As I'm sitting here thinking, there aren't too many boys in my life that I talk about books with. And the boys I have talked to about books, the books have never been anything outside of "classic" literature. I'm not sure why this is. It's as if the only books that have any merit are the ones deemed so by the (very) well educated (and well read) community. Now, I'm not bashing the classics, heck, that's what I study in school but I know that when I'm reading Dickens for class I'm not going to read Bronte before I go to bed at night. I want to read authors who are taking the stage now! There are great things happening in the literary world and I don't think great pieces of literature have to be around for a hundred years to be considered so. Maybe society has this stigma out there that boys can't read for pleasure. But I say that's ridiculous.Here's some books I think boys like/would like if they picked up:
Wicked by Gregory McGuire-now this one has a female protagonist, but there's lots of political intrigue that I know boys would devour.
the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling-boy protagonist but it's written by a female (which begs the question, why do you think J.K. Rowling didn't use her full first name? Pick me, I know why! Maybe because people would over look a female author?)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins-female protagonist AND written by a female. I know a guy who read this and loved it. Really, there isn't anything NOT to love. There's blood, politics, and survival of the fittest.
Looking For Alaska by John Green-neither written by a female or has a female protagonist but, again, I know a guy who read this and was amazed by it. I think everyone should read this title. It's one of my favorites.
Feed by M.T. Anderson- a super awesome female character. She's amazing and she's smart.. I think guys will like the crazy lingo and dig all the cool future gadgets but still love the story.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson- John Green, a boy if you didn't know, loved this novel. Biological engineering. What more could you want? Plus, it's well written. Such a great read.
There's just a few titles that I've read that I think boy will like/titles that boys I know have read and liked.
What do you guys think about this? Do you think boys read books with female protagonists? If not, why? What are some titles you think boys will like?
Happy Reading!
6 comments:
Good picks...my brother read Looking for Alaska and he's 21 :)
Here are some I think boys would like:
Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak series
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Makers by Cory Doctorow (comes out Oct)
Heather Brewer's Vlad Series
Vicki Petterson's Zodiac Series
Great suggestions, I would never have thought of Wicked for a boy. I'm going to suggest that my son check into Feed, too.
Fantastic picks!
I feel like boys would not be caught dead reading a book like A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, as they would probably get made fun of for reading it, and kids actually care about that kind of thing.
I think boys would enjoy:
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan - there's a male protagonist, and greek mythology
The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Bone by Jeff Smith
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
anything by Chris Crutcher (a lot of his books feature sports)
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - awesome cover, and I notice a lot of males gravitate towards fantasy
I think boys would enjoy those, too (a lot, actually)! I was trying to pick some books that had strong female influences because it's not always fair that girls are expected to read literature for and about guys but guys can't read the opposite.
I loved Wicked. Think I will had it to my roll call later. I did the same thing focused on books with female protagonist that boys would enjoy
Ah, more books to read. Thanks for the recommendations and thanks for participating in Roll Call.
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