3 ms·
I think the lumping there is certainly sloppy, but there is something there. There seem to be a large number of adults who like comic books, young adult fiction
by emodendroket 3y ago
I think the lumping there is certainly sloppy, but there is something there. There seem to be a large number of adults who like comic books, young adult fiction, or other entertainment primarily intended for children… which I think is fine… but also have no interest in anything else, or have some sort of expectation that these media will start to include decidedly adult themes without significantly changing in style. That’s strange and a bit unsettling to me.
- Spivak 3y agoI'm not sure if I'm old enough to be part of this group but am pretty sure I'll join it. I have tried to get into "adult" fiction but oh my god it's so boring and dry how do you all stand it? It's like how with horror you don't touch it unless it has an R rating, any book that's trying to cultivate an adult audience is gonna be bad. And I devour YA series to the point of losing sleep because I didn't realize how long I've been reading so it's not that I just don't like reading. Maybe some switch will flip eventually but I doubt it. I don't read comics but what? Of course comic book movies are an adult activity but reading the source material -- children only.
- emodendroket 3y agoI wouldn’t consider a Marvel movie particularly “adult,” no. Anyway, every book written for an adult audience, over literally thousands of years, is “dry and boring”? At a certain point you need to look in the mirror.
- Spivak 3y agoThen name one, choose any book that would be totally unappealing to a teenager/early college (so no Dune, Hitchhiker's, Martian, Clockwork, GoT, American Gods, Good Omens) but is fun and exciting. There are books that are for everyone except young children, and there are books that are trying to appeal exclusively to adults. The former are great, the latter are a slog. I'm sincerely hoping to be proven wrong.
- emodendroket 3y agoI have no idea what your tastes are but I found both Journey to the West and the Odyssey to be very fun and exciting, with elements of what would appeal to someone about more kid-oriented stories (adventures, fantastical creatures, fighting), but written with a more mature audience in mind. Moby Dick is another I would put in this "tale of adventure" bucket but it can be polarizing with the info-dumps about whaling. If you want to try going in a totally different direction, I am a big fan of Abe Kobo's avant-garde work, such as The Box Man or the Ark Sakura. I guarantee it's unlike anything else you've read if you've avoided straying from the kiddie pool, playing with the whole structure of the novel itself and challenging your expectations constantly. If you want to try some nonfiction, I have rarely read a Paul Theroux travel book I was bored by and I think Ryszard Kapuscinski is also great.
- Ruthalas 3y agoCan I ask which translation of Journey to the West you read? I've been planning to read it, but there are a lot of options.
- ambrose2 3y agoI’m also curious about this
- emodendroket 3y agoAnthony C Yu's unabridged edition in four volumes on Kindle for me.
- Spivak 3y agoI liked the Odyssey, but I also read it in high school so I'm not sure if it counts. Journey to the West ordered! I can't make heads or tails of The Box Man so it doesn't seem like a good intro so Ark Sakura it is.
- emodendroket 3y agoWell, I don’t think teens are incapable of appreciating adult work. Hemingway made quite an impression on me when I was 16.