Everyone in the book business will tell you the same thing.
Most readers are
women. Most books are purchased by women. Among kid readers, girls
vastly outnumber boys. Media reports often claim that boys
prefer video games and that many men admit that they've read no books in the
last twelve months.
This is harsh news
for people in my line of work. While I'm glad for my female readers,
I hate to think of all those men missing out on the pleasures of a
novel.
I'm exhibiting my
books at the San Mateo Harvest Festival (just south of San Francisco)
as I write this. A good-sized crowd of people are strolling the
aisles. Like shoppers everywhere (outside of hunting and fishing
stores), a majority of them are women. Many people, including men,
have read my books and stop to pick up the latest title.
"Back To School" by my wife Kit Night (scroll down to "September 21, 2011" - be patient, it takes a bit to load) |
Yet I'm still
thinking about guys who never read anything except the sports
section.
A few minutes ago,
something happened that gives me hope. Diana Millitello and her son
Aaron came by. Turns out that Aaron got one of my books a year ago at
the Pleasanton Harvest Festival (the east part of the East Bay and 50
miles from where we are now on the peninsula). Aaron liked my book so
much that he read five of my books over the last year (They brought
them all for me to sign). Today, they drove all that distance just to
buy the other 5 of my titles.
What a dramatic
demonstration of how much some young men love to read. And what a
dramatic sign of support from a woman who is willing to drive her son
that distance to support his love of reading! My hat is off to Diana!
They weren't watching TV. They weren't shopping for clothes. They were
focused on books!
Later, I thought
about the advantages that Aaron will have as he grows up in a family
that focuses on books.
There was a big
study in the news a year or so ago. The study demonstrated that most
measures of future success directly correlate with how many books
were in a child's home. The study didn't establish causality.
(Although certainly causality lurks in there,. i.e., it may be that
it isn't the books that make a child do well, but the focus of
parents who promote books that makes a child do well. But it's likely that books develop kids' brains in a way that TV doesn't, and
that gives children who read significant advantages.) Either way, the
correlation in the study was dramatic, and it wasn't just about which
homes had books and which didn't. It also showed that how many books
in a child's life matters, too. The more the better.
Regarding every
measure of success, a person's education, job success, personal
satisfaction, income, etc., the more books that were in the childhood
home, the better the child did as an adult.
Many young men
still read, and they, like Aaron, will have some big advantages as
they grow up. My congratulations to Aaron, his mother Diana, and all
parents and kids out there who recognize the value of books.
(50 miles one way
to get books for your kid. Wow.)
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