Surveys consistently find that women read more books than men, especially
fiction. Explanations abound, from the biological differences between the male
and female brains, to the way that boys and girls are introduced to reading at a
young age.
I found this article very interesting and true to my own experiences.
Hat tip to The Common Room.
6 comments:
Oh, bogus. At least in my experience. My brother reads more novels than I do, my dad reads westerns by the truckload. I tend to read more non fiction than fiction but that's only recently.
Probably as a whole, there are less books read but what about the Harry Potter phenon? Who was reading those? I think there will always be a percentage of readers.
They're certainly publishing more books than ever before.
Your Butterfly quilt is gorgeous!
I don't know...I forwarded the article to my home email so that I can read it this weekend. I'll be interested in what it says. My husband is dyslexic, so he hates reading. Unfortunately he didn't get the education that I did (grade school anyway), and was just passed on from teacher to teacher. When I met him 7 years ago I gave him the first couple Harry Potter books to read, and they were some of the first books he ever read completely. He's read a few books since then, but he says its such a chore and takes too long and is too frustrating. I don't know enough about it to know how well people who have dyslexia cope (to me, it seems that the more he reads the better he can train himself, but what do I know?). Anyway, so I figure my reading makes up for the two of us. Hmmm...a little off topic. Thanks for letting me vent (not that you had a conscious choice!). :)
This article was interesting! I have two really close guy friends, and both of them think that fiction is a waste of time, because when they read "they want to learn something." I squeaked a bit at that! But of course, that's anecdotal...if I ever meet a guy who loves fiction, I hope he's single!
Thanks for that link. I've always been a reader. My husband, not so much. I think it starts *very* early with kids. I'm pretty passionate about getting my boys into books. They are now. I think the key is keeping them interested through their teens.
Carrie-of course the exceptions are many. And these types of surveys tend to leave out other reading, like newspapers, work related papers, magazines. That would certainly change the results.
Trish-dyslexia must be so difficult to work with. I have a cousin who I believe is dyslexic but has never been treated. She read out loud to my kids once. She was painfully slow and made many mistakes and restarts. She was clearly uncomfortable and I felt bad for her. That is a legitimate excuse for not reading.
Eva-I know a few guys who like fiction but they tend to only read within their one genre: westerns or Clancy stuff. But most of the guys I know, including my husband, would rather spend their reading time with non-fiction.
Sheila-I was NOT a reader until about 6 years ago but I know that my situation is unusual. But I am proof that there isn't a reader gene; it is a skill that is developed but it takes time and effort. In our homeschool, my 10 year old reads for 1 hour a day and my teenager reads for 2. And they both read for pleasure in the evenings besides. I wish public school focused more on developing good reading skills.
I obviously have a strange husband as he reads fiction - sci fi, fantasy, thrillers, novels - and always has. Mind, he grew up in a reading household. My son-in-law didn't read at all until he married my daughter, ten years ago. Now he's hooked on YA fantasy. Interesting article though and by and large I think probably correct.
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