What Kids Are Saying About Books

by Julia Buckley

At this time of year all sorts of reading polls go up: books of the year, best lists, tips for good writing, et cetera. But mainly we're asking adults these questions. I thought I'd poll my children--ages twelve and sixteen--about their views on books.


IAN (age 16)

What's the best book you read in 2010?'

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. More accurately, it was one of the only books I read in 2010.

On what form of entertainment do you spend most of your time? Do you still make time for reading?

The computer. Does reading computer font count?

Sort of. What sorts of books will you NOT read?

Twilight, and the other stuff in that area. Also post-modern poetry.

If you were a writer, what would be your genre?

Horror.

If you could choose between reading a really good book or seeing a movie based on that book, which would you choose?

It depends on the ratio of pages in book to hours in movie. If the book is like 700 pages, I may just watch the movie. If the movie was good, I'll try the book.

GRAHAM (age 12)

What's the best book you read in 2010?

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster.

On what form of entertainment do you spend the most of your time? Do you still make time for reading?

I spend a lot of time on my Play Station 3, but I try to make time for reading.

Hmmm. What sorts of books will you NOT read?

I will read any type of book; it depends on the contents of the specific book.


If you were a writer, what would be your genre?

I would choose adventure, because it's more interesting when there is more excitement.

If you could choose between reading a really good book or seeing a movie based on that book, which would you choose?

It depends on the book/movie, but honestly? Probably the movie.

Very revealing; thank you, Graham.

A recent interview on NPR about the future of entertainment informed me of the fact that everything is changing (which we already knew), and that entertainers and producers will need to decide NOW how they will respond to that change.

In the case of writers, things are becoming more visual and more integrated with other media. My sons' comments (albeit extremely brief) seem to highlight that idea. The book is not always the first choice (although, to my relief, they are both in the process of reading one now).

If we want to see the future, we need look no farther than the young people in our midst. They can tell us exactly what it looks like.