Wk 13 Prompt
I don’t read YA, it’s not my thing, and I hardly ever reach for a graphic novel (maybe the occasional manga once in a blue moon), but that does not matter. I have patrons that connect with those mediums, so gosh darn it, I’m going to give the people what they want!
I think a lot of why people read YA can be summed up with a quote from our New Adult reading for this week: “The heart of YA is the coming-of-age story about a teen’s first step towards deciding who they are and what they want to become. The coming-of-age story in New Adult is about actually becoming that person. Or not, as the case may be” (Brookover, Burns, & Jensen, 2014, p. 43). If someone needs to heal using a certain genre, they should feel welcome to utilize that genre to aid them. As Sandra Cisneros stated in a 2015 interview, “I wrote an introduction saying I don’t believe in best books because I firmly believe books are medicine. What heals me might not work for you” (Ramakrishnan, 2015). I guess I am just full of clichés today, but whatever floats your boat, do that. If it’s making you happy and you aren’t hurting anyone and you feel good about what you’re doing, keep reading. There’s no point in making yourself feel stupid, bored, or whatever it may be just because you feel you should only be reading literary fiction and classics. Reading should feel enjoyable. It should not feel like a chore, a school assignment, etc.
We can work to ensure that we best serve our patrons by making sure that we regularly highlight different genres. For example, last month I put up a “Quick Picks Manga” display to showcase some great manga titles. We also have a year-round display by our graphic novels section featuring all of our “New” graphic novels we’ve received that month. In conjunction with that, I think it’s worthwhile to know a few YA picks off of the top of your head, just so you have a good selection you can easily refer to if asked an RA question relating to YA. You should never be in the dark about any genre, really, and have a handful of titles in every genre you can go off of.
References
Brookover, S., Burns, E., & Jensen, K. (2014). What’s new about new adult? Horn Book Magazine, 90(1), 41–45.
Ramakrishnan, J.R. (2015, November 2). Books as medicine: A conversation with Sandra Cisneros. Electric Literature. https://electricliterature.com/books-as-medicine-a-conversation-with-sandra-cisneros/
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that one shouldn’t be completely in the dark about any genre, even if it’s not one you personally engage with, and especially if you’re in a position to be fielding RA questions. I also really appreciated the points you made about people being made to feel welcome to engage with work that speaks to their individual needs. You’re absolutely right, there’s no need to make yourself feel stupid or bored; there’s not enough time in life to waste it trying to connect with work that’s just never going do it for you. I went through a period of my own life where I felt like I had to force myself through certain classic “masterpieces” to be a serious person, and boy oh boy, I genuinely regret all the time I’ll never get back that I wasted trudging through Tolstoy and James Joyce. I don’t think people should be afraid to challenge themselves, but they also shouldn’t feel less because they don’t like what someone else says they should.
Me forcing myself to read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man during undergrad for "funsies" is definitely one of the funnier things I've done as a reader. I have too long of a TBR list to get caught up spending time on something I am not enjoying!
DeleteI completely agree about giving the people what they want. At the end of the day, the whole purpose of a public library is to spark joy and if an adult finds joy in reading a young adult book, then so be it. I've found the reverse is also true, teens reading adult books. I had two teens in the other day looking for Colleen Hoover books because their friends were reading them.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the quotes you included to help illustrate your points. So very well said. Full points!
ReplyDelete