Teenagers reading

Update 17/07: I made a mistake about the book Beastly. It’s written by Alex Flinn.

I cannot begin to convey to you the destructive stupidity of what is being proposed, nor the intense sadness and great anger that so many Australian writers feel about this proposal.

said Richard Flanagan in his Closing Address at the Sydney Writers Festival in May.

Unfortunately, the Productivity Commission ignored Richard Flanagan and many others in its report on the investigation into the current provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 that restricts the parallel* importation of books. The report was released this week and is 240 pgs, but you can download each section separately, the most important being the Overview which includes key points and the Recommendations.

The Coalition for Cheaper Books is the major supporter of the removal of restrictions on parallel importation of books and their spokesperson is former NSW premier Bob Carr, currently Director of the Board of Dymocks. The Coalition represents booksellers in Australia with a combined market share of about 40% of book sales: Dymocks, Woolworths, Coles, K Mart, Big W and Target. The Coalition’s submission to the Productivity Commission creatively describes this membership. The “small, family owned businesses” which make up part of their membership are a particularly small minority. And it’s quite a stretch to call the last five booksellers. Books might comprise some of their diverse wares, but their main business is taking money from us when we’re not paying attention. ie. you’re standing in a long line that’s not going anywhere, with chocolate, bottled water, stupid Golden books, etc. staring you in the face, and thinking,

I’m thirsty, I need a sugar fix and Johnny won’t shut up.**

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The longlist for the 2008 Inkys has been released. Not being a teenager, I can’t vote, but I can opinionate. I was looking through the list, thinking, how many books have I not read? but it was mainly the first few I’ve missed/couldn’t be bothered with. My to-read list has grown.

Obviously I think Extras by Scott Westerfeld should win. I preferred his three previous ones, but the theme of beauty being the reason for existence is still there. Fame is added as another reason, with similar consequences if it’s all you live for. Westerfeld’s onto other topics for his next book, which I’m glad of. As much as I love the Uglies series, it could only be stretched so far. And thank you to Mr Wester for providing pics for the stealing. If you’re thinking (like me) the above photo looks kind of photoshopped, click on the larger version and it looks more realistic, but I’m still not totally convinced :)

I avoided Before I Die by Jenny Downham because I would have been crying the whole way through. I gather I’m missing out.

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I’ve been waiting impatiently for more than a year for a graphic novel called The Sacrifice by Bruce Mutard to be published by Allen & Unwin (although I only knew vague details which were whispered in my ear). It was launched in April. I’m a bit slow and only just found this out from the Bughouse.

The Sacrifice draws compelling parallels between Australia then and now, and explores questions of courage, masculinity, tolerance and national identity that will resonate long after the book is read.

I’m always excited when an Australian graphic novel is published because there’s so few of them.

Perth based Gestalt Publishing started publishing graphic novels last year. Their most recent release, Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday written by Alex Cox, with art by Chris Bones & Justin Randall, was also launched in May April in Perth and Melbourne. It’s the sequel to the movie Repo Man. Alex Cox had this to say about it:

Ten years after Repo Man, I became interested in the idea of a sequel. Specifically – what had happened to Otto, during his ten-year absence from Earth? And what would he make of the changes which had taken place in his absence? Otto, it would appear, has been held prisoner, in great luxury, on the planet Mars. Now he has returned to Earth, and changed his name – to Waldo

I had meant to blog about the Perth launch and Gestalt Publishing, but things got in the way.

Now I have some reading to do. And you might like to know that both these books are written for adults, although I’m sure there’s teenagers out there who might enjoy them.

I was looking along the shelf of my library for a book I’d found on the catalogue and I came across The VOYA Reader (Ed. Dorothy M. Broderick, 1990, Scarecrow Press). I looked at the date it was published and when I saw 1990 (back when I was 13) I considered putting it back. Luckily I flicked through the TOC and the “Permission to Read Boring Book Form” caught my eye. Everyone needs access to a good sleep aid.

During the course of my research, 13 year old Carl (not his real name) told me not only was Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson boring, but it was the “worst book ever,” unlike a universal favourite Holes by Louis Sachar. I read both these books after becoming a children’s librarian and rediscovering how much better kids books are than those boring adult books. I have to say I agree with Carl. I really tried to like Terabithia, seeing as it’s the same age as I am, but it just wouldn’t happen. And if you disagree with Carl and I, let’s agree to differ :) I’ve just been reading Justine Larbalestier’s eloquent views on liking and disliking books.

Here is a PDF of the Permission to Read Boring Book Form. Reproduced from The VOYA Reader (Ed. Dorothy M. Broderick ©1990 Scarecrow Press p.115). Used with permission of Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) and Scarecrow Press. This material is copyrighted and not reproducible without permission.

References

• Broderick, Dorothy M. (Ed.) (1990) The VOYA Reader. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
• Paterson, Katherine (1977) Bridge to Terabithia. New York: Crowell.
• Sachar, Louis (1998) Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

I’ve just read Adolescents talk about reading: exploring resistance to and engagement with text by Anne Reeves (International Reading Association, 2004). I found it engaging and useful. Reeves describes her PhD research into teenagers’ views on reading, focusing on five case studies of high school students and their resistance to school reading. Reeves is a former teacher and her book is aimed at teachers, but librarians working with teenagers will benefit from her work.

Before my last post I’d read the following quote, but I couldn’t find it on the weekend (among all those post-it notes), but I just found it. Reeves is discussing popular fiction, particularly the romance fiction that high school student Rosa read voraciously. As I said in my post Real reading, some people think the whole format of graphic novels is inferior to ordinary text books in the same way that popular (genre) fiction is disparaged as not “literary.” Reeves says,

When the reading an adolescent loves is outside the realm of respectable literature, teachers are taught that their job is to move students away from their chosen genres and into the fold of “something better” as quickly as possible. Teachers are given the responsibility for making the young person a more mature reader and thinker who can look upon popular fiction critically and understand why it is “inferior.” (p. 155)

Reeves doesn’t agree with this view, and discusses how teachers can incorporate popular and more literary works into the curriculum to ensure teenagers aren’t alienated by books they don’t enjoy or understand and thus ensure reading does not become a chore to be avoided. This idea can be transferred to teacher librarians, part of whose job is to ensure young people encounter a variety of genres and formats in their reading, without making judgments on supposed “quality.”

Reference

Reeves, A. R. (2004) Adolescents talk about reading: exploring resistance to and engagement with text. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.