A clear consesus from those I interviewed was the reason for their reading. In one way or another, they all claimed they read to escape. They read to explore a new world and to gain new knowlege. 

Though society has a clear value on academic and literary reading, the majority of people, in my observable reality, don't want to read it. "I can tell you that a book being widely accepted as ‘intellectually challenging’ doesn’t make it so. It also doesn’t make it good," said by Elyse in an article titled, "In Defense of Romance Novels or Imma Read What I Want." 

Perhaps this stigma behind genre's is a result of the target audience. Romance is written for women, YA for young people, comics for typically nerd identified individuals, all of these individuals are often stigmatized by society to not be as intelligent as the middle aged white male majority. Thus the content meant for them to be read is also deemed as such.

Books considered YA classics like Catcher in the Rye or Behind the Red Fern were originally writeen for adults. Genre title is all about marketing and should never be used to fully determine the worth of a book. 

 

Interviewees also mentioned enjoying stories that could hold their attention and remain engaging. This could be connected to our increasing digital age. People had more patience to read and digest the language heavy literary classics during the time they were being published. 
 

In Daniel Keller's Chasing Literacy the surveyed students claimed that their personal reading experience was totally different from academic reading. Both in the way they perceived and conducted it. They enjoyed their personal reading and set time aside to do so. Whereas their academic reading was rarely fully completed and often dreaded. "We discovered students who were extremely engaged with their reading, but not with the reading that their classes required," (82). Doesn't this make that sort of reading more improtant? Better for the mind and character? What is stimulating and engaging readers individually is the work that should be valued, regardless of it's genre or reading level. 
 

In an interview with student Rachel Riedel, she agreed, saying that, "Quality reading is the kind that makes you reflect. The kind that not only lets you learn about the characters and the world between the covers, but learn about yourself as well."