Why Does It Seem That Girls Read More Than Guys?

[Mayze]

Oddly enough, I know more guys that like manga than girls who like manga. Several of the guys in my grade were really in to Naruto etc.

[Kate]

Yeah, I think more guys than girls like manga, but there are plenty of girls who do too.

[★ Jess]

I know one boy, and one girl who like manga. And they both prefer novels...

[Kate]

Everyone should (in my opinion)

[Adam]

I have only recently heard of Manga... I'd never heard of the thing before until very recently. I still don't think I've ever read such a thing.

[Spencer]

I've never read manga or seen anybody at my school read it.

[Mayze]

I like manga but definitely prefer novels. Most of the guys who I know who have read it prefer it to novels though (they're kind of obsessed).

[Spencer]

I can see that happening. Kids at my school get obsessed over lots of things. I am being interviewed via phone thisnweekend, when it is up would any of you mind listening to it? Thanks for all the support everyone. Sorry for posting about myself.

Kids at my school dress up as Harry Potter to GO to school. I like harry potter but thats a little weird (my opinion). Guys at my school read Twilight because they think they are impressing girls, I think its funny because I find that book feminine.

[Kate]

Guys read Twilight to impress girls? Um....

[Ingrid]

I...
Love manga. Quite a bit, actually. I know a couple guys who read it, but these are boys who read a lot of novels. In fact, he read Pride and Prejudice and liked it. I was shocked.

But, manga, I think it's a different form of reading that people tend to downplay. Sure, it is pictures and comics, but some of them show emotion really well. Some plots are simply better in manga form than they would be in book form.

[Julia]

Well i know none of the "cool guys" will read anything but the Hunger Games & Harry Potter. With the exeption of my friends older brother. Alot of my guy friends read but i think most guys are afraid of being uncool. I really dont know & since im not a guy dont care.

[Spencer]

I had to read the hunger games cus my teacher said it would be a good experience ( it was a book project and I was the only guy, she picked me). I hated all of the random kissing and Peeta was annoying. Katniss is always getting "inspected" and I found the book dissappointing. Guys at my school thinkntheyre cool cus they read Twilight and Hunger Games. I don't know why they do, apparebtly its a Jock thing. I'm not quite sure.
I absolutely love Harry Potter but most people dont guve it a chance and call it nerdy. I think thats irritating because if you don't try something than how can you know if you'll like it?

[Spencer]

A good example of that was a kid I hated at school was reading Percy Jackson. I didn't wsnt to read it at all. The movie trailers were
playing and I said it looked stupid. For my birthday, my grandma suprised me with the first three and The Collectors Harry Potter 1-7 boxset with some other stuff. I delt bad so I began to read Percy Jackson. I fell in love with the series and it is one of my favorites to this very day.

[Spencer]

I know but again it was like 3 years ago :) I have learned not to judge a book before I try it. I love reading andnI suggest Piercing Through The Darkness by Emerald Barnes. She is a self published author and her book is on Kindle. I am enjoying it a lot. I used to think self-published meant low quality until I found so many self pubbed authors. Ever since I self pubbed my book I think I've learned a lot :)

[Spencer]

So am I, otherwise I wouldn't have found such good books :)

[Ingrid]

Halley wrote: "exactly Spencer. If you don't try something than how can you know if you'll like it or not?
In my grade all the "cool guys" are either reading stuff to impress girls or/and reading manga, exception..."

Okay, I know this really doesn't have anything to do with that. But how you're talking about how you should try something to know if you like it or not?
I'm just gonna repeat that. It annoys me so much when people judge books or mangas or comics and haven't even given them a chance.

[Spencer]

Exactly! People judge things before they give them a chance. Look at celebrities, people say, Well I don't like them.
Well what didn't you like them in?
Oh, I just don't like them.

Are nation will always judge things, sadly, its just a fact :(

[Baxter]

Comic books are a completely different medium than novels. Anybody who compares the two in terms of "Oh novels can tell better stories" is seriously not understanding this. Or so I have come to believe.

[Ingrid]

You can't really compare comic books and novels. They both tell a story, yes, but in entirely different ways and both ways can be effective.

[Miss Amelia]

What about graphic novels? Are they considered more in the comic book dept, or the novel dept?
Just wondering :P

[Baxter]

Graphic novels are just comic books with a fancier name and usually they have an entire story (or arc) collected into one volume. Fascinating, I know.

[Miss Amelia]

I thought 300 was pretty cool :P
But I'm a sucker for stylized history

[Frank]

Baxter wrote: "Graphic novels are just comic books with a fancier name and usually they have an entire story (or arc) collected into one volume. Fascinating, I know."

Not always. Comic books and graphic novels have the same art style, yes. However, comic books are issue based series. An example: Batman issue #700 is a comic book that will contain 45-70 pages.

Graphic novels are usually a bit longer. They can be one of two things though. A graphic novel can be a stand alone story that someone wrote in a comic-book-style. Or, it can be a collection of issues from a comic book series. Sometimes they group 6-20 issues together to make a small book from the main seires of comic book issues.

I am pretty sure I just agreed with you in a very long way. :D I just love my graphic novels/comic books. People should read more of them!

[Miss Amelia]

So bear with me while I ask what may be a stupid question:
Is Watchmen multiple issues, or just 1 stand-alone?
I always like Watchmen :P

[Kate]

I consider a graphic novel to be a long comic book. Not a very professional definition, I know.

I think comparing graphic novels/comic books to novels is the same as comparing novels to movies. They are each better for different things, and you have to keep that in mind when you make them.

[Baxter]

Frank B wrote: "Baxter wrote: "Graphic novels are just comic books with a fancier name and usually they have an entire story (or arc) collected into one volume. Fascinating, I know."

Not always. Comic books an..."

Ha, yeah. I tried to explain it as simply as possible. Might not have been very clear buuut I think you are explaining the same thing I tried to. And I approve of your comic love!

And Amelia, Watchmen was a multiple issue comic book.

[Miss Amelia]

Gotcha.

[Ingrid]

I also approve of the comic book love.

[Mayze]

Same. The stories in Graphic Novels also tend to (in my experience) be a little more in-depth and complex than the ones in comic books. I agree with the novel vs. movie comparison.

[Miss Amelia]

And the illustrations look a little more 3D!

[Kate]

Anna wrote: "Same. The stories in Graphic Novels also tend to (in my experience) be a little more in-depth and complex than the ones in comic books. I agree with the novel vs. movie comparison."

A lot of that is the length, I think. With a longer volume, you can have a more complex storyline, plot, and characters. Even if you have multiple issues of a comic book, each one has to have its own arc, which lessens the total story arc.

[Spencer]

I'm excited that you all like graphic novels. Over the past few years I've gathered some ideas for comic book characters. I plan on writing a novel that follows their stories. The main characters are Ropeman, Crochead, Freezer, Golden Arrow, Fireman. The ememies would be Sharkface, Shapeshifter, Electric, and some others. The papers are buried but I hope to one day complete a book with them included.

[Baxter]

I saw this quote on the wiki page for graphic novels, and I totally agree with it in every way: "I snicker at the neologism first for its insecure pretension — the literary equivalent of calling a garbage man a 'sanitation engineer' — and second because a 'graphic novel' is in fact the very thing it is ashamed to admit: a comic book, rather than a comic pamphlet or comic magazine."

I think it's an empty term. But I mean, it isn't something I'm super against. It works and gets a lot of people to consider comic books as something to pay attention to. I just try to avoid using it because I can't see much of a point in it. If that makes sense. Which it might not, I don't know.

[Mayze]

Kate wrote: "Anna wrote: "Same. The stories in Graphic Novels also tend to (in my experience) be a little more in-depth and complex than the ones in comic books. I agree with the novel vs. movie comparison."

A..."

True. I agree with the term graphic novel because (due to increased length and sub-plot) they tend to venture towards the side of books instead of comics. Reading one is definitely not the same experience as reading a book, but can also be highly engrossing (take the walking dead, for instance. I'm not a huge fan of zombie books, but those graphic novels are fascinating.)

[Frank]

The Walking Dead is actually a comic books series that consists of issues, but after every 6, 12, or 24 issues they make books out of the comics.

[Alan]

I still contend it's a visual stimulus thing. I'm pretty sure you'd find many more guys are in to comic books etc. than girls as a general rule.

If you look at the most discussed books in the teen/YA genre, what are they? By and large they are romances, or at least books that have a great deal of romantic issues in them. Action/Adventure books don't become the focus of "book talk".

Just my two cents :)

[Frank]

I totally agree with you Alan, but at the same time it really depends on the individual and what they like to read. There are plenty of graphic novels that are geared towards girls.

I have kind of maade up my mind when it comes to this topic though. I think at a younger age, more girls read (at least in general). However, I do notice that more and more guys seem to read as they mature and get older.

[★ Jess]

Not necessarily.

[Miss Amelia]

I just thought of this, but a lot of guys I know/knew get really busy with sports, band, or other stuff, and they just have a hard time finding the time to read. 'Course, we could say the same thing about girls, but...
*shrugs*

[★ Jess]

We'll never find an answer to this, will we?

[★ Jess]

Some of my guy friends love reading, some hate it. The ones who hate it say: 'its boring' or 'too many words' or something dumb like that.

[Miss Amelia]

Yeah Jessica I don't think we'll ever know, haha. Everybody stipulates, then we comment on people's stipulations, then we go around and around. Lol!

[Kate]

A never ending mystery...

[Rebekah Faith]

It's one of those chicken or the egg questions, really.

[Peace_Luv_80s]

While i believe that girls as a whole read more than guys. I know some guys who read just as much as I do. I believe that it depends on the guy, just like how not all girls like to go shopping (hard to belioeve right) not all guys like to read

[Nick]

As others have (probably) already said, I think it's really a self-fulfilling prophecy. Publishers have been told that guys read less, so they publish less "guy" books. Without a lot of choices in the market, guys don't have much catered specifically to them. Plus, so many guys are so into video games and movies. I think most guys are just as "story-oriented" as girls. It's just a different way of getting the story. There's so much competition.

[Irene]

Peace_luv_80s wrote: "While i believe that girls as a whole read more than guys. I know some guys who read just as much as I do. I believe that it depends on the guy, just like how not all girls like to go shopping (har..."

Yeah i'm one of those girls who doesn't like to shop. I will if i'm in the mood to shop but normally i don' t care to go the mall every weekend; i'd rather do many other things.

[Peace_Luv_80s]

Yeah you have a point, sometimes i just prefer to sit at home and read, or hang out with friends than go shopping, but i do love clothes though.

[Peace_Luv_80s]

Nick wrote: "As others have (probably) already said, I think it's really a self-fulfilling prophecy. Publishers have been told that guys read less, so they publish less "guy" books. Without a lot of choices in ..."

I agree if the published more guy books I am certain more guys would read

[Whitney :)]

i was wonderin tht 2 but, i tink i know. buys want 2 b tough, girls don't usually care. so there fore boys don't read cuz they think readin is nerdy