Good books for guys?

[Pogo]

How old are the guys?

If young then check out diary of a wimpy kid by jeff kinney. It is a series and i witnessed it making avid readers out of nintendo kids. Same goes for the Harry Potter fast food.

I teach adult ed, so they have to be 17. Most are drop outs, 18 or older.

If attention spans are at issue, try books of short stories. Rarely more than a few chapters, completed in a short period of time, almost instant gratification...

Ray Bradbury... Philip K. Dick... Stephen King...


When I was in high school, I read all of the works by Louis L'Amour. Not short stories necessarily, though he wrote some, but westerns. Who doesn't love a good western?

"A good western" sounds a lot like "the mellifluous chimes of a garbage truck"

 

[Darkwind]

A little less "hey look what great stuff i was reading 85 years ago" and a little more actual tailored advice. Please. I read david copperfield when i was 12. No one cares.

Well, here is some tailored advice. Read.

Read what is fun or interesting or adventurous.

Read things that hook you on reading even more.

Every author I've seen listed in this thread does exactly that.

They hook you with great stories, fun and fast paced, some even have a bit of a moral bent to them, and they all contain things that most young men find interesting. Battles and hero types that struggle with who they are and what they have been thrust into doing but somehow manage to come out on the upside by just being who they are.

 

[Pogo]

How old are the guys?

If young then check out diary of a wimpy kid by jeff kinney. It is a series and i witnessed it making avid readers out of nintendo kids. Same goes for the Harry Potter fast food.

I teach adult ed, so they have to be 17. Most are drop outs, 18 or older.

If attention spans are at issue, try books of short stories. Rarely more than a few chapters, completed in a short period of time, almost instant gratification...

Ray Bradbury... Philip K. Dick... Stephen King...


When I was in high school, I read all of the works by Louis L'Amour. Not short stories necessarily, though he wrote some, but westerns. Who doesn't love a good western?

Good call on Bradbury. I had forgotten him.

I believe my introduction to Robert Heinlein was a book of his short stories my Dad had. From there I went on to his full novels.

Short stories are a great idea. You get a sample without a long-term investment.

 

[OKTexas]

I frequently get male students who need to improve their reading--and the best way to do that is to read. I know nothing about sports, hunting, motorcycles and other engines, etc, and I don't read that stuff.
Keeping in mind their reading levels aren't real high, what are some really interesting books they might enjoy?

Please keep it clean.

You're going about it backwards, you must first know what their interest are. They'll try harder on those topics and it will improve their over all ability.


.

 

[hjmick]

How old are the guys?

If young then check out diary of a wimpy kid by jeff kinney. It is a series and i witnessed it making avid readers out of nintendo kids. Same goes for the Harry Potter fast food.

I teach adult ed, so they have to be 17. Most are drop outs, 18 or older.

If attention spans are at issue, try books of short stories. Rarely more than a few chapters, completed in a short period of time, almost instant gratification...

Ray Bradbury... Philip K. Dick... Stephen King...


When I was in high school, I read all of the works by Louis L'Amour. Not short stories necessarily, though he wrote some, but westerns. Who doesn't love a good western?

Good call on Bradbury. I had forgotten him.

I just happened to have a collection of his short stories lying on my coffee table at this moment...

 

[Dogmaphobe]

A little less "hey look what great stuff i was reading 85 years ago" and a little more actual tailored advice. Please. I read david copperfield when i was 12. No one cares.

You're 97?

Damn.

 

[miketx]

Y'all should read the short story the movie "The day the Earth stood still" was based on. In fact it's free now so I'll post a link to it.

http://www.digital-eel.com/blog/library/Farewell_to_the_Master.pdf

 

[Pogo]

A little less "hey look what great stuff i was reading 85 years ago" and a little more actual tailored advice. Please. I read david copperfield when i was 12. No one cares.

You're 97?

Damn.

He said he "read" it, not "wrote" it.

 

[OldLady]

Seriously? Comic books / graphic novels...


Using Graphic Novels and Comic Books to Teach Reading : Professional Learning Board

How to teach ... graphic novels

I use comic books to teach

Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom (The Council Chronicle, Sept. 05)

Teaching with Comics

Turning Struggling Students into Superheroes: Comic Books as Teaching Tools - Blog


There are thousands of articles supporting the idea...

I can't see how comic books teach good language skills, but on the other hand they are great tools for teaching a foreign language -- because the speech bubbles will be written colloquially and the action in the images immediately render the meaning obvious. The reader just has to bear in mind the difference between book language and colloquial.

But are we talking teaching basic reading? Like to kids?

Id stay away from sports also.

Depending on the age of the student, and barring any condition like dyslexia, the first step to getting any kid to read, and thus improve their reading, is to give them something they might find interesting to read...

Jabberwocky! There's a good one, regardless of the reader's interests.

I use that sometimes--words in context and just screwing around.

 

[fncceo]

Pretty much anything by Judy Blume.

 

[L.K.Eder]

A little less "hey look what great stuff i was reading 85 years ago" and a little more actual tailored advice. Please. I read david copperfield when i was 12. No one cares.

You're 97?

Damn.

A lame "no,you" or another example of really bad reading comprehension. In this thread no less. I go with option a. I am emphatic.

 

[OldLady]

I frequently get male students who need to improve their reading--and the best way to do that is to read. I know nothing about sports, hunting, motorcycles and other engines, etc, and I don't read that stuff.
Keeping in mind their reading levels aren't real high, what are some really interesting books they might enjoy?

Please keep it clean.

You're going about it backwards, you must first know what their interest are. They'll try harder on those topics and it will improve their over all ability.


.

Thank you, OK. That is what I do.

 

[OldLady]

Pretty much anything by Judy Blume.

A little too young for most of my crew, but it reminded me--I'm doing a family literacy workshop at the jail, and these books would be great. Thank you!

 

[ABikerSailor]

I frequently get male students who need to improve their reading--and the best way to do that is to read. I know nothing about sports, hunting, motorcycles and other engines, etc, and I don't read that stuff.
Keeping in mind their reading levels aren't real high, what are some really interesting books they might enjoy?

Please keep it clean.

It's not a "typical boy book" but it IS something that not only is fairly easy to read, but it also contains a whole bunch of philosophical concepts that a lot of people (not just kids BTW) would find useful.

The Tao of Pooh.

And, not only will it help with their reading, they may learn something from it that will help them with life.

But, if you are looking for something in a series, I recommend anything from Zane Grey or Louis Lamour.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Pretty much anything by Judy Blume.

A little too young for most of my crew, but it reminded me--I'm doing a family literacy workshop at the jail, and these books would be great. Thank you!

The Tao of Pooh would be a FANTASTIC book to introduce into the jail reading program. Read it sometime, you'll agree I'm sure.

 

[del]

this
A Study in Scarlet - Wikipedia

and then these

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Wikipedia

 

[OldLady]

How old are the guys?

If young then check out diary of a wimpy kid by jeff kinney. It is a series and i witnessed it making avid readers out of nintendo kids. Same goes for the Harry Potter fast food.

I teach adult ed, so they have to be 17. Most are drop outs, 18 or older.

If attention spans are at issue, try books of short stories. Rarely more than a few chapters, completed in a short period of time, almost instant gratification...

Ray Bradbury... Philip K. Dick... Stephen King...


When I was in high school, I read all of the works by Louis L'Amour. Not short stories necessarily, though he wrote some, but westerns. Who doesn't love a good western?

Good call on Bradbury. I had forgotten him.

I really liked Herbert, too. Started with the Dunes and then read his other stuff. He was good. Maybe not exciting, enough, though, for the guys.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Another good one that most teen age boys would like (I know I loved it growing up) is a book by Robert A. Heinlein, called "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel". It's got a good story line (like most of Heinlein's works), and he also puts in some pretty decent humor as well.

 

[OldLady]

this
A Study in Scarlet - Wikipedia

and then these

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Wikipedia

I fear the language of the 1800's is quite a challenge for most of my students; we tackle it together, but I doubt most would find it "fun" reading. Sorry as that may seem.

 

[Auld Phart]

another thought...

Louis L'amour