R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books are unreadable.

[Religiously_Unkind]

I stopped reading Goosebumps when I was in 7th grade, right around the time I started reading Stephen King and Clive Barker and hadn't read a single one since; Filled with a stupid nostalgia I went back and tried to read one and my jaw was on the floor because of how bad it was. There is no depth to the writing, the characters are bratty cardboard cut outs, and the twists are so stupid. Now, I know you're gonna say "They're for kids!" but that's no excuse, there have been good kids books written. I feel like R.L. Stine thinks all kids are stupid, and maybe a lot of them are because 90's kids (myself included) ate those books up. The movie was great though, and there were some good episodes of the tv show (i'm actually more of an Are You Afraid of the Dark fan).

 

[Maddie]

I bought tons of his books for my kids. I never read any but watched Goosebumps with them back then. I have enjoyed watching his Haunting Hour series and have thought of him as masterful in storytelling by those alone, but again have not read the writings.

A couple of my favorites are 'Really You' and ' the Red Dress' if you haven't seen or read those you might really like them. All of his Haunting Hour seasons are available online .

 

[AnnaMarie]

They are good for their target audience. They also attract some kids (mainly boys) who would not otherwise read for pleasure.

 

[Grannie CeeCee]

Anyone besides me ever thought perhaps R.L. Stine was a pseudonym for some original Star Trek cast member? The original captain of the Enterprise was Captain Stine. The interwebs says I'm wrong, but still...

 

[ShadowNinja88]

They are good for their target audience. They also attract some kids (mainly boys) who would not otherwise read for pleasure.

^this, R.L Stine is really well done given the target audience is kids (usually ages 6-12). Its like James Patterson, his adult books and YA books have far more depth and development than when he writes kids books. Kids books are more meant to get them to read and making it easy to understand for them so they can hopefully expand later on into YA and adult novels whereas if you didn't get that start, you'll probably not be into reading as much. It is also different for everyone, some kids like the generic kids books and there's some that like YA and adult books

 

[Steffen]

Not trying to pick an argument here, but if RL Stine was your gateway to other writers as you got older, then I'd say Mr Stine accomplished a lot. I read tons of Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys & The Three Investigators as a kid and they led to many other wonderful authors. I'm sure I couldn't get into those books now, but they were wonderful at that time of my life, inculcated a love of reading and led me to discover many new writers. I'd never begrudge those books for that experience.

 

[Anduan Pirate Princess]

Yeah, I mean, it’s hard to fairly judge something that you (general you) loved as a kid when looking at it through the eyes of an adult. I remember the students in my class passing those Goosebumps books around like they were candy...and they were like brain candy, but it DID get the ones who would otherwise never crack open a book to read. For me, it was Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High. Over the winter I had a similar burst of nostalgia and re-read some of those...yikes. But reading anything has its benefits, even if it’s just learning a few new words.

 

[CoriSCapnSkip]

Due to their vast popularity I own the first several volumes but have never brought myself to read them. Maybe I should just as a reminder of the sort of thing which gets not only published but widely read.

 

[CoriSCapnSkip]

I did read some of J. B. Stamper's short story collections which weren't too great.

 

[skimom2]

They are good for their target audience. They also attract some kids (mainly boys) who would not otherwise read for pleasure.

 

[Paddy C]

Not trying to pick an argument here, but if RL Stine was your gateway to other writers as you got older, then I'd say Mr Stine accomplished a lot. I read tons of Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys & The Three Investigators as a kid and they led to many other wonderful authors. I'm sure I couldn't get into those books now, but they were wonderful at that time of my life, inculcated a love of reading and led me to discover many new writers. I'd never begrudge those books for that experience.

I read a lot of Enid Blyton's Famous Five books when I was younger but when I discovered The Hardy Boys in my local library at around the age of 10 or 11 I got hooked on them. I'd borrow two every fortnight and went through the set and loved them.
I often toyed with the idea of getting one and reading it now but I think it might blow away the magic memories so I won't...

 

[GeorgieFan2003]

I still enjoy Goosebumps

 

[GNTLGNT]

 

[Wayoftheredpanda]

They're cheesy but I enjoyed the ones I read when I was younger, keep in mind these might be some future SK fans intro to the horror genre.