I read Beloved when I was 15, and it felt like the first time being allowed to sit at the grown-up's table.

Speaking of 1000+ page books, Infinite Jest is filled with all the things that are brilliant to read when you're young: unembarrassed cleverness, a cheeky take on the future, hilarious experiments with form, and a serious sense of accomplishment when you're finished. Scratch that, if you're a teenager, it's better. If you're a teenager, it's War and Peace. I pick The Stand because if you're an adult, it's a bit long. My English teacher, bless her forever, gave me an A. I did a book report on Pet Sematary in 8th grade. The Stand by Stephen Kingįor his sheer ability to get teenagers to love reading, Stephen King is a saint. If you first meet Holden Caulfield when you're too old, the desire to give him a good slap might impede your enjoyment.

The obvious first choice, but not necessarily because of its literary reputation. There are a number of books that are actually rather better if read when you're a teen, some because they're entertaining contraband, some because it can never be too early to read something so wonderful, and some because, if you wait, you might have missed your chance forever.' 1. 'But there's more to adult books than adult material. What a great way to establish reading as exciting and maybe even dangerous, eh? All bookish young readers over-reach occasionally, and if they discover they like it, they keep on doing it. When I asked on Twitter for other 'inappropriate' books people had read way too young, the list included Jilly Cooper, Irvine Welsh, Flowers in the Attic (by practically everyone) and lots and lots of Stephen King.

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