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The generation that doesn't read
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Post by
238331
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
OverZealous
OZ can tell you what I did to the first 3 pages of his work in progress ;)
Yeah...
D:
I still appreciate it, though
^^
Anyway, I think - like posted earlier, that children should start reading at the youngest age possible and go from there. I know for a fact, even if my friends won't believe me, that half the people I know would
really
enjoy a great many of the Fantasy / Sci-fi novels and series that release every year, and I'm sure they would others as well - I just don't read anything else.
A problem is that, like Atik said, in school we're all forced to
think
about the book. Why did the author write it? What did the author mean with this chapter? What parallels can be drawn?
Trust me, when I tear through a thousand pages on a good evening, I don't think about those things - no sane person (except Jubilee, but you're only half-insane) does.
Another problem, of course, is that much of today's literary market (when we're talking Fantasy and Sci-fi, that is) is aimed at an older and more mature audience - the Horus Heresy might not work for 10- or 11-year olds, just as The Malazan Book of the Fallen and the Sword of Truth won't.
Of course, there
are
writers like Rowling and Eddings that write (wrote?) excellent books suited for all audiences, the ones that really got me into reading, but the vast majority of the good books are, in my opinion, not very well suited for kids in their pre/early teens.
Post by
Adamsm
When I was in elementary school, I read a ton of the Goosebumps and Animorphs books. It always made me so mad because the teachers were always like, "You need to read real books" and #$%^. That's another thing that is going to kill you desire to read. Heh, I read both of those...but really? Calling Animorphs 'not a real book'? Should have shoved it in the teachers face and told them to read: What other 'kid' series dealt with adult issues like the Animorphs did? And had so much freaking nightmare fuel in them? *Still shudders at the description of the giant flea-Marco hybrid*
Post by
gamerunknown
I remember the description of "Ax" becoming delirious as being one of the funniest passages in any book I've read. Perhaps it's just nostalgia, but I don't think people should be forced to read or watch or play "appropriate" things as they age. Hell, I know a lot of adults that like "My Little Pony" for their own reasons and it neither breaks my back nor picks my pocket.
Post by
238331
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Patty
I've just realised something else about reading in schools! Certainly for me, in English we were required to spend about five minutes of the lesson unwinding and reading a book, but it was just 'bring a book, or pick one from behind you' (they were always horribly brown and stained by age). There was no actual education as far as I remember on genres and themes that we might enjoy, rather than ones we have to analyse, nor any recommendations that I can remember, outside of people reading things like
Twilight
and
Harry Potter
, extremely popular books for teens. English was always associated with the unnecessary dissection of literature rather than reading and enjoying books. There was no incentive, or real reason, to engage with reading. Apparently this changed at A level, but I suppose that was also down to the students being a little more mature.
Post by
gnomerdon
No incentive? I thought the incentive was an A no matter how lame or boring the teacher was :(
Post by
Patty
No incentive? I thought the incentive was an A no matter how lame or boring the teacher was :(
You don't get that from enjoying reading or engaging with it. You can get an A in English without enjoying your subject matter.
Post by
238331
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
xaratherus
You don't need new fantasy books. You need to teach children to enjoy reading at a much earlier age than they can appreciate 'fantasy' (as defined by the literary genre).
The challenge shouldn't be to get 13 yr olds who don't read habitually to start reading cool books. The challenge should be to get 4-6 yr olds reading habitually in the first place, and letting that habit carry them into teenagehood.
Edit: I know it's slightly off topic, but I don't think the quality of the books are an issue - it's the fact that kids don't read at all in the first place.
Agreed. The quality books are out there - and the kids
still
aren't reading them. Why? Because reading wasn't made a pattern of their life at an early enough age to become habitual.
There are exceptions to the rule, but what we're taught during the first few years of our "higher cognizance" - say, around 4-7 years old - are more likely to shape what we do later.
Post by
Adamsm
When I was in elementary school, I read a ton of the Goosebumps and Animorphs books. It always made me so mad because the teachers were always like, "You need to read real books" and #$%^. That's another thing that is going to kill you desire to read. Heh, I read both of those...but really? Calling Animorphs 'not a real book'? Should have shoved it in the teachers face and told them to read: What other 'kid' series dealt with adult issues like the Animorphs did? And had so much freaking nightmare fuel in them? *Still shudders at the description of the giant flea-Marco hybrid*
Yeah, I know. I would still read those books today. In fact, I might download those so I have something to do at work.
Heh, I still have all of my Animorph books...though, I only had about a 75% collection of it, still scouring the second hand book stores to get the remaining 25%; then have to find all the Everworld books and Remnants....damn KA Applegate and her series! She was a good writer, and a queen of Nightmare Fuel; the description of the people who died on the Ark in Remnants and the Bosh nightmares, and the description of Hel in Everworld...Scariest !@#$ing Thing I have ever read....
Post by
238331
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Adamsm
I downloaded the Animorphs TV series a while back and watched it again.
Eh, was never a real fan of that show; it was Animorphs in name only lol. But considering the budget, guess they did the best they could.
Post by
238331
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Atik
I downloaded the Animorphs TV series a while back and watched it again.
Eh, was never a real fan of that show; it was Animorphs in name only lol. But considering the budget, guess they did the best they could.
The books came FIRST?
mind = blown
I think I had an Animorphs computer game, that was interesting.
Post by
Azazel
I used to love reading books when I was about 10-12, but after that the only thing we did in school was to analyze them. It just became boring and monotone, which is why I don't read much anymore.
Post by
Adamsm
Yeah. At least it was something.
I really want to re-read the books, now, though.
Heh, well if you lived near me, would lend the ones I have to you lol.
I downloaded the Animorphs TV series a while back and watched it again.
Eh, was never a real fan of that show; it was Animorphs in name only lol. But considering the budget, guess they did the best they could.
The books came FIRST?
mind = blown
I think I had an Animorphs computer game, that was interesting.
I'm really hoping your joking...and
Shattered Reality
was really bad lol.
Post by
Atik
I'm really hoping your joking...and
Shattered Reality
was really bad lol.
No, I'm not. I honestly thought the books were based off the series.
Post by
Adamsm
I'm really hoping your joking...and
Shattered Reality
was really bad lol.
No, I'm not. I honestly thought the books were based off the series.
Really? So the fact that book one was made a year or more before the TV show never registered?
Edit: Make that two years before the start of the show.
Also, Chaos, apparently the books are being released; started in May of 2011.
Post by
Atik
I'm really hoping your joking...and
Shattered Reality
was really bad lol.
No, I'm not. I honestly thought the books were based off the series.
Really? So the fact that book one was made a year or more before the TV show never registered?
Edit: Make that two years before the start of the show.
Also, Chaos, apparently the books are being released; started in May of 2011.
I never saw one of the books until after I had watched the show. I then noticed them at a school bookfair.
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