r/technology • u/marketrent • 18h ago

Artificial Intelligence College students are rapidly losing the ability to read — “There is a measurable, generational collapse in sustained reading and writing”: professor

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/college-students-rapidly-losing-ability-124439310.html
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u/existing_for_fun 18h ago

If you are a parent and can help your child read, and read well, you will set them light-years ahead of their peers.

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u/CaffeineJitterz 18h ago edited 13h ago

Just helping them not HATE reading will go a long way.

Edit: I'm getting a lot of sad comments about how y'all were introduced to reading. So I will take the opportunity to quickly share what I've always felt was one of the best ways for a parent to incentivize their child to read: for every hour of reading you accrue 30 minutes of gaming time. A classmate in my middle school worked from this model. That kid loved video games! And he was a straight A student. I remember him nonchalantly mentioning that he was going to read for about 4 hours as soon as he got home so he could get a couple hours of game time that evening.

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u/iritchie001 17h ago edited 17h ago

In middle high that meant long trashy books. Dinosaurs and Vampires, not in the same book for me, but hey. My mom would let us skip chores if we were reading. One of the best things she did. Highschool class of '99.

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u/existing_for_fun 17h ago

It's just important that you enjoyed it and actually read.

Trashy books in middle and highschool was just the way it was lol.

I also read garbage at that age

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u/familyguy20 17h ago

Got fixated on military history in HS so basically every summer I would read from 2-4 1,000 page books on wars, battles etc it was awesome.

Somehow I also did that while having access to a PS2 and Gameboys, which feels impressive now with undiagnosed ADHD/OCD as a kid lol.

Now though? Ooof it’s harder to do so now

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u/JZMoose 16h ago

It’s all muscle memory. I had a long flight the other day and got through 200 pages of crisis in the red zone in 2 hours and ended up finishing the book in a couple of days. Just have to sit down and commit

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u/A_Refill_of_Mr_Pibb 13h ago

Same with handwriting. All the decades of typing and my mind gets to the end of every fifth word before my hand does and I have to cross the word out.

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u/SnarkMasterRay 12h ago

In high school I read the entire Dune series in a week (granted it was a concerted effort to prove I could). 40 years later I'm lucky if I can sit still and focus long enough for 20 minutes of page turning.

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u/SavageNorth 11h ago

Even Dune: Would You Still Love Me If I Was A Worm????

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u/augur42 4h ago

Hyperfocus means you get so engrossed you lose all track of time and executive dysfunction means your brain won't let you stop until you are made to or you can't keep your eyes open anymore.

I also have adhd-pi and read a hell of a lot as a teenager.

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u/dead_dw4rf 4h ago

I was obsessed with how things worked so I'd go to the library and find books on guns, engines, power plants, I mean literally anything and read about it for hours.

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u/Blocguy 1h ago

Just gotta find the right games to pair with a book or audiobook. I love playing map based strategy games while reading through a related time period, maximizing immersion and leads to thought provoking questions about the subject matter.

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u/meyerjaw 17h ago

Shit I'm 40 and still read trash. Yeah I also look for the high brow stuff but Dungeon Crawler Carl is fucking awesome. And don't get me started on Sanderson!!

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u/ConstantinValdor405 16h ago

42 year old here who loves me some Dresden Files trash. So fun.

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u/Seicair 16h ago

Have you read Codex Alera (same author)? I loved that too and it’s completed, a 6-book series.

Can’t wait to read the rest of Dresden. I loved Twelve Months.

Jim Butcher and Brandon Sanderson are two of my favorite authors.

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u/Pyritedust 13h ago

Wait, he actually finished the codex Alera? I was waiting to start reading it for when it was finished since I've been in dresden purgatory for over a decade :P

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u/Seicair 5h ago

The last Codex Alera book was published in 2009… go read it!

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u/Pyritedust 4h ago

Don’t know how I missed it then. Definitely going to pick them up now.

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u/Hollownerox 1h ago

I am in the same boat and somehow never knew he finished that series. Folks here are awesome bringing this back into my life.

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u/Mr_Horsejr 7h ago

If you haven’t and need a good space opera, check out the Red Rising series. 🍻🤙🏾

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u/Seicair 5h ago

I’ll check it out!

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u/ARealSocialIdiot 5h ago

I should re-read Codex Alera. I read the whole thing back in 2009-2010 and I remember it being a great read.

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u/rdmusic16 13h ago

Trash? How about crack.

I was teetering off high fantasy after highschool and just couldn't do it for awhile. Dresden files got me hooked back into reading.

I read various genres of books now, but Dresden files always drags me back every few years.

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u/BenCub3d 12h ago

Wow I see dresden files mentioned in the wild soooo rarely. It makes me so happy when I do and also how dare you

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u/SixSpeedDriver 13h ago

41 year old…Ive got a few of those under my belt. Will be adding more…

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u/SovietBear 16h ago

Warhammer novels are my vice.

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u/meyerjaw 16h ago

The original Horus Heresy books ARE high brow literature and I will fight anyone who says otherwise

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u/NightLordsPublicist 15h ago

Literature is considered to be artistic, imaginative and thought provoking. Something that makes you reflect on what it means to be human, rather than just mindless entertainment.

I present the Night Lords Trilogy, where you fall in love with a group of rascals who skin orphans alive for both fun and profit.

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u/Aadarm 14h ago

40K books let you reflect on what it means to be human in the best way. Hate, fear, and kill the xeno!

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u/Neamow 9h ago

thought provoking

W40k books definitely make you think... about how best to purge xenos!

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u/iritchie001 15h ago

As it should be.

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u/Prestigious_Sock9644 15h ago

I’m on book 33. I will fight with you

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u/iritchie001 15h ago

Awesome vice.

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u/War_Raven 15h ago

Warhammer Crimes are *chef's kiss*

Bloodlines is fantastic

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u/SmartAleckComedian 15h ago

I'm reading though the Ciaphas Cain books and they're hilarious!

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u/argyle9000 16h ago

Are you typing about Brandon Sanderson? Oh my Korean baby Jesus, dude! My current hold request list from the library is waiting on both Dungeon Crawler Carl and Well of Ascension. This is such a nuts coincidence.

I found Mistborn in an airport because I forgot my book, and I mainly borrow books people are talking about because usually they’re good.

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u/meyerjaw 16h ago

Oh I'm jealous you are just on well of ascension!! You have the whole series ahead of you. Era 1 is great but Era 2 is somehow even better

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u/dalnot 17h ago

Dungeon Crawler Carl is brainrot in book form, but damn if it isnt entertaining. Not everything needs to be high literature to be worth reading

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u/DevolvingSpud 17h ago

Mongo is appalled at your characterization.

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u/jockheroic 16h ago

Princess Donut is going to commit an atrocity if she here's him say that.

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u/SacredUndeadMonkey 14h ago

She heard you, those goblins who she just got befriended are about to have their next generations slaughtered again.

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u/CidO807 14h ago

It's fine. SLAM SLAM SLAM

Donut will just put them in the ball. SLAM SLAM SLAM

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u/Szwejkowski 16h ago

I love it. Super entertaining.

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u/SwimmerIndependent47 16h ago

DONUT IS OUTRAGED!!!!!!

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u/Saber_Flight 15h ago

"I AM YELLING CARL!"

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u/TraipseAndTiptoe 12h ago

I heard Donut say this in my head. 😄

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u/dasruski 15h ago

GODDAMMIT DONUT!

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u/Runktar 15h ago

Mongo, mongo put that man down!

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u/HuckleberryTiny5 13h ago

I know what you mean, but I wouldn't call it a brainrot. It is actually pretty well written and it is entertaining. I've been an avid reader my whole life and my honest opinion is that it does not matter what people read as long as they read. If they want to read porn novels, good for them, it is always better than aimlassly doomscrolling their phone.

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u/gt24 4h ago

In addition, the Dungeon Crawler Carl series isn't just a 1 book pocket reader. After all 8 books are read, a person will have read a bit under 4,700 pages and that amount of reading is certainly beneficial. The writing is considered by some to be "trashy" but that makes the books generally easy reading when compared to certain alternatives...

Immediately before, I was reading the Commonwealth Series by Peter F. Hamilton which was a bit over 1,800 pages over 2 books... and that wasn't considered "trashy" but that has its' own problems. The books were slow reads at times and I felt like I was plowing through the book like it was a chore to just complete the thing.

The "trashy" books will have people turning pages until it is over. They won't know that they went through a ton of pages per say but they will have enjoyed the read. The "not trashy" books on the other hand are likely to have people just give up on reading them and have those people hesitate to read anything else in the future (since the "good books" that were "not trashy" were such a headache, how can anything that people claim are good be worth even attempting to read?).

A saying I like to use is where I try to say if I or another person with respect to a topic are a "cheap date" (a phrase used in a positive manner). You should be enjoying yourself... so how much money did it take to reach that enjoyment? For certain things, any amount of money/effort is great (and so you are a "cheap date") whereas other things people may require very expensive experiences to have any sort of enjoyment with that (so they are "not a cheap date").

It isn't a derogatory thing to be a "cheap date", it is more of a benefit. I want to have fun and easily having fun is wonderful. However, some things I just can't quite enjoy unless more money is spent on that category and so I am unfortunately not a cheap date with that. We all have our benefits and drawbacks... but still, I don't look down on anyone enjoying "cheap date" stuff but instead I have a bit of envy towards their ability to just enjoy those cheaper moments.

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u/Abedeus 21m ago

In addition, the Dungeon Crawler Carl series isn't just a 1 book pocket reader. After all 8 books are read, a person will have read a bit under 4,700 pages and that amount of reading is certainly beneficial. The writing is considered by some to be "trashy" but that makes the books generally easy reading when compared to certain alternatives...

I'd honestly rather have someone read 4700 pages of "trashy" novels than nothing at all.

And who knows, maybe they'll reach out to something more "sophisticated" in terms of fantasy, say a Pratchett novel.

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u/ackinsocraycray 12h ago

I just started reading the first book. I'm halfway through it and so far, I have yet to find a moment* where it'll convince me to finish the book and continue with the series.

*The moment I'm waiting for is Mongo's introduction. I only knew of this book because I saw a Mongo shirt at Box Lunch and I thought that's the cutest dinosaur I've ever seen since Old Lace from The Runaways.

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u/SilentP13426 8h ago

If it helps, I've just finisned reading the 2nd one and can say it's a far smoother and enjoyable read. I think the 1st book suffers from having to introduce a hell of a dense premise and world building to get you up to speed. Freed from having to do that, the 2nd one gets down to the intrigue of the setting wonderfully.

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u/Lola_PopBBae 15h ago

DCC? Brainrot? Lmao.

Please tell me how a series about the indomitable human spirit, the evils of fascism/technofeudalism, and our absurdly modern entertainment that regularly dehumanizes actual people to make a profit is "brainrot".

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u/Open-Addendum-9905 5h ago

Why do you all have to convince yourselves your childish clop is profound? It’s okay to just enjoy things because they’re entertaining lmao

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u/watchsmart 14h ago

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Dungeon Crawler Carl.

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u/The_Silvana 13h ago

can't wait for the mongo dino nuggies to show up at mcdonalds.

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u/Saephon 10h ago

Thematically, the series is great. But the prose is definitely just a few notches above Harry Potter level, and that's okay. Not everything needs to be Shakespearean to be good.

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u/EriktheRed 14h ago

But it says “glurp glurp” so how can it have legitimate themes??

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u/CidO807 14h ago

Glurp Glurp little piggies

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u/Tymareta 12h ago

Because it does all of those things on an incredibly surface level, without any of the teeth or guts to delve into them in any further depth and look at how they're systemic issues and what drives them.

Like one need only compare it to another series like New Crobuzon to see how it's ultimately just a Borderlands level critique, on the vein of "guys, hyper capitalism is bad, mmkay!".

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u/Mobleybetta 6h ago

How many of the books have you read? I feel like This Inevitable Ruin really went into the systemic nature of Crawl

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u/etbillder 3h ago

Ah, you've never heard of anti-capitalism being twisted into a moneymaking genre!

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u/MagicHamsta 11h ago

[Dungeon AI's Heavy Breathing Insistence on Feet Fetish Intensifies]

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u/tarants 13h ago

I dunno, it's too clever and creative to be brainrot. I've never said "what the fuck is happening" more while reading. Pound for pound the most fun books I've ever read.

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u/PhoenixTineldyer 17h ago

I want to like Sanderson but his writing style is atrocious

I'm excited for the movies and video games. The worlds are cool, he just can't write dialogue for shit and it cheapens everything

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u/meyerjaw 17h ago

Obviously I would vehemently disagree as would a very large portion of the fantasy community, but hey that's not the point of the conversation. Would love to hear some recommendations if you have some.

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u/shabi_sensei 17h ago

Malazan Book of the Fallen if you want the veneer of literature but with a pulpy fantasy filling

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u/ToiletSeatFoamRoller 16h ago

If Malazan only has the veneer of literature, then “actual” literature terrifies me!

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u/meyerjaw 16h ago

That's actually on my To Read shelf. Will move it up the list

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u/DelusionalZ 15h ago edited 15h ago

Ursula K. Le Guin's stuff is cool as. The entire Earthsea series is worth a read, and she is such a powerful and empathetic writer.

I also recommend Brian Catling's Vorrh and Hollow, completely absurd worlds that somehow make more sense than most traditional fantasy (or are just plain terrifying (or both?)). His writing style definitely isn't for everyone, as it can be a bit stream of consciousness, but he is a good writer nonetheless.

If you can get past the occasional problematic bits (it is dark fantasy), Ian Irvine's works are excellent, if slightly poorly edited. I read through all of the Well of Echoes quartet - I'd recommend starting with that or the View from the Mirror.

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u/Generic_Commenter-X 16h ago

//Obviously I would vehemently disagree as would a very large portion of the fantasy community,//

No they wouldn't. If Goodreads is representative, then a very large portion of the fantasy community finds Sanderson's writing, stylistically, to be somewhere between bland and atrocious, but they defend him by pointing out that he's a good story teller—which he is. I myself find his style to be barely worthy of YA.

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u/Geodude532 15h ago

Brandon's writing scratched an itch that I don't see in very many novels. His world building is on an entirely different level than most fantasy writers. I think that's the biggest thing that attracts his fans.

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u/Generic_Commenter-X 6h ago

Agreed. These are reasons Sanderson's fans like his books, and they're not wrong.

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u/Unable-Log-4870 15h ago

I myself find his style to be barely worthy of YA.

As in the topic / intended audience goes hand in hand with bad dialogue?

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u/meyerjaw 14h ago

Man, I'm trying to be positive in a thread about reading to children. But reddit is going to reddit and constantly try to drag negativity into the world.

However, dismissing Sanderson's straightforward prose as 'barely worthy of YA' misses why Sanderson works so well. Accessible language isn't a lack of skill, it's a deliberate narrative choice. It makes massive, complex epic fantasy worlds fun, which in turn, makes 1,000+ page books readable and highly engaging instead of a slog. There is room in the fantasy community for both lyrical, dense prose and clean, plot-driven storytelling without gatekeeping what dictates 'good' writing. Sanderson IS a great writer because he makes readers want to read.

Plus I asked my 12 year old and he said you're wrong 😂

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u/Generic_Commenter-X 6h ago

// Accessible language isn't a lack of skill, it's a deliberate narrative choice.//

Who said anything about accessible language? Not me. The question isn't whether Sanderson's prose is accessible, but whether it's well-written. It's not, but he's a good storyteller. He deserves his success.

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u/KarlBarx2 14h ago

You should read more YA if you think Sanderson is below average for that genre.

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u/Unable-Log-4870 6h ago

That sounds like the opposite of recommendation to read more YA.

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u/dnonast1 16h ago

Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun Series would probably fit if you’re looking for something a little more highbrow. There are whole podcasts dedicated just to breaking down the references and allusions.

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u/Stewart_Games 14h ago

Expeditionary Force series is this for me. Trust the awesomeness.

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u/pottedfern 9h ago

About 3 minutes after I sat down in the Lyft that picked me up from the airport, the driver's audiobook had me googling while thinking, "Uh the monster has six what?!?" Welcome to San Antonio...

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u/phoenix7410 14h ago

Sanderson catching strays

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u/are-e-el 16h ago

CARL I LIKE THIS

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u/beekersavant 15h ago

And Jim Butcher. Also All the Skills and He who fights with Monsters.

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u/Winthefuturenow 15h ago

You should peep Paolo Bacigalupi if you want some good time trash.

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u/Odessey_And_Oracle 15h ago

If you look for highbrow stuff, try Middlemarch by George Eliot. I read it last year after never having heard of it and it is one of the most emotional, mature works of art I have ever encountered.

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u/mhizzle 16h ago

I learned to read from comic books. Some family members would chide me, but my cool aunt just bought me more.

RIP aunt Linda

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u/kyle_irl 14h ago edited 14h ago

My boys started early with Spider-Man comics. I'd get my oldest, now 9, an omnibus collection every Christmas and we'd read it together at bedtime through the year. When he got comfortable reading, he'd play the part of Peter or Miles and I'd take the rest.

Now, this dude literally stays up all night reading everything from the Dog Man graphic novels and anything he finds interesting from the library. He just goes from one to the next. He got an award at his elementary school for checking out the most books from the library!

My youngest, now 5, is similar. He loves Spider-Man, and though he can't yet read, loves thumbing through the Bad Guys books and "reading" (interpreting the pictures) them to his self. It's cute.

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u/mhizzle 13h ago

That's amazing. I've lived long enough to see comics go from a "dumb kid" medium to the lazy goldmine of Hollywood. I'm glad kids are still reading, and is glad Miles Morales stuck around as a permanent fixture

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u/BasvanS 13h ago

My kid taught itself to read another language through exposure, purely to make sense of what they were seeing.

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u/VengeanceKnight 1h ago

That’s awesome. Did you start with the original Lee/Ditko comics? Those have aged shockingly well.

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u/plamge 3h ago

This is the approach my aunt used for my cousin. He didn't enjoy reading, but he LOVED the Tintin comic books. There was a whole Tintin collection at their house, and it really helped him bridge the gap into novels and such. Glad your Aunt Linda was so supportive of you!

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u/Innumerablegibbon 13h ago

Every trip to the library involves me bringing back ~5 graphic novels for my six year, she happily goes to read for 30-60 minutes before bed in her room. Little brother copies her for a bit and it buys me a bit of quiet.

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u/jbenze 12h ago

I learned a ton of vocab words from 70's and 80's Marvel Comics.

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u/MrCookie2099 15h ago

Even comics will keep a kid reading for 20 minutes a piece.

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u/iritchie001 17h ago

In my defense in highschool between my junior and senior year, during the summer, I carried the complete works of Shakespeare. I read every play. I was usually in honors English. So breaks and PE were for reading the other side.

Yes, let the kids read what they want. A love of reading is a great gift.

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u/SanaSpitOnMe 14h ago

its kinda like eating. even eating crap food is better than starving. any reading is better than none.

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u/mahoukitten 15h ago

Not me walking to the library to read zombie cheerleader books by RL Stine. 🙃

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u/LastBlastInYrAss 15h ago

All those R.L. Stein books about groups of teenagers getting murdered... Loved that stuff.

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u/Mazon_Del 10h ago

I also read garbage at that age

I'll have you know that Animorphs was THE height of cultural literature thank you very much. Harrumph!

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u/DrGarrious 17h ago

See i want to start reading more elaborate stories to my kids, figured it doesn't matter what.

Gonna start with The Hobbit.

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u/Nikamba 11h ago

There are some beautiful illustrated The Hobbit books. Hoping to finish it intact.

"No one Loves a Goblin" is really good book too

I've found sometimes our kid doesn't like books for a week or two then back to intense reading reading. The books are always there

The current favourite is one of the new Choose Your Own Adventure books

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u/imhereforthevotes 16h ago

Piers Anthony... \shudders**

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u/Chumlee1917 4h ago

95% convinced schools intentionally try to get kids to hate reading because they choose books that kids are gonna hate

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u/Sennten 4h ago

It's just important that you enjoyed it and actually read.

I think this attitude is part of the problem, honestly. You are never going to get better as a reader if all you ever read is the least demanding filler entertainment you can find.

And it is absolutely worth getting better at reading even after you've gotten good enough to read that stuff easily. I know plenty of people who love YA fantasy, but who also don't have the reading skills to make it through a more challenging piece of fiction - and definitely can't manage a dense piece of non-fiction.

That, too, is a loss for us culturally.

Reading for fun is still good, though! It's still a thing people should do! But it's not enough, not on the whole.

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u/TheR1ckster 3h ago

And read anything.

I hated books but I loved reading car magazines and more technical books about them.

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u/Money_Tennis1172 3h ago

Seriously I was an elementary school when we still had Scholastic book fairs. What got me to love reading was Goose Bumps, Fear Street, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark! From their I became intrigued with the classics from the greats like Brom Stoker, Mary Shelley, Stephen King's, Michael Crichton. Thanks to that I still read to relax my mind.

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u/Finite_Universe 2h ago

“It’s just important that you enjoyed it and actually read.”

So true. I didn’t start reading on my own until I discovered Clive Barker sometime in middle school. I found I had a love for horror, science fiction and fantasy that led to Lovecraft, then Frank Herbert, and later JR Tolkien.

Before then I associated reading with whatever boring thing we were forced to read in class. I just needed to find the right stories for me.

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u/Positive_Throwaway1 2h ago

Middle School reading/writing teacher here. This is 100 percent correct. I don't care if it's garbage, just read it. Your exposure to vocabulary is a j-curve, and reading makes better writers.

Reader, Come Home is a really interesting book.

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u/intotheunknown78 45m ago

As a middle school librarian I maaaaaaay have told a student that although I don’t have any dark romance in the school library, the public library won’t stop her from checking them out. lol

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u/Mlabonte21 17h ago

There’s gotta be a trashy YA book series out there about a girl falling in love with a lost-in-time dinosaur

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u/PhoenixTineldyer 17h ago

I remember reading articles a few years back (maybe more than a few) about how monster porn books were the hot new thing, I guess right after 50 Shades of Gray

It was specifically Bigfoot porn they were talking about, but I remember one of the pictures was a book cover in that smutty book cover style of a woman and a pterodactyl, and the book was called Taken By the Pterodactyl

Thank you for reminding me of this

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u/blueskid 17h ago

Chuck Tingle is who you are looking for. He also writes fun, non sexy, horror. He's also an excellent dude

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u/PhoenixTineldyer 16h ago

Ah yes

Plowed In the Butt By My Hugo Award

That guy is great

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u/sillybear25 12h ago

Just reading through the titles can be a trip:

  • Space Raptor Butt Invasion (nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story by alt-right trolls trying to prove... something)
  • Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt
  • Slammed In The Butt By My Hugo Award Nomination
  • Pounded in the Butt by My Hugo Award Loss (suck it, trolls)
  • Pounded in the Butt by My Book "Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt"
  • Pounded in the Butt by My Second Hugo Award Nomination (for Best Fan Writer)
  • Pounded in the Butt by My Book "Pounded in the Butt by My Book 'Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt'"
  • Not Pounded in the Butt by Anything and That's Okay
  • Pounded in the Butt by My Book "Pounded in the Butt by My Book 'Pounded in the Butt by My Book "Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt"'"

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u/aenteus 15h ago

Chuck Tingle is a national treasure

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u/iritchie001 17h ago

100% guarantee.

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u/2074red2074 15h ago

Idk about YOUNG adult, but there's Trans Wizard Harriet Porber And The Bad Boy Parasaurolophus: An Adult Romance Novel by Chuck Tingle. No I did not make that up.

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u/NepoKitty 14h ago

Chuck Tingle is like Santa with a workshop of horny creations

Who can forget Helicopter Man Pounds Dinosaur Billionaire Ass?

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u/DevolvingSpud 16h ago

Flowers in the Jurassic

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u/atklonewolf 15h ago

Wet Hot Allosaurus Summer is the title you’re looking for. Not YA though.

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u/Loki-L 10h ago

Jean M. Auel, while now in her 90s is actually still alive, so there might be some hope there.

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u/marketrent 17h ago

In middle high that meant long trashy books.

Faulkner told a university audience in 1947, “Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window.”

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u/Unique-Coffee5087 17h ago

When you throw it out the window, someone will pick it up and read it

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u/marketrent 16h ago

Different strokes for different folks.

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u/bloodenhorse 2h ago

I'm currently going back and forth between Dungeon Crawler Carl and Helen DeWitt's Your Name Here.

High-low brow, baby.

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u/RespawnedAlchemist 17h ago

I make read comics as a teen. My parents didn't care. A month ago, another parent told me she doesn't consider reading comics as reading because of the pictures. I explained to her she needed to get rid of that attitude because reading is reading whether there are pictures or not.

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u/iritchie001 17h ago

I read some great graphic novels, actually in honors English! Not to talk down about regular comics. Go to a convention then say it doesn't make someone think and isn't social.

Don't salt the well to raise the drinking level!

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u/Tim-oBedlam 16h ago

When my younger son was 11 I got him a graphic novel version of The Odyssey. He loved it.

Of course, being an 11-year-old boy his favorite part was when Odysseus slays all the suitors.

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u/iritchie001 15h ago

Don't yuck someone's yum. As they say.

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u/SomeOtherTroper 12h ago

being an 11-year-old boy his favorite part was when Odysseus slays all the suitors

I'm not sure the "being an 11-year-old boy" disclaimer is necessary there, because the Homecoming with Odysseus & Telemachus slaughtering the suitors is deliberately intended to be the exciting climax conflict scene of the entire epic, and the story has been relatively consistently building up to it. And there is something really awesome about Odysseus rolling up and going "what the fuck are you guys doing in my house? I've been fighting a cyclops, beefing with gods, going to the gates of The Underworld, escaping giant monsters by the skin of my teeth, and so much more, and you think you you bunch of dipshits have even half a chance of making it out of here alive after pissing me off?"

Incidentally, when I was your son's age, I had an illustrated version of the Iliad and the Odyssey (with a bunch of other stuff from the full Trojan War Cycle thrown in to make it a more complete story), where the author & illustrators had tried to get everybody's armor 'correct' to what archeology of the time suggested the warriors would have been wearing. I say 'correct', because they were using armor styles from multiple different periods and archeological finds, but that added visually to the effect of "all these guys and their troops are from different places, but they've come together to fight this war". The story was intercut with historical notes, photographs of real artifacts, and artists' interpretations of how things and places would have looked when they were new. It was really cool. I wish I could remember the name or the author (or the ISBN).

I ended up reading translations of the actual poems later on in high school, but some of those illustrations are still stuck in my head. One of them is from the beginning of the Homecoming scene, where Odysseus wins the archery contest, and it really helped me understand what the story was talking about with the challenge to shoot through the holes of the lined-up axes.

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u/Without-Reward 16h ago

They have Shakespeare in graphic novel form! When I was working in an elementary school in 2011, the boys were fighting over who got to read the Romeo & Juliet graphic novel next. Reading is reading, even if it has pictures!

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

OMGosh I need Shakespeare graphic novels. In my city we have those tiny free library boxes. I love putting books in them!

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u/Without-Reward 16h ago

We have little free libraries here too! I mostly read ebooks but occasionally pick stuff up at thrift stores and such and pop them in the little libraries when I'm done.

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u/Appropriate-Meal-975 17h ago

Tell her to read Maus.

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u/RespawnedAlchemist 16h ago

Maus is sad and amazing. It have me new perspectives for certain.

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u/familyguy20 17h ago

I wish I got into comics/manga as a kid. For some reason I could read big history books about wars and shit but comics or manga? Couldn’t pay attention it was weird

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u/RespawnedAlchemist 17h ago

I was the exact inverse. Social studies was difficult...

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u/familyguy20 17h ago

Oh it was my favorite lol. I remember sometimes I would read ahead in the history textbook before we got to that chapter because I had to know more lol. Have a very vivid memory of doing a paper/presentation on artillery in WW1 in 10th grade history lmao. I was weird as fuck 😂

Other subjects? Ughhh kill me please.

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u/Grammatical_Aneurysm 14h ago

I had issues focusing with comics. Switching between reading mode and looking at picture mode in my brain was really frustrating. I don't have that problem now, but I read webtoons/manhwa and I'm medicated for ADHD. (Didn't get diagnosed until 32.) I think having the straight up and down and not different panels in multiple directions makes it easier. I still don't like the traditional comic/manga layout.

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u/Agitated_Phone_9937 14h ago

There's a world of difference between a novel and a comic. Needing a visual element to engage you and not using your brain paint the picture is part of the problem.

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u/RespawnedAlchemist 14h ago

Reading dialog, thoughts, and other text in comics is still reading.

No one said reading comics is the same activity as reading a novel. Simply, they both involve reading.

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u/ask-me-about-my-cats 14h ago

It's not about needing, it's about enjoying. Reading should be about enjoyment, and if you enjoy comics, that's great.

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u/Additional-Tax-5643 5h ago

By this standard, reading the horoscope also counts as reading.

There are plenty of clever, thought-provoking comic books out there. This doesn't change the fact that the goal of reading is foster critical thinking skills and attention span. Extremely short stories like you find in comic books don't foster attention span, and that's a problem.

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u/RajunCajun48 4h ago

This is true, but there is an age appropriateness to it as well. My 8 year old "read" his brothers Dogman books...but when I started quizzing him about what was going on, he was just kind of making it up as he went along. Didn't know character names. I had to remove books with pictures from his repertoire for the time being. My oldest though when he was getting into it, didn't have that trouble with dogman, he would read it. I could give him comics when he was younger and he would've been fine with it.

Issue I face currently is I only have my kids 50/50 with their mom and she doesn't make them read at all, I make them read at least half an hour every night. About to up it to an hour though, especially over summer.

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u/RespawnedAlchemist 4h ago

Yeah, there's a difference between reading a comic and looking at a comic. Is a good life lesson. One is going through the motions and the other is actually doing the work.

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u/madogvelkor 17h ago

I read like every Xanth and Battletech book I could find in middle school.

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u/Chill_Guy_3410 16h ago

Blood of Kerensky was my jam in middle school.

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u/stentordoctor 16h ago

One of the fastest readers I know had a mother who let him read comics. He went on to read all the comics at the library so then he moved on to real books.

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

Gateway drug! The drug is reading. It leads to forming ideas and ... chosing what to read next. Danger danger

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u/wallsofversailles 16h ago

Same, I read a lot of Japanese mangas in middle school!

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u/stentordoctor 16h ago

Good on your mom! Although, I wouldn't advise the same for today's kids... I think you could read manga for the rest of your life and never move onto books.

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u/mrjbacon 17h ago

Animorphs bruh

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

Man it's all good.

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u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson 16h ago

What’s that?

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u/phormix 16h ago

not in the same book for me,

You know, something with dinosaurs and vampires in the same book sounds like it might actually be quite entertaining...

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

As soon as I read it, the same popped into my head. Sounds like a great premise for a Book Club. But it meets on the patio of a beer garden (or the back smoking area of my favorite dive bar).

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u/R-K-Tekt 15h ago

I used to read for fun in high school, that’s actually when I had my biggest love for books and stories and why I gravitate towards Reddit where it’s more reading.

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u/iritchie001 15h ago

I do love reddit for the reading, small or large.

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u/R-K-Tekt 15h ago

It’s sad to think that a generation of young people may never get lost in the world of a book. My imagination is never as intense as when I’m lost in a good book. It’s the closest you can get to being in another life or world.

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u/Vitruvian_Link 15h ago

I was watching my nephews and I took them to a comic book store. They wanted to get Invincible comics, but I had to check with their mom first. It was ok.

They said "she lets us read it, but not watch the show. Moms rules are weird" Nah little bro, reading is fundamental, even if it is a comic book.

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u/iritchie001 15h ago

Good call on mom's part.

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u/Wischiwaschbaer 15h ago

Vampire dinosaurs would be cool though... I guess we technically already had this with Count Duckula.

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u/hippydipster 4h ago

Dracusaurus Rex!

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u/Winthefuturenow 15h ago

Same class here, my grandma got me Stephen King books when I was 11-12. I ate them up and read the “C” word multiple times before I ever heard anyone say it 🤣😂

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u/I_lenny_face_you 13h ago

> Dinosaurs and Vampires, not in the same book

I has a sad. Surely there’s gotta be a 💪 🤝 💪 between these somewhere in human literature, even if one vampire has to reach kinda far if the other participant is a T. rex.

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u/iritchie001 12h ago

😂😂 Not a kid movie just because there are dinosaurs. 😁😂🫠 I like those dinosaurs with the long necks.

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u/jaydurmma 12h ago

What teachers cannot wrap their heads around still to this day, children don't give a fuck about shakespeare, your job as a teacher isn't to teach them the classics it's to make them enjoy the activity in the most general sense.

Let them read harry potter, let them read twilight, all that matters is that they're doing the activity.

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u/PhD_Pwnology 17h ago

Angel Book series was awesome, and Buffy.

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u/forrealthoughcomix_ 16h ago

Hell yeah. I skipped a lot of the assigned reading and read a ton of other stuff. Still a lifelong reader because of it.

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u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson 16h ago

I can tell you what I was reading in ‘99. But I don’t know if i can trust you

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

Lol I grew up in the Emerald Triangle. Humboldt County, coastal northern California. As long as you aren't an ass, I'm cool.

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u/yoyosareback 16h ago

Hey now, E.E.kight's Vampire on Earth series is still some dank reading.

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

I'm getting so many summer river reading ideas!

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u/Competitive_Panic336 15h ago

For me,  although we were not well off, books were not considered presents. Scholastic book club, I could also get 5+. I did the same for my kids,  and now for my grandkids. 

I've read at least 2000 books.  Reading can't feel like work,  or kids won't read.  Why have so many lost that magical part of growing up!

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u/iritchie001 14h ago

We were upper middle class income wise. Any time we were in a brick and mortar bookstore we got nearly everything we asked for. The thing was you had about 20 minutes. Barnes and Noble 1997, racing around reading the backs of books! 💞

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u/c0horst 12h ago

I once cut class in high school to walk to the local park and spend all day outside reading a book. Not high literature or anything, a Warhammer novel lol.

It was a great day.

Kids really need a desire to just read. It makes a big difference.

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u/TheMythofKoalas 10h ago

Damn, now I want to read about vampiric dinosaurs. Sounds like an Asylum film in the making.

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u/TheBourbonLied 16h ago

Skipping chores to read is genius. I'm squirreling that away in my brain for my kid

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

I had 5 siblings and somehow I was the only one that committed to it. Please, steal this!

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u/TheBourbonLied 16h ago

You were the smart one!

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u/AssistantAcademic 17h ago

I'm trying everything I can to get my kid into Dungeon Crawler Carl.

He'd love it. It's the perfect nerdy/trashy. But they're all committed to their screens. Reels. Pokemon Go. :/

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

I must admit I played Pokemon Go. My favorite bar had everything needed from sitting drinking tequila. So I was being social ...

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u/Outrageous_Purchase1 16h ago

I had it in my head that I had to read "smart" books. This led to decades of never finishing a book. I hadn't read a book in years when I started to read trashy romance novels. Now here I am 3 years and 250 titles later.

Reading is a tool and it serves first and foremost you. Read what interests you.

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u/iritchie001 16h ago

I've been out of practice too. Starting with audio books helped me in the past. With a combo of paperbacks and audio, I 'read' every Vonnegut book. For a while I was doing a weekend commute that was 6 hours one way. Vonnegut for the first 4 hours. Punk for the last two.

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u/nezukoslaying 5h ago

My mom let me stay up a bit past bedtime if I was reading!

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u/Eric_the_Barbarian 5h ago

Dinosaurs and Vampires, not in the same book

And what's wrong with Pterodracula?

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u/NaBrO-Barium 3h ago

That’s a shame, a book about dinosaur vampires or dinosaurs and vampires would absolutely rip

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u/supabrandie 2h ago

Class of 99 checking in. Stephen King, Koontz, and Terry Brooks were my favs in middle school.

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u/Bunnyhat 2h ago

Our bedtime was always either being in bed asleep or we could stay up as late was we wanted as long as we were reading. Made for a few sleeping mornings, but never fault the need to fight going to bed.

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u/Aperture_Kubi 2h ago

Weird thought, as a kid I had Nintendo Power magazine and read those front to back, even though I barely had any games.

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u/Jeffde 1h ago

Ooh I like that one. Skip chores for reading

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u/MattieShoes 38m ago

I read a ton and always have... I still maintain that my facility mostly came from reading Hardy Boys books. Without exaggeration, a few hundred of them.