Weighing In On the "Value" of Books

Let's talk about books. (I know, Rachel talking about books? Shocking.) More specifically, I want to talk about the way we assign more value to some books than others.

Not to say that there aren't bad books. Books with poor morals, wrong worldviews, or just bad writing. That's not what we're talking about today, so I want to get that out of the way first.

No, I'm talking about the way society seems to have decided some books are better than others for no particular reason.

Adult books > YA books.

Classics > new books.

Physical books > audio/e-books.

Non-fiction > fiction.

There's such a stigma around this that sometimes I struggle to say I read or write YA books, because it feels childish compared to the people who are out here reading massive non-fiction tomes or writing important fiction.

I know my friends won't make fun of me for reading a YA contemporary rather than theology books. But I hate that something about YA makes it seem lesser than other books.

Of course I want to write and read good books. But I don't think that just because something is a classic or written beautifully that makes it inherently better than a book the author poured their heart and soul into that happens to be YA and maybe doesn't have perfect prose.

I know I'll never reach the same level as other authors. Writing complex plots, prose that makes your mouth water, or tackling difficult topics isn't where I excel.

But does that mean my books aren't as good? (My mind wants to say yes, but that's another problem for another post.) Just because I can't write quite as "good", that my books don't deserve to be read?

I think most books have value in their own ways. And I think we need to be less judgey about what others read and write (within reason, of course).

Read what makes you happy. Write what makes you happy. And let others do the same.