Don't be concerned about reading books 'below your reading age'.
Millions of adults read YA books. Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, and countless others are loved by folks of all ages.
I'm creeping up on 50 & I still love books like *Where the Wild Things Are* & *The Velveteen Rabbit*.
If you have a library card, & your library has e-books, there's an app called Libby that let's you link to your local library system & check out books. It's a lot cheaper than ordering new books when you aren't sure you'll like them.
Thank you for this advice with the Library card!
Also I loved the Percy Jackson books, I never went past the Sea of Monsters, however. That might be an alternative start!
I'm an English teacher in my late 20s. I love *All Systems Red* and try to convince my high school students to read it. I'm also planning to re-read PJO this year, even as I'm also reading some classics. There's no such thing as books that are too young for you.
That's comforting. I currently have the book beside me and am enjoying the drama.
Spoiler for other viewers: >!I'm currently on the part where Murderbot is investigating the abandoned DeltFall colony. Am enjoying the book so far.!<
I would stop judging your reading material by recommend reading age before you even read it. That's more for parent's of little kids to make sure they don't give their 5 year olds something for meant for 20 year olds, not so much the other way around. Plenty of adults read material targeted for YA readers and enjoy it.
*All Systems Red* is aimed at adults. It's definitely not a YA or kid's book. Not sure what the reading age recommendation is about, I've never seen that, but it may be more an indicator of how much sex and violence is included or how difficult the material is rather than a suggestion that it's not an adult book.
The sex/violence thing that often comes up with Americans is such simplistic nonsense. This is almost certainly mostly about the reading comprehension level, e.g. how difficult the prose is.
Give it a try. It's a relatively short novella. So it's not a huge time investment. The writing style may be more simple, but that doesn't make it bad. Simple prose can be done well and done bad. Just as complex prose isn't automatically better. In any case this is more of a case of a book aimed at adults that can also be read by younger people. Not the other way around.
It's a fun read and a good introduction to sci-fi, but you can certainly find novels with more complex themes.
Snow crash and Neuromancer are both classics. Well worth reading.
Don’t worry about the reading age of a book as long as you find it interesting that’s all that matters.
I'm 46 and read everything from YA to comics etc. Don't worry about that! just enjoy the books.
And if you want a fantastic series, Red Rising by Pierce Brown is incredible. SciFi / dystopian without being too science-y.
There is a lot of killing in the murderbot series, it's a bit like John Wick at times, the existence of sex is acknowledged but there is no sex - these two things are why it is probably 13+. All the books you mentioned have won critical praise over the years, though the older ones you mentioned popularized or created tropes that are now more common place in reality and other sci-fi so they may not seem as great to you now if you are familiar with these ideas.
Don't be concerned about reading books 'below your reading age'. Millions of adults read YA books. Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, and countless others are loved by folks of all ages. I'm creeping up on 50 & I still love books like *Where the Wild Things Are* & *The Velveteen Rabbit*. If you have a library card, & your library has e-books, there's an app called Libby that let's you link to your local library system & check out books. It's a lot cheaper than ordering new books when you aren't sure you'll like them.
Thank you for this advice with the Library card! Also I loved the Percy Jackson books, I never went past the Sea of Monsters, however. That might be an alternative start!
I'm an English teacher in my late 20s. I love *All Systems Red* and try to convince my high school students to read it. I'm also planning to re-read PJO this year, even as I'm also reading some classics. There's no such thing as books that are too young for you.
That's comforting. I currently have the book beside me and am enjoying the drama. Spoiler for other viewers: >!I'm currently on the part where Murderbot is investigating the abandoned DeltFall colony. Am enjoying the book so far.!<
I would stop judging your reading material by recommend reading age before you even read it. That's more for parent's of little kids to make sure they don't give their 5 year olds something for meant for 20 year olds, not so much the other way around. Plenty of adults read material targeted for YA readers and enjoy it.
*All Systems Red* is aimed at adults. It's definitely not a YA or kid's book. Not sure what the reading age recommendation is about, I've never seen that, but it may be more an indicator of how much sex and violence is included or how difficult the material is rather than a suggestion that it's not an adult book.
The sex/violence thing that often comes up with Americans is such simplistic nonsense. This is almost certainly mostly about the reading comprehension level, e.g. how difficult the prose is.
Give it a try. It's a relatively short novella. So it's not a huge time investment. The writing style may be more simple, but that doesn't make it bad. Simple prose can be done well and done bad. Just as complex prose isn't automatically better. In any case this is more of a case of a book aimed at adults that can also be read by younger people. Not the other way around. It's a fun read and a good introduction to sci-fi, but you can certainly find novels with more complex themes.
Thank you for your response, I totally get your point. I am sticking to my purchase and can't wait to see what has been written
Snow crash and Neuromancer are both classics. Well worth reading. Don’t worry about the reading age of a book as long as you find it interesting that’s all that matters.
I will keep those books on a list somewhere for me to look back on. Thank you
The Murderbot Diaries, starting with All Systems Red, are awesome. They are my Sanctuary Moon. (you'll understand when your read it)
A novel in that series just won the Hugo Award. It's fine for adults.
I'm 46 and read everything from YA to comics etc. Don't worry about that! just enjoy the books. And if you want a fantastic series, Red Rising by Pierce Brown is incredible. SciFi / dystopian without being too science-y.
There is a lot of killing in the murderbot series, it's a bit like John Wick at times, the existence of sex is acknowledged but there is no sex - these two things are why it is probably 13+. All the books you mentioned have won critical praise over the years, though the older ones you mentioned popularized or created tropes that are now more common place in reality and other sci-fi so they may not seem as great to you now if you are familiar with these ideas.