Night Elf Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Is there any hope for my son, age 17, to start enjoying books for pleasure? He'll read assigned material but he never gets into it. I've been trying to find some fun books, like light mystery comedies and sci fi books. I've asked him to give each book at least 4 chapters to really understand the book before he decides on whether or not to finish it. He doesn't finish books at all. I don't force him because this is about pleasure reading, not school reading. Both DH and I are readers and so was ds until about age 12/13. I know there are some people who just don't like to read for pleasure, but I wish my son wasn't one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Relax! The not-reading may be a phase -- just like trying to read through dinner was a phase. One possibility -- He may not like reading fiction. I still think it odd, but none of the males in my house voluntarily read fiction. They read biographies sometimes, but mostly they prefer non-fiction books about their favorite interest, whether it be wood-working or boat-building or a fascination with time-pieces. Another possibility -- he may be read out from school. My son became a total non-reader for several years in high school. Now that he is past that stage, I asked him why he became so book-allergic, and he said that he had to do so much reading for school that he didn't want to "waste" his free time doing it! Now that he no longer has to read for school, he has picked up reading for pleasure -- but it took a few book-free years for this to happen. The same sort of thing happened to me -- during my freshman year of college, I had to read about ~300 pages per week. I spent several non-reading years recovering from the experience! Out of curiosity, what is he doing with his free time? Is be building or designing or programming or .....? As long as he isn't spending heaps of time playing video games, I wouldn't worry about his not reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 My son is not a big reader. He'll read manga on his own and he'll read for school, no so much outside of school. For years we did assigned reading outside of school and in the last year I haven't. His reading for school has greatly increased and we still do read-alouds. At this point I'm stressing quality over quantity. What he'll do in the future, I don't know. He wanted to read Moby Dick, so we're reading and listening to Moby Dick. He wants to read Don Quixote - he read a retelling a few years ago and enjoyed it - so I plan on reading that his senior year. We like to linger in books and I still feel like I'm walking that fine line of building a love of reading. We don't do extreme analysis of any book, yet we take longer to read. I spend a lot of time deciding what to choose for literature. I also like ice cream, so I liken it to that. He may not eat a lot, but I'm trying to expose him to Hasgen-Daz and teach him how to enjoy what he chooses. Another thing I do is try to buy his own copy of each book we read, so he'll have a library starter of his own. He's very particular about condition and the style of each book. We've had just as many conversation about the covers, paper, and packaging of books as well. He loves those deckled edges on books, so do I. He took a practice ACT this week with no studying, and his reading score was the highest, so I know he's understanding. I do worry about his reading habits in the future. Yet I hope I'm building some sort of foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Relax! The not-reading may be a phase -- just like trying to read through dinner was a phase. One possibility -- He may not like reading fiction. I still think it odd, but none of the males in my house voluntarily read fiction. They read biographies sometimes, but mostly they prefer non-fiction books about their favorite interest, whether it be wood-working or boat-building or a fascination with time-pieces. Another possibility -- he may be read out from school. My son became a total non-reader for several years in high school. Now that he is past that stage, I asked him why he became so book-allergic, and he said that he had to do so much reading for school that he didn't want to "waste" his free time doing it! Now that he no longer has to read for school, he has picked up reading for pleasure -- but it took a few book-free years for this to happen. The same sort of thing happened to me -- during my freshman year of college, I had to read about ~300 pages per week. I spent several non-reading years recovering from the experience! Out of curiosity, what is he doing with his free time? Is be building or designing or programming or .....? As long as he isn't spending heaps of time playing video games, I wouldn't worry about his not reading! His problem is he doesn't have many interests. He doesn't play many video games anymore. He does, however, still read video game forums. He's interested in PC games that others are creating. He tells me he reads all kinds of stuff though. He'll come to DH and me to talk about things he's read, usually politically related. He just doesn't want to commit to a larger piece of work like a book. I asked him about various magazines to get him some subscriptions, but nothing appealed to him. He feels bored and doesn't know what to do with himself. He'd rather sit and think than watch tv or read. We've tried to find some interests for him, but he turns them all down. He's not interested in programming. We've been playing more board games. I've purchased some cooperative games that take over an hour to play that provide some strategy skills. He does one puzzle a week, 550 to 750 pieces, but he puts them together so quickly. I should buy a few more puzzles. He keeps working on the same ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Since your son enjoys working on puzzles, you might consider having him listen to an audio book while he does so. My library has a good collection of books on CD; perhaps your library does, too. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 My ds15 doesn't enjoy reading either. He tells me that he is always waiting to be done with it..even when he likes the book. However, he listens to audiobooks every night and looks forward to it. He told me the other day he couldn't wait to go to bed so he could listen to his book. It's not how I prefer it, but I'm making the best of it. If him hearing solid literature is the way I get it in him, then I'll take it. I know he can read well because he reads aloud during writing so we're okay there. Im hoping that one day a book will grab him and he won't be able to put it down. Until then, audiobooks are going to have to be good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 We've tried to find some interests for him, but he turns them all down. He's not interested in programming. We've been playing more board games. I've purchased some cooperative games that take over an hour to play that provide some strategy skills. He does one puzzle a week, 550 to 750 pieces, but he puts them together so quickly. I should buy a few more puzzles. He keeps working on the same ones. Check out Puzzle Warehouse. They have a great selection of 1000, 1500, 2000 and more piece puzzles. Some of the higher count puzzles may seem a little pricey but when you consider how long they take to put together it is worth the investment. I like to BBC Radio programs or audio books when putting them together. Once I've finished this one (all that brown is tricky), I'll be doing this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 He does one puzzle a week, 550 to 750 pieces, but he puts them together so quickly. I should buy a few more puzzles. He keeps working on the same ones. Do you have thrift stores nearby? The ones near us often have a large selection of jigsaw puzzles. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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