The Shrine Shelf - Which books are on yours?

[Anne]

Josh wrote: "Anne wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Anne, the thing I see more of these days is adults reading ya. Most of them are college kids who are very unapologetic about it, but there are a lot of older adults look..."

I like that little quailfier in the brackets, there :)

[Jordan]

Josh wrote: "Anne wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Anne, the thing I see more of these days is adults reading ya. Most of them are college kids who are very unapologetic about it, but there are a lot of older adults look..."

I wonder though, how much of that has anything to do with the fact that adults can buy their books, but teens rarely have the money to purchase books? Just a thought.

[Jordan]

Anne wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Anne, the thing I see more of these days is adults reading ya. Most of them are college kids who are very unapologetic about it, but there are a lot of older adults looking for recom..."

I have to ask because you have me curious now, what's the difference then, between our "coming of age" stories and those from your country/culture?

[Anne]

Jordan wrote: "Anne wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Anne, the thing I see more of these days is adults reading ya. Most of them are college kids who are very unapologetic about it, but there are a lot of older adults look..."

I think I heard the term coming of age stories for the first time in relation to American literature. We do of course have stories about growing up, but hadn't really heard them described as something separate. That has changed I think, probably as a result of American influence.

The exotic part is the description of college life in particular, with the whole living on campus, dorms, fraternities and the like. It's not like that here. People leave home to go to school and universities of course, but nobody lives on campus. I spent my university years living in cheap, rented apartments in the city, usually with one or two room mates. There are student housing available, but not enough for all, and they are not situated on the school grounds. So that whole living and studying together all the time is a foreign environment. Which seems to be a good breeding ground for stories, though. :)

[Josh]

Jordan wrote: "Josh wrote: "Anne wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Anne, the thing I see more of these days is adults reading ya. Most of them are college kids who are very unapologetic about it, but there are a lot of olde..."

Maybe so. And also because this next generation of readers find their reading material in other places? Not necessarily through book buying channels?

[Jordan]

Anne wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Anne wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Anne, the thing I see more of these days is adults reading ya. Most of them are college kids who are very unapologetic about it, but there are a lot of ol..."

Ah, ok.

lol, I can't imagine going to college and not living on campus. Of course, I know a lot of students do that here too. I almost did once. But I would have been the only girl in a sea of guys and my mom wasn't about to help pay for that. lol. But most of the students who have apartments, in my experience, are seniors.

[Jordan]

Josh wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Josh wrote: "Anne wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Anne, the thing I see more of these days is adults reading ya. Most of them are college kids who are very unapologetic about it, but there ar..."

Especially if they're in a large urban area, I think they're more likely to use the library. Also, larger urban libraries are more likely to have a larger, more diverse YA collection. Speaking from experience.

When I was growing up, my library didn't have any YA books at all. Thankfully, the librarian was able to point me toward The Hobbit and LOTR. But sadly, he had nothing else to offer me. Since their renovation a number of years ago, they now have about three shelves worth of YA books. It's better, but still not great. On the other hand, they're in a small town where half the residents have a lot of money, so there probably isn't much call for YA in the library. It's definitely not a place teens go to hang out.

Which is the exact opposite of the place I work, where the teen room is huge and the collection is gigantic and diverse. :-) We have a room dedicated to video games and special computer software just for teens.