Boys Don't Read!

Boys don't read!

That's not true, not even a little bit. I'm jumping a little late onto the bandwagon here, but I have an opinion, and a internet access. so there.

I have read a lot of blogs about the boys and their reading habits. Do they read? What do they read? Why don't they read? ...etc. To be fair, most people seem to agree with me. They know that boys do read, and some boys read a lot.

My experience as a reading boy leads me to ask, "Why is there even a question?"

When I was a young boy (elementary age) I already loved to read. So did most of my friends, who were also boys (yes, most of my friends were boys. no, I did not worry about cooties...). We read kids books; The Hardy Boys, Shel Silverstein, and anything about Batman (Comics count as reading!).

As a matter of fact, I don't remember any girls that I knew when I was that young that liked to read (though, to be fair, I didn't really pay attention).

Now, middle school was a different story. My group of friends began to change. Some of those boys that loved to read like me began to disappear, and girls became an integral part of everyday life. Sports became important to so many people, and reading seemed to fall by the wayside for a lot of others, pushed there by video games.

For the most part, though, reading was still abundant. R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" stories were a great way to continue reading, without having to worry about books covered with pictures of kissing. (Man, there were a lot of those) My friends and I even began our journeys to Middle Earth and Narnia around this time, leaving plenty of room for Batman, of course.

It continued through high school, though the flock did thin again. R.A. Salvatore became a daily part of our conversations, along with Terry Brooks and whatever our teachers sent us home to read. (Dracula and Shakespeare were among these. Kudos to teachers willing to share their libraries!)

So when people say boys don't read, what are they talking about? I believe they mean boys don't read YA (Young Adult). And, for the most part, they're right. YA books are usually romance centered, even when funny, and often have kissy faces all over them.

Batman does not. (well, most of the time)

This may be a strange, rambling post... but there you are.
Any thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment.
thanks for reading,
buh bye then