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.)
world war z – one of the best zombie novels out there
I read Louis L’amour. My Grandfather gave me Hondo as kid and I could not put it down as with any Louis L’amour book.
My favorite fantasy science fiction is Hawksbill Station by Robert Silverberg. My favorite fantasy series is The Darksword Trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
Nothing but the Bible–King James Version, 1611–enough of this other nonsense presented here!
I enjoyed anything by H.G. Wells at that age.
I second the Percy Jackson books…my struggling reader LOVES them. We have even read quite a bit of Greek mythology because of them…we are also getting into the Norse mythology from that too.
So far these are the only non manga books he will read on his own.
seconding Neil Gaiman, the Harry Potter series, and pretty much everything else that has been mentioned.
There are a lot of lists put out by librarians online on this topic – so If I get a chance I’ll find some of the links and post them…
The thing I think is sad is that IN GENERAL – most girls read the “guy books” (Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain were two of my favorite books in childhood), but not vice versa – even the ones that aren’t entirely romances (cause I understand why the boys wouldn’t want to read those)…
OH! And have you all heard about the Vatican thinking Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is actually a good film?
I didn’t read all the comments above, so these might have been covered already:
1) Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series
2) John Christopher’s books, esp. The Tripods trilogy (The White Mountains etc.) and The Prince in Waiting trilogy.
3) Agatha Christie mysteries – very little violence or sex, unlike contemporary mystery novels, and lots of clever plot twists. My favorites are And Then There Were None, and The Murder of Roger Akroyd.
Jack London’s books, Sea Wolf and Call of the Wild were some of my favorites.
Treasure Island
Anything by Llyod Alexander – Chronicles of Prydain, especially.
Absolutely must recommend the Wingfeather saga by Andrew Peterson. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is 1st class fiction.
I second the Redwall books by Brian Jacques; also the Dave Barry/Ridley Scott Peter & the Starcatchers series.
Anything by Roald Dahl, esp. “Danny, the Champion of the World” (also, check out his autobiographical “Going solo”-about his years during the War as a flying ace)
The Twenty-One Balloons, by Wm. Pene du Bois.
Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls
Penrod, His Complete Story, by Booth Tarkington (a SUPER high diction level, but hilarious)
The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare
The Far Flung Adventures series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddle
The Chocolate War, After the First Death, and I am the Cheese are great books by Robert Cormier.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. The best book ever for boys.
My fifth grade teacher spent a half-hour a day reading to the class some of the great books she knew most of us would never read on our own. We were too old for a nap but not too old to listen to a well read story. She also gifted to each of us a inexpensive paperback copy of those stories. Thanks to her efforts reading has become a life-long delight.
Two of the books she read to the class were Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and Wilson Rawls’ Where the Red Fern Grows. I still have both of those well-worn books.
The Sugar Creek Gang books by Paul Hutchens cost my younger self many hours of sleep as I read into the night. The Hardy Boys with their scary late-night escapades were always a pleasure. Madeleine L’Engle wrote A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet to allow to follow the advetures of her enchanting characters.
Later I discovered The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These became an annual read over the next decade of life. The Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series was also fun to read.
My two children have enjoyed reading the Chonicles of Narnia as a family. We always read the book before we watch the movie!
My son and I have read the The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at bed time. The only problem is I have to stop reading when he falls asleep.
When I was in middle school, I loved John Bellairs’ horror novels, which are the exact sorts of novels that would horrify the people that run you school. I also liked Robert Louis Stevenson a lot, but that’s not contemporary. OTOH, if middle school boys don’t want tales glorifying the lives of pirates and thieves, I believe there is something wrong with them.
James Herriot. But be prepared to start saving for Veternary College…
And for any boy aged 10 to, well, aged, read Biggles (by Capt WE Johns). Or for hilarity, read the Willaim books (Richmal Crompton) or Jennings (Anthony Buckeridge).
Others – more classic, other than those not mentioned above:
Tom Brown’s Schooldays
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Many of John Buchan’s works, especially: The 39 Steps, The Island of Sheep, Greenmantle, Mr Standfat, Sick Heart River.
And every boy must read Treasure Island, but Kidnapped and Ivanhoe.
Good manga and comics.
Stephen King is pretty accessible. Try “Night Shift” (short stories), “Carrie”, “The Shining”, “The Dead Zone”, “Misery”, “Different Seasons” (4 novellas), book one of “The Dark Tower”, selected passages from “It.” When they’re hooked you can give them his nonfiction books “On Writing” or “Danse Macabre” (a history of horror–and by the way, he recommends “Jude the Obscure” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” as examples of excellent fiction writing.)
Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury are on easy enough for students that age. Robert Heinlein and Phillip K. Dick are a mixed bag and can get very radical and trippy. “Dune” is difficult but good, so more power to them if they can navigate it. (I disagree with the poster who called it anti-Christian, but I suppose he means that Christianity does not exist in that very far future, except perhaps as part of the syncretic “Orange Catholic Bible.”) One very educational possibility is alternate history novels–and there is a series of young adult ones by S.M. Stirling.
Don’t write off comic books. DC publishes “Fables” (Snow White etc. come to our world as refugees from a war) and “Y: The Last Man” (a mysterious plague kills all males–you know, with a Y chromosome–but one). And then there’s “Persepolis” (autobiography of an Iranian woman) and “Pride of Baghdad” (fable involving lions who escape from an Iraqi zoo during the U.S. bombings). Christians may be allergic to “Testament” (a trippy look at biblical themes being re-enacted in the near future; the author is Jewish) and Deepak Chopra’s retelling of the Ramayana. And “Maus” of course.
When my brother was in middle/high school, he read a lot of Michael Crichton books, and I did too. Not high literature, but good, engaging reads.
Any of Dumas’ works, but especially The Three Musketeers.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman – a chilling book of survival in dystopian world.
The Dead & the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Percy Jackson series, which many have mentioned.
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen for middle schoolers
Anything by Jerry Spinelli (Maniac Magee, Loser, Crash…)
Robin McKinley’s fantasy, some anyway, like The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – for high school
I loved Tolkien and C.S. Lewis – especially the Space Trilogy series. Where the Narnia series is more suitable for younger kids, I think the Space Trilogy is especially appealing to tween and teen boys. Though even our university’s international studies office suggested Out of the Silent Planet as a book for international students to understand how people from two different cultures can meet.
Count of Monte Cristo and Ender’s Game were also boyhood favorites of mine.
I tried reading SF growing up, but couldn’t get into it–had to create not just the characters, but the whole world in your imagination–too much work. Struggled w/reading until I read The Bourne Identity (pre M. Damon) Couldn’t get enough of the genre. All about individualism, doing the right thing, expect the unexpected….Loved it. Any Ludlum is a good read.
Also
David Morrell (the guy that gave us Rambo–but he’s only credited with writing First Blood)
Matthew Reilly is also easy read–mindless bang bang fun
Vince Flynn/Brad Thor books – more political
Jon Land They all read like movies. Great way to get kids to read.
Christian author Robert Liparulo is also in that genre.
A classic in that genre? Count of Monte Cristo
Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island also.
The Biblical versions of the genre?
1. Ehud the Left-Handed Man! (the Book’s first ninja assassin!)
2. Joshua and the Spies
I’ll second Brian in BC on “Chickenhawk”, best combat account I ever read.
Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pit novels (”Raise the Titanic”, “Sahara”, “Flood Tide”, etc.) Quick reads and fun.
Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood”. Some of the most fluid, easy to read writing ever.
Erich Maria Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”. An excellent way for young boys to learn that war is not anything like playing “Call of Duty”.
Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451″.
Christian writes fantasy books about Viking adventures.
Just came across these blogs and websites about Lars Walker:
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-novel-from-lars-walker.html
http://nordskogpublishing.com/book-west_oversea.shtml http://www.larswalker.com/
I hope to check out one of his books soon.
Buckley,
I’m curious what manga you would recommend. I don’t read a lot of manga directed toward boys (shounen). The only one I could think of that is licensed is Beck. It follows a group of high schoolers as the form a band and try to get picked up by the record companies. I haven’t finished it, but it’s a fairly solid storyline.
I think it depends on the boy. I don’t see myself as growing up in an advanced environment. I went to a small, poorly funded, Mennonite school where the library was in the math room and one of the math teachers was the librarian.
I walked into the library one day and “out of the blue” Mr. Miller, the Math teacher said “I think you’d like this book” and pulled Leon Uris’ “Exodus” off the shelf.
I thought it looked interesting and so I took it home and read it, and it sparked my love for history and so you could say it changed my life.
Raise the Titanic was excellent. Just don’t let your kid watch the movie. Nothing morally wrong with it (from what I remember… it just sucked.)
As a librarian at a small public library I am often asked to recommend books for middle school/high school boys. For boys in middle school I recommend Jeff Smith’s Bone series of graphic novels. It is eight volumes so if they like the first they have more to read.
I also recommend Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series.
There are some great suggestions in this thread!
Some that worked both for me, and for my son, that haven’t featured yet:
- Rosemary Sutcliffe’s Eagle of the Ninth series is both compelling story telling and beautiful writing (covers the half-millennium period of Roman Britain).
- Robert Heinlein’s youth sci-fi was a firm favourite, and probably topping the list was Citizen of the Galaxy; sci-fi can date, but this seems to keep working for some reason.
One thing that helped enormously in our home was reading aloudto the kids from a young age. They loved it, I loved it. Eventually, they took over the books to read for themselves.
everybody, what is up with all of these non-fiction books?
What about Stephen Ambrose’s “Band of Brothers” or Galloway and Moore’s “We Were Soldiers Once…And Young”?
Also Marcus Luttrell’s book “Lone Survivor”. I have had a number of students read it for my 11th grade U.S. History class and everyone who has read it has loved it.
“Survivor” is an amazing story about a team of SEALs in Afghanistan, and it’s all true of course. I couldn’t put the book down.
Right now I am reading “Not a Good Day to Die” by Naylor about operation Anaconda, again in Afghanistan.
Also, don’t forget about “Black Hawk Down” by Bowden and “Ghost Soldiers” by Hampton Sides (I think) they made “Ghost Soldiers” into the movie “the Great Raid” a good movie, but the book is better.
Blake – “Left Behind”?? Shudder…
In high school I was assigned and gobbled up “Les Miserables.”
I think Erik Larsen’s books “The Devil in The White City” and “Thunderstruck” would be entertaining and informative for that age group – full of the gory details of crime they see on CSI but also filled with history, innovation, and beauty.
Also, I have never been a scifi geek (I use the term affectionately) but I still greatly enjoyed “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy” as a middle/high schooler.
I never said I recommended Left Behind or any of the books I listed. I just read them. I generally hated reading Steinbeck, Dickens and London though London’s “The Iron Heel” is one of my all time favorite books (I have a fondness for dystopian fiction).
I was gratified to see Artemis Fowl mentioned in the very first comment. That’s a series that has received far too little attention, but is outstanding.
I got a review copy of a book called Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass by Erica Kirov. It’s the first book of a series, and it looks pretty good. My review is at http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-magickeepers-the-eternal-hourglass/
They still make the Hardy Boys books, so those would certainly be on my list. The Narnia books also have to be on the list. I noticed someone mentioned Lawhead’s Pendragon books, which would be a good recommendation for older middle-schoolers.
Rick- I was thinking Hornblower too- I read most of them when I was in Jr High and I’m a girl
I don’t think Madeline L’Engle’s “Wrinkle in Time” series has been mentioned.
One alternative in a classroom situation is for the teacher (or a student who can do it well) to read aloud for a few minutes every day. That would be a great way to do a book like “Count of Monte Cristo” or others where the vocabulary might be a bit advanced. Most kids enjoy being read to, even through middle school age. An added benefit is that it can improve their concentration (if they actually choose to concentrate…).
Dana
Louis Sachar: Holes
Dr. Seuss
Calvin and Hobbes (I know, I know, but it’s still good for boys!)
Cey
My wife is a children’s librarian. She finds that boys, particularly pre-high school boys can often be persuaded to read non-fiction before fiction.
Hey man, I’m only 25 and I grew up on the hardy boys! They are contemporary enough imo. I enjoyed them because they are mystery and I will provide them for my boys when I have them as well. I don’t think they go out of style. I think parents passing that sort of thing on has disappeared. I don’t blame the lack of good literature available for boys not reading these days. It’s easy to get distracted with tons of various forms of media, but with a little discipline I believe (from absolutely NO experience, fwiw) that boys can be influenced to enjoy reading. But they aren’t going to get that influence on the computer or TV.
A key point is: who is recommending a book. It has to be someone that the boy looks up to. This may not be a teacher or church person, and certainly not a parent.
I’ll just think back to the books I read in high school that stood out to me most.
9th:
1984 by Orwell
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Lord of the Flies by Golding
Plato’s Republic (I read about half of this, it was extra credit. I re-read it about a year ago)
10th:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas
Jane Eyre
Great Expectations by Dickens
Macbeth
11th:
The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Stowe
The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne
Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
12th:
Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie
Kokoro by Natsume Soseki
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor
Hamlet (we read this twice!)
These were all assigned except for the O’Conner. I graduated in 2004 and had no trouble recalling these as my favorites. I love to read, and my results might not be indicative of HS boys as a whole! I just loved these books.
Canfield Cook’s Lucky Terrell Flying Stories consisted of eight volumes published by Grosset & Dunlap from 1942 through 1946. Volumes #1-7 were issued in white spine dust jackets and volume #8 had a wrap-around illustrated dust jacket. I couldn’t put them down, and read them over and over under the covers with a flashlight.
For some adventure:
Red Storm Rising
Ice Station Zebra (book not movie)
Jurassic Park (book not movie)
Andromeda Strain (book not movie)
The Sun Also Rises (for the older boys)
I think that our education system has completely failed both boys and girls when it comes to reading. I loved reading as a kid. I probably read a novel ever week. But I generally despised the books we read in school. Of all the crappy books they made us read in high school, the only ones that I remember with any fondness were “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Candide.” And I didn’t like TKAM until about half way through.
And yes, as a guy, I was very frustrated that we read a bunch of girly books. I remember the pains of reading “Anne of Green Gables” in the fifth grade. And we wonder why boys don’t want to read books. To borrow a line from St Paul: “why didn’t they go the whole way and emasculate us?”
I still love reading. Ironically, my wife was in an advanced literature class in middle school where she read many classics, but the experience turned her very sour on reading. She pretty much hates books now. Of course, grad school didn’t help her either.
What I don’t understand is: why all the focus on the ‘classics’? Why don’t English teachers teach lessons on the books kids are already reading? Yes, some classics should be taught, but let’s face it, 90% of the classics are an acquired taste, and you only acquire the taste if you want to. Most kids don’t want to. Besides what’s more practical: teaching kids to analyze the books they are already reading, or teaching them to analyze the books they will not ever read?
My love of reading has been a great asset, but I am incredibly frustrated that school did very little to nurture it, and a lot to destroy it. (The main thing school did to nurture it was provide libraries with helpful librarians).
Why don’t we build English literature programs around nurturing a love of reading, instead of focusing on the classics?
I’m not knocking the classics. But I think that it would be far easier to tackle the classics after nurturing a love of reading, than before it. I hated Shakespeare in HS, but loved him in college. Why do we expect teenage boys and girls to love Shakespeare? Why not wait until college to teach the classics?
For a lot of boys I’d recommend the Ender’s Game series. It was awesome. Also “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtenay. “The Once and Future King” by TH White is also excellent on many many levels.
I have a book discussion time at Starbucks every Sat. morning for the past two years with my kids (whoever is in town as some are at college now). I was always reading heavy things, like Plato, Augustine plus others. My boys were always reading the classic novels.
One morning I made the comment to son # 4 about son # 3, “I don’t know if I understand Tyler (son # 3)anymore.”
Son # 4 says, “If you want to understand Tyler, you must read The Catcher in the Rye.”
That morning I looked up the top 100 novels (which my sons have read on their own volition).
I started with Catcher, and by my son’s encouragement, I’ve now read about 10 of the top 100 . . . oddly for the first time.
So that’s what my sons read and I am so thankful to them for turning me onto the classics.
Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series (English soldier in the era of the Napoleonic Wars)are good reads for high school kids–and pretty good history. He is also writing a Saxon series set in the era of Alfred the Great, whose narrator is a Saxon boy captured by Vikings.
I agree with Jonathan. The classics that are taught should not be taught because they are “classics” but because they are great to read. For example, Mark Twain can be a blast to read. Jonathan’s premise to focus a program around what kids will enjoy reading is something in which I believe strongly as a language teacher. I use manga/graphic novels freely and frequently, because I can expose students to a vast amount of language this way. Manga can also let me keep students keenly interested in critical discussions about plot, characters, etc. English teachers should be much more pleased to have an objective like “Students will leave this class having enjoyed reading…” than “Students will leave this class understanding the greatest novels are…” Also, using enjoyable reading material (even comic books…) will lead kids to write interesting and engaged essays. It really opens up writing to some kids. Anyway, I am a huge believer that the classroom experience must be filled with space for the kids to pursue their own passions in reading and writing, and for enjoyment. (Sorry to be off topic)
On the topic of good manga and comics I can’t help throwing out a few titles:
Historical manga/comics
Art Spiegelmann, Maus
Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis
Keiji Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen
Frank Miller, 300
These are all heavy books about a Jewish man surviving a Nazi camp (Maus); a woman coming of age in Iran after the fall of the shah (Persepolis, also adapted into an effective movie recently); and a survivor’s semi-autobiographical account of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (Gen). If boys are going to be reading comics and manga you can at least suggest some comics that deal with important historical events. Miller’s work is breezier and much less historically accurate but I’m pretty sure a bunch of boys have read the comic book already on account of the movie. That’s throwing a bone to a comic I’m sure teenage boys are going to be reading anyway.
Hayao Miyazaki is better known for his films but his manage manga Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is amazing and it is a good alternative for a teenage boy who would enjoy the philosophy and fantastical world of Dune but may not have the attention span for it. Miyazaki’s manga is a much better, more ambitious, and thought-provoking story than his anime by the same name.
Despite being a terrible movie Alan Moore’s comic book Watchmen has been a classic, if often over-rated comic book. Ditto for Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight, which might explain to at least some parents what might be the overly serious take Christopher Nolan took on Batman.
I’m 26 and love reading. When I was in middle/high school, as well as know, I read non-fiction because it interested me, and sci-fi/fantasy to unwind. The first real book I ever read cover to cover was a description of the naval technology and sea battles of the War of 1812.
A few good books that I can think of:
A Wrinkle in Time – L’Engle
Eragon – Paolini
Honor Harrington series – Weber
-Good for kids who enjoy military strategy and Command and Conquer type video games
Brave Men Run – Matthew Wayne Selznick
-Originally a Podiobook on podiobooks.com, now available also in paperback. It’s excellent.
Harry Potter – Rowling
-This is how two of my brother-in-laws started reading, they wanted more than the chapter-per-night that their big sister (now my wife) was reading them, so they started reading ahead and haven’t stopped. Nine years later they are still avid readers, and still re-read the Harry Potter series about once a year.
J.R.R. Tolkien is great, but by all means start the kid on the Hobbit and hold off on LOTR. The Hobbit is fun, fast paced, easy reading. LOTR is excellent, but takes 200 pages to really get moving, that’s enough to discourage most inexperienced readers.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has always been a personal favorite of mine, but the kid has to have the right (slightly unbalanced) sense of humor, or it just seems like a silly book.
The book that stands out to my most from my early reading days was assigned reading in 9th grade. A Separate Peace by John Knowles. It’s a coming-of-age novel set in a boarding school during the very end of World War II. It made such an impact on me that I still re-read it regularly, and 12 years after the assignment I named by first son (now 2 months old) Phineas, in homage to one of the two main characters in the book.
“Oh–and “The Mote in God’s Eye” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Absolutely fantastic.”
And the sequel is even better.
““Dune” is difficult but good, so more power to them if they can navigate it. (I disagree with the poster who called it anti-Christian, but I suppose he means that Christianity does not exist in that very far future, except perhaps as part of the syncretic “Orange Catholic Bible.”)”
I liked Dune. It was the sequels I was dissing. Main character turned into a messianic / Oliver Cromwell (the dictator who ran England for a while) type of person. And many young readers thought it was really really deep and pined for a world where he ran things. But as I said, NOT the original of the series.
I was/am also a big fan of Heinlein. But some of his stuff was totally off the rails in terms of religion, incest as normal, etc… But other stuff of his is great. How to you explain to a youth?
I think Dune is an excellent book and we’ve been toying with the idea of introducing it to our 12 yo son. I’ve held off, though, because I really think that one needs a fairly decent understanding of the major tenets of all three Abrahamic religions in order to fully grasp what Herbert was writing about. He mixes stuff up quite a bit and it’s entertaining, but in order to really get it I think we’re going to hold off til he’s older.
And … you’re right about the sequels. I read many of them and eventually quit because they were so insipid compared to the original. There are only so many times you can be disappointed before you stop. Or rather quit while you’re ahead!
when i was a kid my favorite author was Roald Dahl
Ross,
I agree with you on Dune I think. It’s one of my all-time favorite novels. I re-read it every couple of years. Unfortunately, the sequels get progressively worse. I’ve read them all will never re-read most of them. However, of the Dune universe novels that have been written recently by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are somewhat better. I actually really enjoyed the Prelude to Dune trilogy (Dune: House Atreides, Dune: House Harkonnen, and Dune: House Corrino).
I just remembered one of my favorite books as a teenager. It completely blew me away: Walker Percy’s Lost in the Cosmos.
I think a lot of adolescents can relate to it.
I’d also recommend Larry Niven’s “Ringworld” books, and “Lucifer’s Hammer.”
Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff is a quick, fun read about the early years of the American space program.
The concept of the space guild navigators was my favorite part of Dune. I love the idea of a person deciding to spend the rest of his life in a tank inhaling spice gas until his body mutates into something resembling a manatee.
The Halo (on which the video game is based) books are popular amongst the teenage boys I work with, none of whom would read otherwise.