A few months ago, one of my friends said that she didn't enjoy The Hunger Games because it wasn't "good writing" and that she didn't understand why people didn't see that. It was a passing comment in a conversation about books; it wasn't meant to spark a discussion or anything.
But it got me thinking, and I've been chewing over that comment for quite some time.
I have a few problems with it, the first being: who are you to decide what is good writing and what isn't?
I mean, yes, there's all the general classifications of good writing: proper grammar, character development, plot structure, you know the bit. (This is why people can easily argue that Twilight isn't good writing. If you don't believe me, I present to you Reasoning With Vampires.) The Hunger Games has all of those things, so technically, it is good writing.
Was it because you didn't connect to the characters or because they didn't stand alone? Katniss is supposed to be a bit of an empty shell after everything she's gone through and goes through; I've always been under the impression that you're supposed to root for her without really understanding her or connecting with her.
But then, if that's it, why would you say it wasn't good writing?
Or why would you say that other people didn't see that and therefore, like you, shouldn't enjoy a book?
Not every book is going to have exquisite writing. The young adult genre, like every other genre of literature, is a perfect example of that. We can't all be John Green and Libba Bray and Ellen Hopkins; we're going to have things that aren't great and don't stand out and are, in all essence, brain candy.
And you know what? I love brain candy. It's some of my favorite stuff to read. I've been reading silly fluffy romance novels since the beginning of high school, and they have some great character development and everything that makes good writing, and even though they're not oh-my-god amazing in terms of actual writing, I love 'em. They make me smile.
If a book can make you smile, or make you cheer for something, or make you feel something you wouldn't have otherwise done, it's doing it's job. And like everything in life, it's subjective.
So there is no proper way to enjoy a book. What you like and the reasons you like something aren't going to be the same way somebody else likes something and the same reasons they like it. True, people tend to group if they think the same, but nobody thinks the same thoughts all the time.
Imagine how boring a society that would be.
So if somebody tells you that you can't like something because it's bad writing, ignore them. Banish the phrase guilty pleasure from your vocabulary, because if it makes you happy, you shouldn't feel guilty about it. Even if the writing is "not good." Even if it's stereotypical brain candy.
Because there is no proper way to enjoy a book, and if you like something, you better not let them stop you from enjoying it.