Tales of a (Formerly) Reluctant Reader: I Have Opinions

Typically, this feature is reserved for my formerly reluctant reader son, John-John, to discuss books that he’s read recently. Specifically, books that he believes will appeal to reluctant readers. Instead, I’m turning over the blog today to John-John so he can discuss some issues he’s been having with books and the opinions he’s aching to share.  So, without further ado….

Hi everyone! Today I’m not here to talk to you about a book but instead I wanted to talk about some issues I’m having with books. My mom calls me a formerly reluctant reader because I used to hate to read. Now I really like it, but I’m getting frustrated. My favorite books have always been non-fiction. I like to learn about things, especially space, history, military and more. I’m trying to read more fiction (my mom says it will open up a whole new world for me) but I’m having challenges finding fiction that interest me.  See, I like fiction that is based on “real” things. I loved the Percy Jackson series and the Kane Chronicles and The Heroes of Olympus books.  Now what? It seems to me that not nearly as many books are geared for boys, especially reluctant readers,  if you take a look at the books for girls. Not a lot of my friends that are guys read and maybe this is why? If people want boys to read more, write more books for us!

Another thing-I sort of get overwhelmed when I see a huge gigantic book on the shelf. Another way to attract kids who don’t like to read is by making books that are shorter, broken up either by pictures or comics. This is why I loved books like Frankie Pickle, Big Nate, and The Wimpy Kid. I didn’t feel like it was a challenge to read them because all of the writing was broken up.  Now those books are below my reading level but I return to them when I can’t find anything else to read.

Also, I love graphic novels. But you know what? Not a lot of graphic novels are available for kids my age.  The violence level is usually too high or there is too much foul language. I discovered the Star Wars Clone Wars graphic novels and love them but there should be more like those.

I was lucky enough to discover books published by Capstone Books, books that are written for kids like me. They are one of the few publishers out there that seem to “get” kids like me. They publish books in graphic novel format, books on subjects that interest me. Hello, Tony Hawk! They’ve got him! You would think that other publishers would do the same, but they don’t.

I guess the point of me writing this post was to ask publishers to write more books for boys like me. I’m not into sports and I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a bit of a nerd. So, publishers and authors out there, can you please write more books for nerds like me?

Thanks!

John-John