TOTW: "Boy Books"
A few weeks ago I was in a Barnes & Nobles signing stock, and I passed by two sections shelved side by side. The first, the science-fiction & fantasy section, was populated by a group of guys sitting on the floor reading. In the second, the YA section, a couple of girls were discussing the books on display.
One anecdote does not a pattern make, but I’ve seen many people make these observations in chats and posts: that the YA section seems to be in danger of becoming a guy-free zone. But is it really? And if so, what does it mean, and what (if anything) should be done about it?
After a twitter chat in which this subject was discussed, I came up with the idea of creating a list of YA speculative fiction “boy books,” for the benefit of those looking for recommendations. But this, of course, raised a whole host of new issues: Should there be such a thing as “boy books”? What does “boy books” even mean?
I did make that list; but before I post it (on Wednesday), let’s hear what you think. And to start it off, here are some Inkies’ opinions. As you can see, we have come to no consensus on this issue…
Caroline Hooton: Personally, I think that publishers have created their own self-fulfilling prophecy whereby they associate boy-friendly books as being books with x, y and z, so they only put books with x, y and z out with marketing that says boys should read them. Publishers will then analyse the sales figures for those books and if the sales are good, assume that they've hit on the only thing that boys will look at and if the sales figures are low, assume that this means that boys don't want to read. IMNSHO, boys want a good story exactly the same as girls want a good story.
Lia Keyes: It's not an issue that's going to go away any time soon. The more poorly that boys perform in school (a definite trend) the more the finger will be pointed at literacy during a boy's formative teen years-until it's no longer an issue, until bookstores and libraries make it easy for boys to find a good read, until there's sufficient choice for boys is on the shelves, and until boys feel free to talk about the books they read without feeling uncool.
Ellen Booraem: As a practical matter, the question is how a library or bookstore or classroom teacher can connect today's teenage boys with books they'd enjoy, and it's a rare teenage boy today who will be comfortable walking around with a "girly" book… Acknowledging that problem and struggling to keep reading alive as a pastime today doesn't mean we stop striving for gender freedom tomorrow.
So what do you think? Is this a real issue? Is the concept of boys books a helpful step toward a solution, or just a part of the original problem? If you are a bookseller or librarian, what is your experience in matching up your male teen customers with books?
One anecdote does not a pattern make, but I’ve seen many people make these observations in chats and posts: that the YA section seems to be in danger of becoming a guy-free zone. But is it really? And if so, what does it mean, and what (if anything) should be done about it?
After a twitter chat in which this subject was discussed, I came up with the idea of creating a list of YA speculative fiction “boy books,” for the benefit of those looking for recommendations. But this, of course, raised a whole host of new issues: Should there be such a thing as “boy books”? What does “boy books” even mean?
I did make that list; but before I post it (on Wednesday), let’s hear what you think. And to start it off, here are some Inkies’ opinions. As you can see, we have come to no consensus on this issue…
Caroline Hooton: Personally, I think that publishers have created their own self-fulfilling prophecy whereby they associate boy-friendly books as being books with x, y and z, so they only put books with x, y and z out with marketing that says boys should read them. Publishers will then analyse the sales figures for those books and if the sales are good, assume that they've hit on the only thing that boys will look at and if the sales figures are low, assume that this means that boys don't want to read. IMNSHO, boys want a good story exactly the same as girls want a good story.
Lia Keyes: It's not an issue that's going to go away any time soon. The more poorly that boys perform in school (a definite trend) the more the finger will be pointed at literacy during a boy's formative teen years-until it's no longer an issue, until bookstores and libraries make it easy for boys to find a good read, until there's sufficient choice for boys is on the shelves, and until boys feel free to talk about the books they read without feeling uncool.
Ellen Booraem: As a practical matter, the question is how a library or bookstore or classroom teacher can connect today's teenage boys with books they'd enjoy, and it's a rare teenage boy today who will be comfortable walking around with a "girly" book… Acknowledging that problem and struggling to keep reading alive as a pastime today doesn't mean we stop striving for gender freedom tomorrow.
So what do you think? Is this a real issue? Is the concept of boys books a helpful step toward a solution, or just a part of the original problem? If you are a bookseller or librarian, what is your experience in matching up your male teen customers with books?