Open Mic at the iMonk Cafe: What Might Boys Read?
July 15, 2009 by iMonk
Noel, Ryan and I were talking tonight about the fact that while a few middle/high school girls read, almost no middle/high school boys read.
My dad died almost 15 years ago. He enjoyed Zane Grey and Tarzan. There was a time the John Carter of Mars books were popular. Also the Hardy Boys. Sherlock Holmes. I read a lot sports as a kid. Times have changed.
Boys today read manga and comics, if they read at all. A few read Poe and Tolkien. When in college, Sci-fi and action/military books may find an audience.
So what is out there, contemporary and classic, that we could suggest or assign to middle/high school boys? (Not Christians in an advanced environment. Just regular boys.)
The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer is great. Also many books by Jerry Spinelli, such as “Maniac Mcgee” and “Crash” are good.
I was into Louis L’Amour and the Hardy Boys. Good junior historical fiction can be pretty accessible, though I can’t think of authors off the top of my head. Sports figure biographies (Larry Bird, Michael Jordan) are also good. I don’t know if many middle school boys are into Harry Potter, but those might work. They can be intimidatingly long, but I think reasonable for average middle schoolers to be capable of reading.
When I was a kid (early-mid 80s) I devoured The Hardy Boys mysteries and, to a lesser extent, Nancy Drew. I would also think that the Chronicles of Narnia would be good–they are practically timeless!
Nate Wilson’s juvie fic is fantastic. “Leepike Ridge”, “One Hundred Cupboards”, and “Dandelion Fire”. The first is a stand alone volume, the other two are the first two parts of a trilogy. “Leepike Ridge” is sort of a retelling of “The Odyssey”. Literate, funny, engaging, and meaningful.
A great classic and favorite of mine is Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo”. And no, not the lame film adaptations. The unabridged work would probably be too intimidating for most “normal” boys these days, but I’m sure well-abridged versions are out there somewhere. Wealth, power, murder, duels, swordfights, justice, revenge, mercy, redemption… It’s all there. And, as a bonus, the whole tale is fantastic Christological imagery.
(Interesting trivia: Dumas’ grandmother was an Afro-Caribbean former slave from Haiti…)
Go the Science Fiction/Fantasy route. That is what I started with and I fell in love with reading. And as a boy, I love that stuff. Science. Action. Heroes. Ray Guns. Swords. Villains. Magic. If you want to get a boy interested in reading, give him those things. Tolkien, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series, Terry Pratchett (for those with a sense of humor), Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, the Redwall series, Terry Brooks’ Shennara (I forget the spelling of that, Lewis’ Space Trilogy, David Eddings’ books (This makes me want to reread those), the Riftwar Books by Raymond Feist. All of those are good for getting boys interested in reading.
some contemporary suggestions:
Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games
Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s Peter and the Starcatchers series
Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society series
Robert Liparulo’s Dreamhouse Kings series
I would think Harry Potter would fit the bill, though maybe some boys would balk because it’s such a popular book with girls, too.
“Dune” (Frank Herbert) – though maybe challenging for pre-high schoolers, is a great “boy” book.
“Ender’s Game” (Orson Scott Card) – great sci-fi book in which the protaganist is a young boy.
“Foundation” (and others of the series, by Isaac Asimov) – I grew up on these. Excellent series, not too difficult a reading level, as I recall…at least not as difficult/challenging as Dune, say.
While on the subject of Asimov, I also remember reading many of his short stories, like “Nightfall.” That would also be a good suggestion for boys, reading Asimov’s short story collections. Most of them are good, clever, with twists at the end.
AH! I forgot DUNE. That is pretty amazing too!
I second the Harry Potter series. It really is a fine work of literature with excellent character development, lots of plot tension, and twists to keep the readers guessing all the time. I would also recommend the Hobbit and Naria too.
Here are some books I really enjoyed at that age or think would be good recommendations.
Chickenhawk by Robert Mason – autobiography of a Vietnam helicopter pilot, unexpected ending.
Into Thin Air – John Krakauer – About Mount Everest and a really bad climbing season. (If they like that Eiger Dreams is short stories taken from John Krakauer’s articles in Outside magazine).
Tom Clancy stuff is good…perhaps Rainbow Six or Without Remorse.
I really liked the book The Vandarian Incident by Martyn Godfrey when I was about 12 or 13…good science fiction story.
The Last Dive by Bernie Chowdhury – about technical scuba diving on the Andrea Doria and Florida caves and it going very wrong.
I also liked the Star Wars novels and think they would be great for boys. Start with the Timothy Zahn book Heir to the Empire.
I know quite a few fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, too.
Swiss Family Robinson.
Robinson Crusoe.
Anything by Thor Hyerdahl.
My Side of the Mountain (and the sequels).
Go read the booklists at http://www.amblesideonline.org for some excellent suggestions!
Treasure Island, Robin Hood, a good adaptation of King Arthur, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer–any of those old classic adventure books.
Stephen R. Lawhead has written an amazing series about King Arthur called The Pendragon Cycle, as well as a trilogy based on Celtic mythology called the Song of Albion, that would be great for older boys. I think mythology in general would be a good choice, too.
The Last Run by Todd Lewan.
ISBN: 9780060956233
An Alaska high seas rescue of commercial fisherman which first appeared as a series of newspaper articles, and then later published in book form. Men literally and figuratively brought to the ragged edge of life. My kn-knknuckles are white just thinking about it.
True story.
Absolute page-turner .
“…His original version of this story, entitled “Storm Gods and Heroes,” was the first serial ever published in the AP’s 150-year history. After it appeared, Lewan won the 1999 Associated Press Managing Editors Association Award for feature writing and the 1999 Rube Goldberg Award for feature reporting from the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalist. He was also a finalist for the 1999 Scripps-Howard Journalism Award for feature writing and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.”
I remember reading Narnia over and over again. The Hardy Boys are still great, particularly the earliest ones. If they’re at least 7th-8th grade and alienated, as controversial as this sounds, I’d suggest The Catcher in the Rye. Easy to read, and it made me feel like I wasn’t alone.
Oh! Definitely The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. It’s one of the best retellings of the Arthurian legends out there.
I second the Wilson books. (Though as an author he’s not “Nate” but “N.D. Wilson”.)
Also, of course, Harry Potter.
The Outsiders.
For those who liked Into Thin Air:
A Perfect Storm.
Anthony Horowitz novels were popular with my nephews.
“I forgot DUNE. That is pretty amazing too!”
The problem with Dune, which I liked, is that the follow on books are mostly junk. And a big attack on Christianity.
I would of course suggest Narnia, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings as well as some of the great historical fiction books. For example a great historical fiction book I recently gave my husband for his birthday titled, “Shooting an Albatross” by Steven R. Lundin. He loved it because it was full of suspense and great historical facts. He borrowed it to my 18 year old brother-in-law and he loved it too. It is a great ‘boy’ book!
When I was in high school and middle school (I’m in my mid twenties now) I read Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, Brains Benton, Sherlock Holmes, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Alexander Dumas, Tom Clancy, Tolkien, Harry Potter, Edgar Allen Poe, Shel Silverstein, Homer, Lewis Carroll, Left Behind, Frank Peretti, Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, George Orwell, Jack London, biographies and I had a subscription to Popular Science.
My younger son goes through spells of reading alternating with spells of watching quite dumb television sitcoms.
One series of books which fascinated him were Brian Jacques’ Redwall Abbey books, an adventure series set in a world of talking animals.
And of course he’s read all of the Harry Potter books, as well as the horse racing related novels by Dick Francis.
When I was a kid, I devoured all 70 volumes by German writer Karl May, about half of which deal with the American West and the other half with the “Orient” — neither of which he knew first hand but which he described in a very romantic fashion. Of course the first-person narrator was always a heroic German (obviously these were written long before the rise of the nazi regime, couldn’t have heroic Germans after that).
I also voraciously devoured serialized novels about private detectives and FBI agents, with less claim to literary status than Karl May but written by equally ignorant authors
Demoralized and domesticated by old ladies (of all ages and both sexes), boys need manly books, and this means: Beowulf. It’ll put hair on their chests.
David Weber’s Honor Harrington series. A bit heavy on the technical/historical infodumping but a well-written and intense space opera series nonetheless.
My son is 14, and thankfully has developed an (I think) enduring love for reading. (He goes through the occasional less interested phase, but always comes back for more.) His favourites have been Tolkien (he had read the whole of Lord of the Rings by age 11, and has since re-read it several times) and Harry Potter. He’s now working through various books by David Eddings, which are definitely in a Tolien-esque vein.
The only concern I sometimes have is that he’s very reluctant to try anything outside the science fantasy sphere. We’ve spent hours with him in bookstores trying to get home to explore other types of fiction, but he’s not interested. I guess I shouldn’t be concerned – it’s better for him to be reading lots within one particular field than not reading at all.
In the science fiction/fantasy area, may I suggest anything by Christopher Stasheff, His most famous novel is “A Warlock inspite of Himself.”
Granted, I found him as an adult, but have lapped him up.
Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley” is good also.
Never really “got” fantasy or sci-fi outside of LOTR or the Redwall books. I tended to prefer crime fiction, or action adventure books- CS Forester’s “Hornblower” series or Patrick O’Brian’s “Master and Commander” were (are) particular favourites. I also devoured the slightly old-fashioned but still exciting “Biggles” series by W.E. Johns- flying Spitfires against the Nazis with a team of friends seemed infinitely better than my rather dull life!!
Our son never read books until high school when he discovered “Animorphs.” A series about kids who morph into animals and do superhuman acts. He’d stay up half the night reading them.
Wow. Great list. I’d also look for mythology. Roman, Greek, and Norse. My boys liked just about everything previously listed here plus mythology. There’s plenty of good ones out there, but one author that comes to mind is Padraic Colum.
Well, going by the 12-15 year old boys in our school, the Darren Shan books – the Cirque du Freak series (vampires) and the current Demonata series – will be eaten up with a spoon
I haven’t read them myself, so I have no idea of their literary merits, but neither have I read the “Twilight” books, and if it comes down to vampires, I want the old-fashioned evil bloodsuckers (I’m of the Professor Abraham van Helsing School Of Vampire Diplomacy) not sparkly emo-stalkers.
Also, anything with sports/cars/motorcycles/sharp pointy implements
Will-
“CS Forester’s “Hornblower” series”
I was hoping someone would mention that.
My wife is gobbling up the historical novels of Avi lately. They’re intended for a YA audience. Her favorites are “To the Western Sea” and its sequel “Beyond the Western Sea,” following a pair of Irish immigrants during the potato famine.
A few of my childhood favorites are: “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “The Mysterious Island” by Verne.
“King Solomon’s Mine’s” by H. Rider Haggard
“I Robot” by Isaac Asimov
Our son (16 last month) has read Narnia and all the Potter books. He’s read some of the Potter books more than once. He likes fantasy books like “Eragon.” I’d also suggest some historical novels like “The Killer Angels” & “Gods & Generals” for those interested in history.
If you’re contemplating offering “Beowulf” as reading material, look for the Seamus Heaney translation. It’s excellent, and readable.
Gary Paulson has written a number of books that will appeal to the outdoor lovers, Hatchet being his most popular I think.
Also check the award lists. My students, boys included, read a lot off Missouri’s Gateway nominees.
I’d like to enthusiastically second the person who suggested the Patrick O’Brien books. All of them. “Master and Commander” is good, but try “H.M.S. Surprise” and “The Commodore” on for size. Full of historical detail, and great characterizations of, well, of men. Also full of action and adventure…
I don’t believe anyone’s mentioned Neil Gaiman. I’d certainly recommend him–some of the boys will have to be a little older, say with American Gods, but Coraline, Stardust, etc. may be more accessible.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby in highschool; Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet and (though I wasn’t really ready for it) The Screwtape Letters were great–of course Narnia, if they won’t blow them off as children’s literature; Tolkien is a definite: LOTR and The Hobbit; Agatha Christie; some boys will really get into Lewis Carroll; The Outsiders was mentioned above (more for middle schoolers), and I second that; if you can make you class watch the A&E Pride and Prejudice miniseries, *even the boys* will want to read the novel after that. That sounds crazy, but it’s true. Mark Twain may be a good choice as well.
And of course Harry Potter. That series just draws the reader in, and I think it has the power to totally reverse a young person’s views on reading.
Oh–and “The Mote in God’s Eye” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Absolutely fantastic.
I may have been the only male 14-year-old who admitted to reading “A Wrinkle in Time” when it was offered up in class thanks to the cover (the one with the Centaur on the front filled with flowers and a rainbow). But I did end up convincing a few others to follow suit. Still one of my favorites.
About 5 years younger and I was reading every Encyclopedia Brown book I could find. About 3 years later I was reading my father’s Patrick F. McManus books and every book on shortwave and radio history I could find. I realized that when everyone else was reading novels, I was reading manuals. To each their own.
Ender’s Game series is a good one.
Anything by Nancy Farmer, but most especially “House of the Scorpion.” My son (17) still thinks it’s the best book he’s ever read.
Jack London’s _The Call of the Wild_ and _White Fang_ are great for this age group.
You mentioned the John Carter series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but what about his Tarzan and Pellucidar series?
Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series has many fans.
Brian Jacques’ Redwall series would be appreciated by the younger end of the spectrum.
I greatly enjoyed the books of Martin Caidin as a teen, especially his Steve Austin (The $6 Million Man) series.
Through extremely dark, Michael Moorcock’s Elric series are great sword and sorcery epics that read quickly.
There’s always the Conan the Barbarian books, too.
Any of Ray Bradbury’s books would be good reading for a young man.
I read a lot of Vonnegut as a teen, but some may question his content.
I like a lot of Harlan Coben’s thrillers. These are especially good because (apart from his first couple books) he avoids vulgarities.
Others:
_1984_ by Orwell
_Eragon_ by Paolini
_A Wrinkle in Time_ by Engel
_The Phantom Tollbooth_ by Juster
_Big Fish_ by Wallace
_Watership Down_ by Adams
_Into Thin Air_ by Krakauer
_Flowers for Algernon_ by Keyes
_The Diary of Anne Frank_
_The Cay_ by Taylor
_October Sky_ by Hickam
_Lord of the Flies_ by Golding
_To Kill a Mockingbird_ by Lee
_1776_ by McCullough
_Pilgrim at Tinker Creek_ by Dillard
_The Princess Bride_ by Goldman
_Travels with Charley_ by Steinbeck
_The Chosen_ by Potok
_Les Miserables_ by Hugo
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Adams
The Maus series by Spiegelman
The Wizard of Earthsea series by LeGuin
The Door Within series by Batson
There’s always the Newbery Award winners and honor books (http://tinyurl.com/6cr7xy).
I hope this helps!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny. Fantasy. About one true world and all the rest are but shadows. Start out with Nine Princes in Amber, the first in the series and there are 10 books. Great fun.
There’s a book called the Great Book of Amber that I found recently (took me back to when I was about 13) for 4.99 on the bargain rack at Borders.
Princes, princesses, magic, swords, guns… Books were published between 1970 and 1991. 2 main characters (one for each of 5 books – the Corwin series and the Merlin series) First person, if I remember right.
History:
Conn Iggulden (known more famously for “The Dangerous Book for Boys”) has a pretty good trilogy on Genghis Kahn. He also has one on Julius Caesar, but I haven’t read it.
Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy (French Revolution)
Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs, from Communism to al-Qaeda by Robert Wallace & H. Keith Melton
Flames of Rome and Pontius Pilate (early church), by Paul Maier
Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power, by Victor Davis Hanson
Mystery:
The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins
The Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux (inspired several of the more well known mystery writers)
Father Brown, by Chesterton
Arsene Lupin stories (French rival/contemporary of Sherlock Holmes), by Maurice Leblanc
Agatha Christie
Dorothy Sayers
Adventure:
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (one of my all time favorites)
Allan Quatermain and King Soloman’s Mines, by H. Rider Haggard
The Hidden Treasure of Glaston, by Eleanore Jewett
Men of Iron, by Howard Pyle
The Prisoner of Zenda, Anthony Hope
And of course, classics like Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, P.G. Wodehouse, George McDonald, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Frydor Dostoevsky, Alexandre Dumas, Isaac Asimov
Check out this website by a public school librarian with your concern.
http://gettingboystoread.com/
I’d recommend anything by Jerry Pournelle, especially his series about John Falkenberg. I bought a copy of this for my iPhone and have read it through twice already.
Several years ago, I bought a copy of “Eragon” for a local middle school and took it to a reading a few days later. I chose the passage where Aragon rescues Arya and read it to a couple of English classes that day. The librarian told me later that she couldn’t keep the book on the shelf; even the eighth-grade boys were checking it out faster than she could re-shelve it.
Several of my divinity school buddies were concerned about me when I told them I read Harry Potter during the breaks to decompress. I explained that Rowling wrote about a world in which you find a clear distinction between good and evil, complete with the lesson that either choice bears consequences. Boys need that lesson.
What got me into reading (around 5th grade) was when I read Terry Brooks’ novelization of the first Batman movie that starred Michael Keaton. It had been my favorite movie for a couple of years. It was a several hundred pages long and I zoomed through it over the course of a weekend. Totally suprised me.
After that, it was some Star Wars novels, more movie tie-ins and that sort of thing. The point is that in Jr. High books were all about tying into other stuff I liked. The SciFi/Fantasy section of a bookstore or library is full of that kind of thing.
I also loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books, but that was more in Elementary School than Jr. High.