Reading trends

I've discovered that as of recent years (2009ish) I've had my reading backwards...in high school and college I read a lot of everything...almost every genre. The last few years have been almost exclusively young adult literature. What I should have been reading in high school! I read an article today that made me realize I'm not alone, Why you should be reading YA. For the last few years, my book life has revolved around the Twilight series (several times over!), the Mortal Instruments, The Hunger Games, Vampire Diaries, the House of Night...to name a few. Why are these books so captivating? I imagine the escape from everyday life--I'm a busy mom to three boys and a store manager (I feel like I'm always at the golden arches!). I have a non-existent social life. These books full of vampires, shadow hunters, and things that could not possibly happen enthrall me. It's addicting. This obsession for story lines written for teenagers has crossed over to my viewing habits-my most recent television favorites being Degrassi, Teen Mom, and the Secret Life of the American Teenager. Teen Nick's recent showings of shows popular during my own teenage years hasn't helped...I have a feeling staying up until 2 or 3am to get a fix of Keenan and Kel or Clarissa will be a regular thing. Not to say I don't enjoy things targeted to my own age group--I enjoy House and Criminal Minds regularly. But given the choice, I might just pick a teen show.