STOP APOLOGIZING FOR READING KIDS’ BOOKS. I don’t care if you don’t have kids. I don’t care if you have kids. It is okay to read books written for children and young adults. It is okay to enjoy them. It is okay for other adults to see you reading them. It is okay to tell other adults to shove it if they mock you for reading books written for children and young adults.

Just because you are now considered a grownup does not mean it has to be all Philip Roth and Jonathan Franzen. Kids can read Mark Twain and Charles Dickens and J.R.R. Tolkien and Ernest Hemingway and Sylvia Plath if they want to, and you can read Scott Westerfeld and Stephenie Meyer and Judy Blume and Lois Lowry and Chris Crutcher if you want to. The Harry Potter books are not the only “approved” kids’ books for adults. If you love Neil Gaiman, it’s okay to read THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. If you love Sherman Alexie, it’s okay to be excited that RADIOACTIVE LOVE SONG is almost here.

So whip THE HUNGER GAMES out of your bag at lunchtime and stop worrying about what other people think. It’s better than half the crap published for adults anyway. If you’re not ashamed to admit you’re watching DANCING WITH THE STARS, why should you be embarrassed to be seen reading THE DARK IS RISING?

Everyone: just get over it and read what you want to read and PLEASE STOP APOLOGIZING FOR READING QUALITY BOOKS JUST BECAUSE YOU FOUND THEM IN THE YOUNG ADULT SECTION.