"Overcoming the Obstacle Course: Teenage boys and reading." Patrick Jones & Dawn Cartwright Fiorelli. Teacher Librarian. Volume 30, Number 3, February 2003
http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tlmag/v_30/v_30_3_feature.html
I read this article tonight and found it full of good information and advice.
"One more statistic: in the United States, one in 32 people is in or has been in the criminal justice system. One in 32 people in the United States according to the Justice Department is currently in jail, in prison, on probation, on parole or has been one of these things. The majority of these people are male. The majority of the male prison population has limited education; many are high school dropouts. The limits of education are almost always related to reading problems. If we want young men to have their hands clutching a graduation diploma rather than the bars of cell, then it is time to start overcoming the obstacles course we've set up in school and public libraries in order to ensure that guys read."
Topics in this article include: What boys see as obstacles, What the Teacher Librarian can do, Building a Guy-Friendly Collection, Twenty great fiction books for Grade 7 boys, and Nonfiction areas of interest to guys, in Dewey order.
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Unlike some boys, I always enjoyed reading but I know that the problem you describe is real. The article you quote is the sort of message that needs to be engraved on pillars in public for all to see. I spent 25 years as a teacher in New South Wales, Australia, and saw the difficulty for myself. But I should say I found your blog when looking for people who like to read fantasy. One reviewer of the novel I wrote suggested that it was suitable for male readers. If you want to preview the novel, there are sample chapters on www.threeswans.com.au It is called "Outcasts Of Skagaray". If you feel like checking it out, please tell me what you think.
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