It always amuses me - the great debate over 'The Decline of the Novel'. What 'they' mean is the snobby "literature" version that hardly anyone buys, rather than the popular mass-market paperback that sells in the millions. AKA elitist nonsense... Annoying, pointless and counter-productive. First get people to read - anything. Then get them to read 'better' novels - however you might define such a thing [an interesting debate in itself!]. But I think reading popular novels is MUCH better than reading nothing at all....
Awwww! I agree whole-heartedly with just getting people to read - especially kids. I've had parents at PT conferences say their kids only read comics, if anything at all. I try to explain, as gently as possible, that comics are most certainly still coutning as reading. I usually suggest some graphic novels because it helps the parents feel like it is a little more substantial. Forcing kids to read something they're not interested in will only make them hate reading.
I've known people who were forced to read. It NEVER goes well. When someone says that they'd like to read more - but don't know WHAT to read I always ask them what TV or movies they like. Then give 5them some ideas of what to read. Once they get involved & invested the rest is pretty automatic - as one book tens to always lead to another (in my world anyway).
5 comments:
This always presents shelving problems....we have some classics upstairs in the 800s (Dewey Decimal - literature) and some downstairs in fiction!
It always amuses me - the great debate over 'The Decline of the Novel'. What 'they' mean is the snobby "literature" version that hardly anyone buys, rather than the popular mass-market paperback that sells in the millions. AKA elitist nonsense... Annoying, pointless and counter-productive. First get people to read - anything. Then get them to read 'better' novels - however you might define such a thing [an interesting debate in itself!]. But I think reading popular novels is MUCH better than reading nothing at all....
:)
Awwww! I agree whole-heartedly with just getting people to read - especially kids. I've had parents at PT conferences say their kids only read comics, if anything at all. I try to explain, as gently as possible, that comics are most certainly still coutning as reading. I usually suggest some graphic novels because it helps the parents feel like it is a little more substantial. Forcing kids to read something they're not interested in will only make them hate reading.
I've known people who were forced to read. It NEVER goes well. When someone says that they'd like to read more - but don't know WHAT to read I always ask them what TV or movies they like. Then give 5them some ideas of what to read. Once they get involved & invested the rest is pretty automatic - as one book tens to always lead to another (in my world anyway).
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