Let’s talk bookish: should readers read books that aren’t for their target age?

Another week of school is done, I have a school volleyball tournament (midnight tournament it’s called), where the graduates play against each other, all sorted into their maths classes… Thankfully, I only have to cheer and dress up, so that’s half as bad as embarrassing me infant of the whole class…

Anyways, it’s time for Let’s talk bookish hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and today I’ll be discussing whether readers should read books that aren’t for their target age!

Should they: yes!

First of all, everyone is free to read whatever he or she wishes to. And being a certain age doesn’t mean that you have to share the same interests as the rest of your peers. I am almost 17, but does that stop me from reading classics, non-fiction science books or reread my childhood favorites – no!

It enriches your life

Being able to grow up in a society where you’re able to read whatever you desire at the moment is something we should cherish. I don’t want to be forced to be stuck in my target age section just because the publicists or authors feel like this is something appropriate for me or believe I would enjoy it. Maybe I would, but maybe other target age books would also enrich my life!

Many books are considered “adult books”

I am a teenager, but there are so many more books marked adult books that I would miss out on would I only read target age books. All the classics like Jane Austen or Oscar Wilde were meant for adults, and all the non-fiction science and history books, but does that stop me from enjoying Sense and Sensibility or Sapiens?

Are they authorized to tell me whether I would understand such sensible and complex topics as I am only a teenager? Reading books that aren’t for your target age can enrich your life, can be used to learn and to comprehend future life decisions.

However: age restrictions can be useful

Let’s take the very popular case of sexual content in books that are meant to be young adult. I, myself, never read any kind of books like that and if I came across one, I never continued as I am not a fan of romance. Some readers, on the other hand, do enjoy books with sexual content. But labeling them as YA is not okay. So yes, sometimes target age books can be a blessing – I don’t want small children stumbling across that kind of books without warning.

To conclude, no one should not be able to enrich their life by sticking to the targeted age books because everyone is unique and has different interests and no one can declare us which books to read and which to read in 10 years! However, it may be useful (and more fun, who wants to read a classic at the age of ten when they can read Percy Jackson?!) for smaller children stick to YA or middle grade!

That’s it – I hope you enjoyed my discussion and feel free to comment what you think about age targeted books! Happy reading and enjoy your weekend!