Something has been bothering me for the past couple of months, and it has to do with the debate swirling around the age-banding issue. And yet, I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was that bothered me.

I mean I’m against it, of course. The idea of marking a book with age-suitability suggestions seems pointless, arbitrary, ineffective, and possibly the first step towards creating the unnecessary risk of booksellers getting into trouble over a brief lack of judgement or a misunderstanding. Still. Something nagged at me with regard to this issue.

The exact nature of my discomfort with the issue didn’t become clear to me until after I had written a post about the gradations of adult literacy, wherein I suggested that while most adults in America can read, there might possibly be a significant fraction of that population who do not read particularly well.

We seem to look at literacy as a function of age; young adult novels tend to be more simply written, and children’s books are simpler still. And that’s fine. You don’t expect a kindergartner to be cracking open a copy of White Noise, or The Road, do you? At a certain age, we expect people to read at a certain level, and books are written and marketed in that way.

But what if you’re an adult who does not read particularly well? Could age banding help you? You may want a book that’s written a little more simply than most, and you might find your reading level accommodated by young adult literature — but you may also find that your interests are not.

In certain cases, as with Harry Potter and Pullman’s Dark Materials series, a reader seeking to improve his or her skills can find some compelling fantasy. But a lot of YA stuff is geared more often towards people whose focus relates to more conventional, high school interests.

Surely it would make it easier for these special readers to engage in literature if the books they were learning from better reflected their grown-up interests? It may be that they would prefer books written about adult topics in what many would consider juvenile-friendly language. And, of course, the more reading they do, the more likely they are to get better at it.

The problem, however, is how these folks are going to track down books that deal with interesting subject matter and meet their reading level? Age-banding obviously won’t work.

A rating system based on reading ability doesn’t seem like a great idea, either. First of all, who would decide? Are their any reliable, scientific ways to determine a book’s literacy level? Probably, but do you trust them?

Also, a book that has some obvious indication of it’s "intermediate" or "beginner" status could be a target of derision. And not just for a hypothetical reader on the subway or library — but for the writer who produced it. If we want to help people read better, we can’t do it by assaulting their dignity.

Our best hope may be with genre fiction. In his last autobiography, Issac Asimov revealed that he often got letters from people in correctional institutions, thanking him for his books; prisoners who were being taught to read found his books useful and interesting.

Of the genres (and in spite of my previous example), light fantasy might be the best bet for tales that are both interesting and can be related in a simpler fashion. But a considerate author could probably work in any context, if he or she is aiming for a particular level of literacy. Part of Larry Niven’s fifth law for writers is a good start. "If you’ve nothing to say, say it any way you like. Stylistic innovations, contorted story lines or none, exotic or genderless pronouns, internal inconsistencies, the recipe for preparing your lover as a cannibal banquet: feel free. If what you have to say is important and/or difficult to follow, use the simplest language possible. If the reader doesn’t get it then, let it not be your fault." (Emphasis ours.)

Keep in mind that your reader might not be as advanced as yourself, and act accordingly.

As ever, I don’t have any answer to most of the questions I’ve brought up. I think that books that are short, and that are clearly written can make good practice for people who want to learn to read better — the next question is how we can make sure these folks can find those books, if they want to.

Perhaps, say, book reviewers could help them with this?