also the stories need to capture the attention of their readers, so many
times the stories are richer and more creative than many adult novels
especially in the genre of fantasy. As far as graphic novels are concerned, many
adults appreciate this type of read because they appreciate art or film, and
graphic novels read much like film. In
addition many adults may not like to read or they still struggle from a
childhood learning disability; therefore graphic novels provide a way for them
to read without the frustration of a text book.
More than likely, a library is going to carry a decent collection of YA
novels for their young readers, but attention and funds also need to be
provided for graphic novels, and libraries should have a fairly substantial
collection and promotion for graphic novels.
Library staff cannot turn a blind eye on a segment of their readers;
therefore, librarians need to educated on the needs of their adult readers who
prefer young adult reads and graphic novels.
About Me
About Me
When I was teen, I was on a heavy Stephen King and Peter Straub reading jag. I couldn’t get enough of these authors. Today I still have my collection of these books residing on a shelf of my bookcase. Sometime in my early twenties I became less enamored with King’s readings. I don’t know if my taste just changed or I had burned out on his style. I have to say though that The Shining by King was the first novel I read of his and my favorite out of all his books.
I then started leaning more toward suspense and thrillers and less of horror. Some of the authors I followed were Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson. My favorite Patterson novels were The Beach House and When the Wind Blows. They were other suspense authors peppered into the mix, but this is the one genre where I mostly stuck to favorite authors.
When my children were in grade school, the Harry Potter craze was all the rage, and I was just as engrossed in reading the books as they were. I found out at that time how much I enjoyed fantasy and many young adult novels. It seemed that YA authors were more creative in many ways than most adult novel authors. My sister-in-law is a YA librarian at a high school, so she would advise or buy certain books for me to read. For young adult reads I didn’t really stick to one author, but would go off recommendations and reviews for great YA books. Yes I devoured the Twilight series, but I can’t say this was my favorite YA read. The best young adult novels I have read are Jellico Road by Melina Marchetta and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
I still enjoy reading suspense and thrillers as well as many young adult books, but in the last few years, I have also started reading many gentle reads that pull at the heart strings. Again there is no specific author that I stick to, but mostly go off recommendations and reviews to select reads from this genre. Some of my favorites in this category are: Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards.
I am not much of a non-fiction reader unless I’m forced to read it. In addition, I a little romance goes a long way in a book, so I’m not a big romance novel reader.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
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