In With The New – But Keep The Old

Last evening was one of those “do what you want” kind of evenings for me. I get them once in a while. Leftovers are heated in the microwave, no meetings to attend, and our precious granddaughter is with her dad’s family after school.

I spent the first part of my evening reading a book I never would have dreamed of reading six months ago, James Patterson’s Maximum Ride: School’s Out Forever. So why in the world would I, a dyed in the wool western genre fan, be reading a suspense story aimed primarily at young adults. Anyone who knows me can tell you I am far from that age bracket!

It all has to do with one of my new challenges for 2010 as editor of Starsongs magazine. If I am going to evaluate submissions from young people, I need to know what is out there already that interests prospective readers in that age group. I’ve got to get in tune with this younger generation and explore their interests and the kind of stories they like. So, I’ve added some elements to my reading diet that I would have considered quite bizarre for my taste not all that long ago.

I started out by going to the library and asking for “Twilight”, which is the first in what seems to be the hottest series around among young people these days. All copies were out, so I put myself on the list to receive it when a copy came back and asked the librarian about another YA series. She introduced me to the Maximum Ride series. The main characters are intriguing youngsters, to say the least. I’m not saying I would want a steady diet of that sort of thing, but the stories (I’m into the second book in the series) are packed with action as Max and her flock of birdkids battle the evil erasers bent on destroying them. Everybody needs something different once in a while.

Twilight, once I got my hands on it, didn’t hold my interest as much. I guess that says something about me, that I can embrace the possibility of kids that, by genealogical experimentation, are able to fly easier than I can the concept of vampires.

After a few hours with Max and company, I did settle back to watch the DVD "Broken Trail", a good old-fashioned western. I’m willing to try something new every once in a while, but I will always be true to the genre I love best. Isn’t that the way it should be? We make new friends throughout our lifetime, develop new interests, explore new adventures, but we always remember the old with fondness. So it is with books.

Thanks for reading my blog.