If pirates, jousting and chases on horseback no longer appeal to you, you're either way too old or way too boring. Adventure stories may have fallen out of vogue among the 20th century literati who thought the only serious fiction was boring and depressing fiction, but to those born with fire in their bones, adventure stories are the most serious fiction.
Not serious the way existentialists are serious, and certainly not serious the way keeping a stiff upper lip is serious, adventure stories are serious the way Robin Hood is serious—absolutely devoted to protecting the downtrodden, absolutely commited to Maid Marian, absolutely sworn to fight injustice as long as there is a soul in his body, always laughing and always ready for a fight or a feast.
The great Mr. Chesterton wrote adventure stories because they were the best way to express the eternal joy that supported his generous frame. For those raised on Modern Adventure Stories, joy may seem an inappropriate word to describe an increasingly dark genre, but the fault lies with those who think adventures are really just forays into evil rather than with Gilbert Keith.
There's nothing evil about a good adventure. There may be bad guys (there really ought to be bad guys), but if the Good Guy is doing his job there will be a whole lot more of his exploits to talk about than theirs. Because, should he be doing his job, the Hero will be swordfighting, being clever, wooing, chasing and laughing to the detriment of his enemies on every page.
Average people don't have the kind of adventures Heroes in Books have—they have the adventures of Modern Men in Books. But the way to get through the prosaic troubles of daily life isn't to immerse yourself in them when you don't have to, it's to let the really Good Guys demonstrate The Way Out of Problems, and do your best to imitate them when you meet the less dramatic, but no less real, dangers of everyday existence.