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Looks like the list is exactly what would be needed to bring teenage lads back into the reading habit. They are full of adventure, fun, and daring. This is what a majority of teenager boys who have not been reading from the normal school list would probably enjoy.
Once you hook them and as they grow older they will have the habit and want to deepen their reading experience.
There's quite a few in the list in the Times that I read when I was younger. I used to love the adventure stuff, Rider-Haggerd, Defoe, that sort of thing.
Rich, I was joking, but you're not - bookshelves in the children's corner are groaning under the weight of Princess Diaries (bleargh!), Fairy books, pony stories, all bound in pink and covered with glitter and flowers and pictures of handbags and lipsticks. Fortunately there's also quite a thriving market in the 'my boyfriend is a vampire' corner, which makes up for some of the gooey pink stuff.
Hi Anyanka. Sorry, didn't realise you were joking. I didn't realise that it was how you say though. I've got a 3 year old boy and he tends to go for Thomas the tank engine and similar. Dinosaurs are his latest so i'm not really up on the market for girl's fiction.
Anyanka actually has a good point. I know it was a joke but really teenage boys are obviously very interested in sex and cars.
Look at the way films and novels are constructed and publicised. It all has to do with sex and tension. This follows on into adulthood. \all our attentions are alerted to sexy scenes in novels and films, it is natural. We all like car chases or high drama or a nice romantic scene. There is not much difference.
If it makes the novel interesting and can lead into a life long reading habit then anything is fine I think. Better than being stuck in front of a Playstation all night.
Actually Sex and Cars are only a side issue. The built in drive for young men is to defend their group clan, tribe, family or country. This is the basic drive of young men which is why there are so many of us. It also explains why if we ignore this drive we finish up with a gang culture. National Service provided the perfet outlet at the perfect age
Yes, I always get the impression people think The Bloke is merely car-orientated because that's what he works with and enjoys. Yet bottom line is that family and loved ones come first and he is major protective of all that.
Funny thing is, he read stuff like 'Just William' (and loved it) earlier on in life. Is Harry Potter the latest substitute?
Comments
A good idea, but I wasn't sure about some of the books they were suggesting giving them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6658235.stm
Once you hook them and as they grow older they will have the habit and want to deepen their reading experience.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article1794683.ece
Rich
Mind you, that was before I was 11, not after.
Rich
Rich
Look at the way films and novels are constructed and publicised. It all has to do with sex and tension. This follows on into adulthood. \all our attentions are alerted to sexy scenes in novels and films, it is natural. We all like car chases or high drama or a nice romantic scene. There is not much difference.
If it makes the novel interesting and can lead into a life long reading habit then anything is fine I think. Better than being stuck in front of a Playstation all night.
Funny thing is, he read stuff like 'Just William' (and loved it) earlier on in life. Is Harry Potter the latest substitute?