Brunch isn't really a big deal over here but I love the idea of it - and enjoy going to brunch whilst on holiday. Whenever I'm throwing together ideas for a new story, one of my favourite things to do is go Google Maps-ing for all the nice restaurants in the area. As I have dairy intolerance, I often have to watch what I eat at restaurants so it's not always a fun experience. However, the rise of all those Food Network shows and Pinterest and all the great reviews on Yelp and Chowhound allow me to live vicariously through all you gastronauts.
So, I thought I'd try and start a new feature (although I'm not good at keeping up features so we'll see) where we go for brunch on a Sunday, anywhere in the world, and have a chat. This week we'll be:
I'm going to keep it short this week because you already know this but some people could do with a little reminder.
As I'm sure you know, this week a writer at Slate ignited a debate after publishing an article stating adults should be embarrassed if they read YA. Obviously the piece was written with the intention to provoke. The Fault in Our Stars had just been released and they knew it would be a sure way to get more traffic. In response, #promoteYA became a thing with YA readers posting pictures of their YA filled bookshelves and the like.
That's all well and good but...I don't think anyone should have to defend their book choices. Read what you want to read! Who cares what some trolly writer thinks? Unless your job involves a lot of reading, chances are you read for pleasure in your down time. So, you most certainly owe it to yourself to read whatever makes your happy whether it's YA, Romance, Horror, Fantasy, Comics, Self-Help...whatever. I read YA (particularly contemporary YA) because I enjoy high school stories and I like that there's usually quite a lot packed into a small novel. I've also found some amazing authors that I plan to stick with until the end because I love their writing so much. That's what reading is about, isn't it? Before YA, when I was actually a teen, I read a lot of 'chick-lit' (which is actually quite similar to contemporary YA and NA). I read these because I used to dream about all the fun adventures I'd have in my twenties - ahem. I enjoy memoirs and autobiographies because I like to find out how people made something of themselves. I enjoy reading my Bible for daily strength and encouragement. I really, really don't care what people think of my bookshelves.
Chances are at some point people will come round to your way of thinking anyway and you can enjoy that whilst it lasts. Trends come and go. YA is a thing at the moment - look at the number of adaptations that have been made recently and the whole host in the works. But let's take Game of Thrones as another example. Before the show, I'm sure if you told people you were reading a book about dragons and a dwarf and kind of zombie things and an iron throne they'd look at you like:
Fast forward to now and every fashion magazine is demanding you wear Mother of Dragons braids and everyone's all 'oh Prince Oberyn 4evah'. Suddenly, this fantastical world is cool. But it won't last. In a year or two people will be on to the next thing. That's why you need to just do you and ignore the nattering on the internet - because to be honest, your colleague at work isn't telling you to feel ashamed about what you read, are they? This seems to be an internet thing. Whoever said the internet is like high school was so right.
Don't be fickle. Like what you like because YOU like it. Don't worry about other people. Maintain your integrity.
March to the beat of your own drum because you're brilliant.
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