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Why Does It Seem That Girls Read More Than Guys?
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Spencer
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Aug 15, 2011 10:47AM
They publish tons more books for girls than they do guys. I am a guy and normally find myself in the adult section because their are more guy books there. I have grown up reading adult thrillers for that reason. ANd the guy books they do make for my age are all fantasy. I like fantasy, just not the dragon ball z type stuff.
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Spencer wrote: "They publish tons more books for girls than they do guys. I am a guy and normally find myself in the adult section because their are more guy books there. I have grown up reading adult thrillers fo..."That is a good thought. Maybe we need more people to write guys books. I would be horrible at that, but I do know some authors that I will suggest it to.
Mod
I totally disagree. Boys trying to look tough & reading being nerdy is a stero-type. We went over this a few pages back. Its the same as saying: 'Girls wear short skirts because they want to look pretty". Very incorrect, totally not true, yes?
But I wear short skirts to look pretty...LOL sorry jess had to...I don't think I even own a skirt...thats depressing well shopping it is tomorrow haha.
to be honest its probably because there are more women then men
to be honest its probably because there are more women then men
But I think that there are actually more guys in the world then girls.It's the stereotypes I think that give guys the impression that they shouldn't read.
I heard there were more women in the world than men...not that it really matters. And yeah, some guys are interested in looking tough, but I'm not really sure reading = 'not tough.' I found out that some of my guys from church - big ol' football players - started reading ARTEMIS FOWL over the summer. You couldn't tell these guys that reading isn't 'tough-looking,' bless their hearts.
The Artemis Fowl books are pretty solid unisex books. :)
Yeah, I was proud of them. I'd recommended that series to them. Hahaha, couldn't point them in the direction of Mortal Instruments or some other paranormal romance book. (point is to try to get them to *want* to read)
Yep, i quite enjoyed the Artemis Fowl books actually re read them the other day :)
I need to re-read my Percy Jackson books. Re-reading is definitely cool :P
Yes, especially if they contain details that only come out in a second reading.
So are bowties and stetsons and fez's (DW!)I need to reread at least the last 4 Percy books. and the HP books.
Debra wrote: "Spencer wrote: "They publish tons more books for girls than they do guys. I am a guy and normally find myself in the adult section because their are more guy books there. I have grown up reading ad..."Writing a book for males would be difficult. What would be put in? Tons of violence? It would make a book almost unreadable by anyone in my opinion. Most books I have written contain very little to no romance, a male main character, and some action/fighting scenes. That is the best I can get to trying to write something geared towards guys.
★ Jess wrote: "Whitney wrote: "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"
I totally disagree. Boys tryin..."
I agree with you Jess. Sterotypes suck. :D
Why not write an action adventure book with minamul amouts of blood, gore, foul language ect. no romance, just a plain intruinging action story?Aren't the Halo books geared towards guys or the Call Of Duty Books?
Guys at school have them and i've read one so yes.
Really? Huh, I'll have to read em and see if they're good :)
There are comic books comming out around the 17 of this month. Oh and with the books there is only one actual book and it is the storyline of the first game. According to my bf they only made one book to see how it went a few months after the game was released. The book wasn't such a big hit like the games were so they decided not to make more. Now they have decied to make comic books.
No problem, my bf is a fan of the games and he likes to read too so he knew about them.
Mod
Hmmm, what classifies as a 'boy's book' is also a really good question, and could even have its own topic.
Ive been told Skulduggery Pleasant and its sequels are 'boys books' but I own them all, and have enjoyed them all, and am obviously not a boy. I dont think action and gore makes it a 'boys book'. The "Chaos Walking" trilogy has heaps of that, yet thats a book that can be enjoyed by anyone. So many of my girl friends have read and loved them. A male main character, again, doesn't mean its more of a boys book. Look at Harry Potter. Percy Jackson. Chaos Walking. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. And The Hunger Games; it has a female protagonist, but guys love those books. What exactly makes a 'boys book'?
I think mainly, agree or disagree with me, its the marketing.
Boys and girls, having never seen either before; which cover would you rather pick up?
or
Something that the blurb promises has romance and mysterious cute boys, or something with fighting and blood and war. This is stereotyping extremely, and Im sorry, but Im just trying to show my point. If all book covers were white, with only the title on the cover, boys would be more likely to pick up a novel to read. Ugh, I mean, a boy might really love the story line in City of Bones, but would they want to be seen by their friends reading a book with a topless guy on the front?
Amelia, the pragmatic idealist wrote: "I need to re-read my Percy Jackson books. Re-reading is definitely cool :P"
Re-Reading is totally cool, I agree. I should probably read Percy Jackson for the first time...
My husband is a big reader. For the past four years, he has been listening to them on audiobook because he is allowed to listen to them at work. Now, he can't stand regular reading. lol My brother in law reads, but only when a book is truly tempting. He's definitely not the type of guy you would think is a reader. lol
Otherwise, most of the guys I know who don't read... I don't think they ever gave it a chance outside of school. :( I think that might be their issue...
★ Jess wrote: "Frank B wrote: "Debra wrote: "Spencer wrote: "They publish tons more books for girls than they do guys. I am a guy and normally find myself in the adult section because their are more guy books the..."Gore and violence don't make a 'boy' book. I'm saying so many books are filled with Romance and guys normally don't go for that.
★ Jess wrote: "Frank B wrote: "Debra wrote: "Spencer wrote: "They publish tons more books for girls than they do guys. I am a guy and normally find myself in the adult section because their are more guy books the..."Okay, see i'm a girl and i would pick both books. I have lots of girlfriends who would pick both. You do have a point about guys picking up a book with a topless guy on the front.
Spencer wrote: "★ Jess wrote: "Frank B wrote: "Debra wrote: "Spencer wrote: "They publish tons more books for girls than they do guys. I am a guy and normally find myself in the adult section because their are mo..."She's just using the normal stereotype. That's typically what we see most guys grabbing on the shelves as opposed to a romance novel- although there are plenty of guys who read those too.
A few of the boys in my class read. Not sure what they read.... just know they do.
True, true. it is so ironic: the worlds literacy is made up of more males than females but females read more than males.1.men are more into technology, this is a known fact, so their brains are more used to the speed of t.v., internet and computer/virtual games.
2. There are books "for" boys but they are limited. Once you have gone past Harry Potter and that genre what is left for guys to read? Its not like you'll find a guy reading a book about angels or fairies.
3. And lastly, I do think its a mental disorder that not only guys but girls too can get. Books are for nerdy people. Well they surely are not going to be the next multi-millionaire author, what a pity....
*Why I think girls read more than guys.
"Probably because most publishers produce books aimed at girls. Girl authors write girl main characters and romance is usually a big element of the story, if not the biggest element. What is a boy to read? " AmeliaI agree with that when i look at alot of book that are 'for guys' there all war, action ect books, while other books for girls have romance and ect.
I think the stereotype of teenage girls read more. is something people seem to stick to.
I also think it would be better if books were widened for male and female.
Also if you ever find advice book or teenage probelms and changes, they all are for girls it is almost impossible to find one gor guys and when you do its adressed to parents. I think thats stupid...then again i guess many guys would not want to be seen with that type of a book
Also another reason could be that alot of males have more trouble reading than females that isn't a fact or anything but what i have notices, and i find males (especially at older ages) who can't read well don't try too but give up because its embarassing i guess....sorry if that sounded bad.
Good question. Honestly I've wondered myself. I don't mean to be rude, but I think more guys are addicted to blowing people up in video games than they are to reading. It's like the instant you put a game in front of their face they run after it. Put a book in their face and they'll chuck it across the room. That's not always the case, but still. Like at school guys will avoid books at all costs and they'll rant about vids for hours. Even my bro does that. He used to love reading and now he doesn't. That's the effect vids had on him. (Not saying vids do that to all or they're bad. I'd be a hypocrite if I said that because I love vids myself.)
I count myself VERY fortunate that all of my foster sons have liked to read a lot. Of course, we do everything we can to encourage that desire...although the books do compete with their addiction and love for video games and other technology.
Wait a second...Shopping is constructive? And girls are more educated?
That, my friends, is a myth that too many people believe. Boys can think. Boys can even be constructive.
In fact, out of the people I know, the boys are almost more constructive and busy and the girls are doing random useless stuff.
Yeah, that's one of the most generalizing, stereotypical posts I've ever seen.
Way-chan (Aspiring Author) wrote: "Wait a second...Shopping is constructive? And girls are more educated?
That, my friends, is a myth that too many people believe. Boys can think. Boys can even be constructive.
In fact, out of t..."
I totally agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mod
Agreed. Im not taking that post seriously anyway.
I have a son (10 years old) and a daughter (8). They both enjoy reading and they are both pretty smart (yeah, I'm their mom, I have to say that, but their teachers agree!). I've seen that both girls and boys are equally capable of enjoying reading and doing constructive activities, and lazying about and wasting time.
Interesting, Kyle. It may also depend on parents...? I've always encouraged both my kids to read by reading to them from when they were very young every day. And now that they are older, I encourage quiet reading time. That said, my son does prefer action and adventure stories, while my daughter is happy with a wider variety including more 'social' stories.
Vered wrote: "Interesting, Kyle. It may also depend on parents...? I've always encouraged both my kids to read by reading to them from when they were very young every day. And now that they are older, I encourag..."I think you have a point, I have very few freinds who read that weren't encouraged alot by thier parents.
Yeah, I am sure there's been studies done on that! Also kids follow the habits of their parents. So when they see Mom and Dad sitting around reading, and the parents invite the kids to grab a book and join them, well, the kids tend to (at least, up to a certain age!).
I do have friends that have parents who don't read but they read themselves.
One of my favorite childhood memories is being read to by my grandmother before bed when she would visit. My mom was the first to introduce large chapter books to me at a young age becaue I wanted more story. My first serious chapter book was "Julia and the wolves" about 200pages (that's not big no me now though:) and mom and I started out reading it out loud, trading off every other chapter then I ended up reading it by myself.
There also is the factor that people who don't read and get introduced to books at school have to read books that are really hard to get through like shakespeare or adventures of tom sawyer. Like from my experience they don't show different types of books. You only get few teachers who put in a effort to show different types of books and get people enthusiastic about reading.
Yeah, school makes reading look bad. We have had to read To Kill A Mockingbird like 3 times, and people obviously are sick of it. I understand they are trying to teach a lesson through these books, but there are plenty of entertaining books with deep moral lessons.
yeah, they should show different books that people would like. instead of the teachers favourite book, which from their memory is incredibly exciting for kids/teens :P
Good point about reading different books that appeal to kids. I think my son's class read Harry Potter - and there are lots of moral lessons in that series!
Last year, some kids in my class did read the Hunger Games. It was in a mystery unit, where you read books as partners. We had one group that read the Hunger Games, and another that read Catching Fire. You and your partner chose from a bunch that were in the classroom, or chose from elsewhere with the teacher's permission, and the Hunger Games was one of the in-room selections.
Girls are just way more intelligent and feel like they can comment and discuss books, while boys are playing x box or something and losing brain cells...well at least my brothers are
I don't think any guys at my school read...every time our teacher gives us time 2 read I'm like "Heck ya bring it!" they all grumble and pass notes. I think guys see reading as making them nerds, and they don't want that to happen.
Kids/Teens Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Halo: Evolutions Volume II (other topics)City of Bones (other topics)
Skulduggery Pleasant (other topics)
The Replacement (other topics)
The Replacement (other topics)
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