Walter Swain asked Werner A. Lind:

What would you recommend to get teenage boys interested in reading?

Werner A. Lind Hmmm! That's a very good and important question, because getting teens interested in reading is one of the more constructive things adults can do for them. And it's a good question to direct to a librarian, although some librarians are better able to answer it than I am. I was never a reluctant reader myself, having fallen in love with books at an early age; I don't read a lot of contemporary YA myself and my own tastes may be different from those of most teenage boys, and I haven't been involved much in working directly with reluctant readers. Then too (and this is true of any kind of reader's advisory work, not just with teen boys), the more you know about the individual reader's tastes and interests, the better you can advise. Each reader is an individual, not just a cookie-cutter embodiment of his/her demographic group. All of that said, though, I can brainstorm about some recommendations that might (or might not) be helpful.

My oldest grandson, who's 15, is quite a fan of manga. That particular type of graphic novel, and graphic novels in general, are popular with that demographic, and especially with reluctant readers; the combination of text with visual art can ease the reader into being more comfortable with text. It would be a good idea for the adult doing the recommending of a specific book to first check it out for bad language, excessive violence and unsuitable sexual content (which can be problem areas with some manga), and that's a good idea with any contemporary YA literature. (I don't have any personal familiarity with individual titles of this type, though.)

If the teen in question is interested in sports, autobiographies or biographies of sports figures may have an appeal. The Star Wars movie franchise is popular with that age group, so spin-off books may be a gateway to reading for teen fans. In fact, any type of book tailored to the particular interests of the teen reader you're trying to encourage would be worth trying.

As a kid, I was fond of the Hardy Boys mysteries. They're primarily written for pre-teens; but if your teen is a reluctant reader, a vocabulary level that's a bit less challenging than his theoretical grade level might not be a bad idea, provided the storyline is interesting. You could also get him/them to try The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and/or Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan, Barsoom, or Pellucidar novels.

Hope this helps! If I think of any other ideas, I'll drop you a personal message.

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