Let’s Talk Bookish: Characters Age

Let’s talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits where each Friday bloggers write blogposts discussing the topic of the week, sharing their opinions and spreading the bookish love by visiting each other’s posts.

This week’s topic is: Do you prefer to read characters your age?

Prompts: Do you prefer reading about characters your age? Or do you not mind? As you get older, do the protagonists you’re drawn to get older as well? Do you feel you can connect more with characters closer in age?

Discussion:

It seems that I have recently been a bit more drawn to characters my own age and going through similar life experiences. As I look back on this year’s reads there has definitely been a switch up, however subconsciously, to older protagonists. I don’t think this has been on purpose, just that in choosing what I want to read I am often looking for something relatable – characters whose children have flown the nest, who are on their second chance of love, who are neurodivergent and finding out much later in life.

That’s not to say that every book I read is about a 50+ year old woman. Far from it. I still love to read a good romance or rom-com where the characters are in their 30s. I’m partial to a bit of magical realism and the occasional thriller where it doesn’t really matter the protagonists age so long as the story is enough to draw me in. All I’m really looking for is some kind of connection to a character or storyline, some kind of emotion, and in that age doesn’t really matter.