I go through phases of reading, and right now I’m trying to get back into the swing of it again.

Somewhere, maybe on tiktok, I saw mention of Fourth Wing. A lot of people praised it and I knew it had to do with dragons (which I love), so I was quick to give the sample a try.

I finished the sample in literally no time and am now pretty deep (but not finished, please no spoilers!) into the book. It’s not particularly well written or innovative, sometimes the way the author writes makes me cringe a little, but god damn if I don’t think it’s a fun story. It’s very easy to read and not difficult in any capacity to understand, which is a stark contrast to the other book I’m slowly reading (House of Leaves.)

I’m a 27yr old female, so probably out of the age range for Fourth Wing, and sometimes I feel like I should be reading more “challenging” and mature things. It’s a weird guilt that I’m pretty sure I put on myself and that no one else actually cares about, and I was curious to ask if anyone else struggles with this a little?

  • sekhmet1010@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I do think this, which is why i almost exclusively read what i consider to be good quality literature.

    I found that when i went for genre fiction, even if it was considered really good, i walked away disappointed and like i had wasted my precious reading time.

    So, I decided to focus mostly on great quality stuff. This year i have read Daphne du Maurier, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Bradbury, Jack London, Octavia Butler, Tolstoy, George Gissing, George Eliot, Dickens, Henry James, Elizabeth Gaskell, Stendhal, Charlotte Brontë, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Trollope, Balzac, Margaret Oliphant, Edith Wharton and so on.

    Not only is it satisfying to read these amazingly entertaining authors, but it is also edifying.

    I know the mantras here are “read what you like”, “don’t feel guilt”, “reading only YA as an adult is fine” and so on. But, i feel that you also get to choose what sort of reading experience you want. If you find your current reads to be too frivolous, then go for classics or litetary fiction and see if they help assuage some of this guilt/discomfort.

    Maybe you could alternate.

    The most important thing to remember is that just because a book is considered literary/high brow/classic doesn’t mean that it isn’t also extremely fun/entertaining and chockful of action. I find that a lot of people forget that frequently.