high school: reading for pleasure?

[happi duck]

With increased and meatier required reading in high school, do you insist that your kids read for pleasure?

My kids are enjoying their required reading and it seems silly to force them to have several books going. On the other hand, I hate for them to get out of the habit of finding hidden gems and reading just for fun. (Besides, there are just so many great books I hate for them to miss any!)

Any insights?

[melissaL]

it would really depend on if your child is a book worm or not.
my ds15 isn't a book worm at all. I only make him do his assigned reading. he has just finished Herodotus. it took him nearly 4 months. during that time he read about 15 non fiction science books just for fun. just smallish ones that I happened to leave laying around. like Usborne mysteries of science.

[JennW in SoCal]

it would really depend on if your child is a book worm or not.

:iagree:

My oldest was/is NOT a book worm and I was simply happy he read his assigned reading.

My youngest IS a book worm and always has a non-school book going. He enjoys reading for pleasure in the evenings and on weekends.

I remember how much I enjoyed mindless reading during school vacations. I just wanted to escape and not have to think about reading -- I didn't read good literature for fun until I was out of college!

So...no I wouldn't insist, but like Melissa I'd have interesting reading material lying around -- magazines, newspapers, novels, non-fiction. You never know what will suck your child in!

[Seraphina71]

I think if your kids are enjoying their assigned books, then they ARE reading for pleasure. I wouldn't sweat it.

[Hotdrink]

You can only really encourage the reading for pleasure, can't you? I mean, you can require certain books to be read, but you can't make them get pleasure out of it! If they enjoy reading, they'll do it of their own accord, if they're not huge readers, they're putting in a good effort to get the compulsory stuff read and deserve some time to do what they do enjoy, no? Although personally, as a bookworm (I used to read about 10 full length novels per week during my school holidays when I was a child), I find it very difficult to comprehend how it would be possible not to enjoy reading :confused:

[Jane in NC]

I think that it is important not only to read but to choose some of the books that we read. If a student is only reading assigned books, he is missing the thrill of perusing library shelves where serendipity is often ones guide.

That said, my son reads tons of what I call "junk" for pleasure. Note that he rarely watches television. He plays some computer games but we do not own a game console system. He buys stacks of fantasy/sci fi paperbacks at the semi-annual library sale and can literally read a book every couple of days for pleasure.

Agreeing with Jenn on having material lying around. My son loves to read old comic collections (Calvin and Hobbes or The Far Side), Discover magazine (science) and the letters to the editor in the daily newspaper. If my son were not a natural reader, I would insist on summer reading. As things stand, he reads voraciously through the summer.

Jane

[Kareni]

My teen is also a voracious reader; however, her books of choice are primarily fiction in the fantasy genre. During the summer after her junior year, I did insist she read six books from a basket of books I'd preselected. The books in the basket were all non-fiction. I did this to add some much needed variety to her reading list. Some of the titles were suggested in this thread:

Looking for intriguing non-fiction to add variety to my teen's reading ... (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29954&highlight=non-fiction)

Regards,
Kareni

[Cedarmom]

No. I let him know when I find a book that is interesting and share with him. I buy him books. I think the habit is already there or not by high school. My son doesn't read as much for pleasure, as I would like, but he will occasionally. And he reads the Lord of The RIng sereis through at least once a year.

[creekland]

My three all read books and magazines for pleasure as well as assigned reading. Only one is a bookworm. Their pace slows down when they also have school books and assignments to read, but they don't stop. I think variety is good for them.

[happi duck]

Thanks for the input! I realize I phrased my original question incorrectly...you can't make someone enjoy something.

Around here I tend to know what everyone is reading...we share titles...discuss...debate etc. If my kids don't have a book going we're off to the library or suggesting titles to each other. I guess I was just feeling like I was over "booking" them!

Your input helped me clarify our style...thanks!

[Ritsumei]

My teen is also a voracious reader; however, her books of choice are primarily fiction in the fantasy genre.

I was like that for a long time, enough so that my Mom spoke to me about it because she (like you) was worried. I more or less ignored her at the time, BUT because I enjoy reading, when I ran out of the sci-fi/fantasy that looked interesting I found other things -- non-fiction things -- that became interesting to me. The thing that first turned me on to non-fiction was hobbies. I wanted to know more about sewing and photography. From there it's gradually blossomed until I now read much more non-fiction than fiction, and hardly any sci-fi/fantasy at all.

Look at her hobbies and leave relevant books laying around. I'll bet she'll bite.

[Kareni]

My teen is also a voracious reader; however, her books of choice are primarily fiction in the fantasy genre.


I was like that for a long time, enough so that my Mom spoke to me about it because she (like you) was worried. I more or less ignored her at the time, BUT because I enjoy reading, when I ran out of the sci-fi/fantasy that looked interesting I found other things -- non-fiction things -- that became interesting to me. The thing that first turned me on to non-fiction was hobbies. I wanted to know more about sewing and photography. From there it's gradually blossomed until I now read much more non-fiction than fiction, and hardly any sci-fi/fantasy at all.

Look at her hobbies and leave relevant books laying around. I'll bet she'll bite.

I wouldn't say that I'm worried at this point; it was more a matter of adding some diversity to her reading list for college applications.

And, yes, she 'bites' indeed ... often it's a case that the books I picked out for myself to read are suddenly missing from the book basket.

Thanks for sharing, Ritsumei!

Regards,
Kareni

[swimmermom3]

My teen is also a voracious reader; however, her books of choice are primarily fiction in the fantasy genre. During the summer after her junior year, I did insist she read six books from a basket of books I'd preselected. The books in the basket were all non-fiction. I did this to add some much needed variety to her reading list. Some of the titles were suggested in this thread:

Looking for intriguing non-fiction to add variety to my teen's reading ... (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29954&highlight=non-fiction)

Regards,
Kareni

Kareni, thank you for this link. It is timely. My dd was discussing her discouragement over her Contemporary Lit & Comp course at her high school. I promised to add to our personal library. I needed some variety beyond the classics.

[Kareni]

You are quite welcome, Lisa.

I also did a posting on the General board at the same time with the same question. There were other good suggestions there. Here's that thread:

Crosspost: Looking for intriguing non-fiction to add variety to my teen's reading ... (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29956&highlight=quirkology)

And another thread with some possibilities: Suggestiions for non-fiction books for a 14 y/0 girl? Thanks! (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33848&highlight=non-fiction)

Regards,
Kareni

[momof2boys]

My boys do their required reading for school, which is a lot since we homeschool using CM methods and then they read books for pleasure most nights.

Gloria
www.homeschoolinginthecountry.blogspot.com (http://www.homeschoolinginthecountry.blogspot.com)

[SheWhoWaits]

I think the habit is already there or not by high school.
What about a child who used to read for pleasure but quit when he reached high school age? Anyone have ideas how i can get him to start again?

[Cafelattee]

I try to get my 16 yo to pick up a book for pleasure reading. He will not pick out anything.

But he loves the books I assign and will read them non stop until they are finished.

I don't understand him.

My 12 yo is the same way. They want purposely choose to read but when I give them a book they love it:001_huh:

So I mix up classic, fiction, biographies.

They are both well read but I doubt they will continue reading once they leave home. Well unless their wives bring books home to them:001_unsure:

[Kareni]

What about a child who used to read for pleasure but quit when he reached high school age? Anyone have ideas how i can get him to start again?

Do you have access to a library with a comprehensive book on tape section? Perhaps start a tape while he is doing something else (i.e., washing dishes, polishing shoes [does anyone do that anymore?], working on a jigsaw puzzle, driving).

Alternatively, share a good chapter of a book you are reading in the hope that it will inspire your son to finish the book himself.

Good luck!
Regards,
Kareni

[OhElizabeth]

Just by way of discussion, what impact do you think reading speed plays in this? I had a friend in grad school who was a speed reader and read a book a night on top of her regular class work.

For SheWhoWaits, those are some pretty serious courses. I studied russian in high school and college. He may just not have a lot left after all that.