Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Imagine being a normal kid who gets kicked out of a lot of schools--actually, every school. Then imagine finding out that the reason for this is not that you have ADHD like you've been told your whole life, but really because you are a Greek demi-god, and that the real Greek gods are still alive and kicking it in Manhattan. Meet Percy Jackson, the main character in this series by Rick Riordan.

I was introduced to this series by a stranger on the train. They saw me reading another book and started asking me if I had read this series (the Percy Jackson series) and how great it was and how they hadn't been able to put it down in days. Now, normally, I make it a rule not to talk to people on the train, especially when I'm in the middle of a good book. But this person just kept going on and on about it, and I found myself listening.

And lo and behold, when I got home that night, my sisters had just finished reading the first book in the series. Logically, my next step was to take the book and lock myself away in my room, forgetting about all things (including homework and dinner) and read this book until I finished it. And just like the stranger on the subway promised, I was not able to put the book down.



The humorous, knowledgeable dialogue between the characters is fun and informative of Greek mythology. There is a fun cast of characters, and the writing style is very simple, and sounds like it is told from a young teenager's perspective. There is not really any deeper meaning to any of the stories; it is just a fun, light read, and a new take on Greek gods and what they are up to.

The Inheritance Cycle

The Inheritance Cycle is a four book series (featuring Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and soon-to-be released Inheritance) about a young boy who finds a dragon egg and enters a new undiscovered world when that egg hatches.

My mom actually recommended these books to me; she had heard about them from a friend.

They are really much deeper than the description I've given, but it is hard to describe the world without giving too much away.

I have had at least 4 conversations with people at work (customers) about these books, and all of them are as enthralled by the story as I am. These people ranged from high school teacher, to a bank teller, to an army officer.

I highly recommend this series, although you can skip the movie (even though I put up the trailer :p )

The Hunger Games

The first time I heard of these books was last year when my sister was reading the second book in the trilogy. When I asked her what it was about, she simply stated, "It's about a country where they keep control by making 24 kids a year fight to the death."

I was a little thrown off by this very accurate description. It was actually months later when I finally read the book, and was blown away by the story and the characters within the story.

The main character is a girl (Katniss) so human it almost hurts. Told strictly from her point of view, she reminds you of any teenage girl, dealing with her mother, sister, and two boys who both like her. But then, throw into the mix the fact that she must compete to the death against one of these boys, and 22 other children ranging in age from 11-18.

I thought that Katniss was so relatable because her character was so real. It was as if I was inside of her head--there were no secrets, or lies to cover up personality faults. There is just something really universal about her that everyone I've talked to who's read the books points out.

The main reason I think that this book caught on so fast with so many people is that it's not just another teeny-bopper-love triangle-romancey book. Sure, it has those things in it, but they are a side story to the larger social commentary on governments and the power people (read: citizens) have to affect change in it. I believe this is why most of the people I talk to about this series is over 24 years old. Word of this book is spreading like wildfire, passing person to person as more and more people read it.

Harry Potter, the boy who brought reading back in style

I come home every day and walk right past my three bookcases. If you're not used to this sight the way I am, one shelf might catch your particular attention. It is the top shelf of the leftmost bookcase that is entirely devoted to my Harry Potter collection.



These seven books, about a young boy who discovers he is a wizard and is sent off to magic school for training, are my favorite books to pull off the shelf and re-read, in moments of happiness or sadness in my life. A common saying between several close acquaintances is that no matter how bad our lives are at the moment, "Harry had it worse."

Maybe this thought process is what made the books so wildly popular, at first with kids and then, especially for the later books, with adults. The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was a kids book through and through. Scrawny kid finds out he has special powers, becomes friends with the other scrawny kid instead of the mean "cool" bully, and ends up defeating the darkest wizard known. The end. Except it wasn't the end. J.K. Rowling develops the characters endlessly, giving them depth that any person (regardless of age) can relate to. Who hasn't felt like screaming and shouting because something hasn't gone their way? Or been a part of a triangle of friends who never seem to agree on anything, or had that fight with a friend where it felt like things were over forever?

Mary Gilbride, 44, says that she instantly fell in love with the books. She says that she loved the adventure that they brought her, and the discussions they sparked with her friends, children and their friends.

Tony Terri, 50, started reading the books when he found his niece sitting outside on her stoop waiting for the Fed-Ex truck to deliver the fourth installment of the book. He says, "She was just so excited about it! I can never get that image out of my head, and I just thought, that book must be worth reading, or a least giving it a try." He only recently finished to 6th book and is planning to read the 7th as soon as he is able to get away from work and devout his time to the final installment.

Cyndi Marquez, 21, has a slightly different story. She is technically an adult, but the fascination with the books began for her when she was 9, before the books became a household name. They books became an intricate part of her life, and she says that once she finished reading each new book she would spend hours reading and writing fanfiction, speculating with thousands of others where the plot would bring Harry, Ron and Hermione next.

I have to admit, I read the books in much the same way Cyndi did. The first book was a gift to me and my cousins from our grandmother when the book first came out. She was the first in our family to read the book and to fall in love with it and she made up excuses to give us this as a gift. For me, I think it was getting a 98 on an inconsequential test.

The books are said to have inspired people to start reading again, and maybe they did. All I know is that many of the people I encounter every day, from family, to people sitting on the subway, to co-workers and customers, have read these books and speak passionately about the way they turned out and what they expect from the seventh movie. My mother, who pre-Harry Potter, would read adult books, now reads all sorts of "kids" books when me or my sisters recommend them to her.

Adults reading kids book?! What's going on?

"I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it.... Like children, we never give up hope...” -Grey's Anatomy

Nowadays it is not uncommon to see a full-grown adult sitting on the subway reading books like Twilight, the Hunger Games or the Percy Jackson series. These are all young adult books (read: children's stories); books that are targeted to tweens and teens; books that contain nothing but elements of high school drama and love triangles. Why then, are so many adults picking up these books and reading them instead of their own "adult" books?

This increasing interest for adults in young adult themed books is what I will be exploring in this blog. Why are books that are written and made for children so wildly popular among the adult population, and what started it?

Here's some food for thought from the LA Times on this new trend. Enjoy!