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Mark Bourrie's avatar

When was the last time you saw a movie or TV show with man or boy with a book, where the man/boy was not portrayed as a dork or a psycho?

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Warren's avatar

Self referential commentary is always the best commentary.

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Warren's avatar

Self referential commentary is always the best commentary.

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Richard McCallum's avatar

I have no data or insights about this, but I can share my male friends' reading habits:

Retired engineer, 81 - doesn't read books

Tech businessman, 52 - been reading one long novel (Michener) for the last year

Retired fireman, 65 - only reads news on his phone

Optometrist, 61 - occasionally reads graphic or YA novels

College librarian, 64 - regular reader but only NF (history, politics)

Retired banker, 77 - reads a couple of spy novels a year

Retired lawyer, 73 - regular reads a variety of non-fiction

And finally, my golfing buddy, a retired English literature professor, age 72, who has not read a book in the last five years. Pretty dismal showing, for a sample of older, university-educated men.

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John Delacourt's avatar

The piece I've linked to below has been shared and discussed by a few of the writers I know who've managed to hang on to teaching gigs in the dwindling number of postsecondary institutions that have decent budgets for the humanities: https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-average-college-student-is-illiterate?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fcrisis%20college%20reading&utm_medium=reader2 . It's been shared because it's largely reflective of their experience teaching now. Even in these programs where they're teaching or "instructing," there are far fewer young men than say, 10 or 20 years ago. To be skeptical of the data on men reading is fair, I suppose, but it also risks missing the larger issue, which seems pretty glaring to anyone trying to teach history, literature or basic economics now.

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Richard McCallum's avatar

Thanks for the link, but I really wish I hadn't read that article.

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Brian Slattery's avatar

There's an interesting recent piece in the Guardian, which points out that fewer books directed at boys are being published, which in turn means fewer boys are reading books, which in turn means that publishers are increasingly reluctant to publish books for such a small market. I know from personal experience that it's virtually impossible for a boy-oriented book to attract an agent or a publisher and thank my lucky stars that Bev Brenna at Red Deer Books was willing to take flyer on my recent action/adventure novel, Escape to Ponti, which was nominated for a Red Maple Award this year. Here is the piece: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jun/23/one-kid-at-a-time-how-childrens-books-on-male-friendship-could-combat-toxic-masculinity?CMP=share_btn_url

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John Corcelli's avatar

My wife reads mysteries and recently finished Peter Robinson's complete output. She's now on to Tara French and loves her work. I read fiction as a creative break from non-fiction, my chosen genre as a writer and student of history. Those creative breaks usually include American novelists such as John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut, or Raymond Chandler. I read Non-fiction books, particularly about 20th Century history, that interest me.

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