This is a webtext that explores the cultural separation of reading. There is clear shame that comes with reading certain content and a lot of genres are deemed unworthy. Perhaps this is based on challenge level. Or themes and plot tropes. But who decides this? Why does this type of work even exist for reading if society doesn’t think it’s worth reading? And what is it about reading that is valued? 

I've personally been a bit reluctant to admit to someone what I'm reading when their fifteen year old daughter is reading the same thing. I've been scoffed at for saying that I mostly read young adult literature and I have friends who hide their love for graphic novels or comics. I wanted to find out if other people felt this way about other genres. I wanted to explore why people read and how that's connected to the content our society values. I wanted to discover the roots behind the guilty pleasure. 

This stigma has grown along with the sales growth in young adult literature (YA) and romance fiction (both usually not considered literature). But the fact that both genre's have been growing also indicates people don't seem to care. Though books like 50 Shades of Grey and The Hunger Games have popularized genres like romance and YA, they're still deemed guilty pleasure, even by those reading it. 

 

The people I surveyed are average causual readers. I avoided English majors because I thought their feedback might be biased. They are people who have commited their major to reading and loving the classics and literature. I've included a few audio interviews and snippets of quotes from other interviews that support ideas presented here. I then look at both sides of opinion. Those that feel YA, romance, manga, etc., are just as good reading material as revered classics. And the opinions of those that believe such material is for children and unintellectuals. That adults should be reading classics and literary fiction.