By Natalie Vernon
The question that most readers face is: what is your favorite book? When a friend asks me this question, I’m delighted. I absolutely love to talk about my favorite books. Yet, when asked by a relative or someone whom I’ve just met, I don’t know what to say. My favorite books are beautiful, well-written novels, yet when I describe their plots—filled with fantastical characters and fictional storylines—I start to feel silly. I question my reading taste, fearing that people will judge me for reading entertaining, speculative fiction novels—despite their target audiences being people my age, not younger children. I worry that my taste in books isn’t adequate, and I begin to wish that my favorite book was something more “serious,” like an Oscar Wilde or Jane Austen novel. That way, when people ask me what my favorite book is, I could seem more mature and intelligent. It feels almost shameful to read books that aren’t as obscure as 1984.
Why do I feel foolish for reading good books that I love, simply because they are not abstract, intellectual literature? Why is there an emphasis on reading books that are considered “profound?” This issue has taken such a deep root that many young adults start to think that young adult literature—which was literally written for that age group—is too “childish” for them and that they should be reading more “mature” novels. The other day I overheard someone say she had been reading very “unserious” books recently, so she didn’t want to share the titles, saying that her friends would likely judge her for it. This feeling is unfortunately common among teenagers. The fear of being judged prevents us from sharing our lives—and the things we love—with our friends. We want others to think that we are smart people who read smart books, but why are some books seen as “intelligent”, while others are not?
This hierarchy of literature is in part due to the influence of social media on teenagers. There is a very large community on TikTok where people (mostly adults) share their reviews of books they have read. This community—called BookTok—has a major influence on everything relating to books: the publishing industry, bestsellers, author’s careers, etc. Because of BookTok, people can discover new books simply by searching for hashtags and tropes on the app, which helps teenagers decide what to read. However, this presents an issue. Many adult readers primarily read and review mature books appropriate for their ages, but teenagers are a significant audience of these reviews. This inspires teenagers to seek out books that are much too mature for their age, since that is all that they are exposed to online. Often, teenagers also have a prominent desire to seem mature and act like adults, so they become vulnerable to BookTok’s overwhelming sway. Therefore, young people want to read adult books to present themselves as “intelligent,” as maturity is frequently used to determine the ranking of good literature. This creates a societal norm that reading children’s books as a teenager or young adult is shameful, yet reading adult romance as a ten-year-old is normal. It places adult fiction on a platform of esteem, making it sophisticated literature, while other fiction is not.
Due to this ladder of “literature supremacy,” tastes change. More readers might actively search out books known for being esoteric, and stop reading other types of fiction as time goes on. Unfortunately, this leads people to judge their own taste and change themselves to fit the description of a more “highbrow” reader. If we take “profound” literature off of its pedestal, and acknowledge that great books exist in every genre, then everyone can read the books they love without judgment.
The Roar 