[backwoods-engineer]

Good article. I have two homeschool kids: the youngest (daughter) loves to read (and write), and the oldest (my son) does not like to read. I read to my son more than my daughter, although I read to both quite a lot. My son does have dyslexia, but so does my daughter, to a lesser degree. Son is 18 now. He will read when he has to (car repair manuals), and has good reading comprehension, but just doesn't like to read.

Any ideas? Do you think he will read more when he gets older? He spends a lot of time chasing girls and cars (well, one particular of each) these days.

[achilles2000]

A book has a difficult time competing with a pretty girl...or a fast car, for that matter, at least until you are too old for the girl or the car ;-)

[Fiji Hill]

My son does have dyslexia, but so does my daughter, to a lesser degree. Son is 18 now. He will read when he has to (car repair manuals), and has good reading comprehension, but just doesn't like to read. Any ideas? Do you think he will read more when he gets older? He spends a lot of time chasing girls and cars (well, one particular of each) these days.

Here are some sites that might be helpful:

• The Young Adult Literary Services Associationn (YALSA) offers some suggestions and resourses for reluctant readers

• Additional resources can be found at AdLit.org

• If he likes graphic novels, this article in Library Journal my be of help

• This article in Scholastic is aimed at middle school students, but may still be helpful.

Books that might helpful include:

• Reading Rants: a Guide to Books that Rock! by Jennifer Hubert (New York: Neal-Schuman, 2007). A guide to teen fiction listing books according to genre. Information about each book includes a synopsis of the story, the target audience, the message, and "why it rocks."

• Making the Match: The Right Book for the Right Reader at the Right Time, edited by Teri J. Lesesne (Portland, Me., Stenhouse, 2003) offers advice on motivating young readers.

• Value-Packed Booktalks: Genre Talks and More for Teen Readers by Lucy Schall (Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited, 2011) has not yet been published, but is due out in April and will be up to date as to what literature is available.

• Radical Reads 2: Working with the Newest Edgy Titles for Teens by Joni R Bodart (New York: Scarecrow, 2010). The follow-on to Radical Reads: 101 Young Adult Novels on the Edge (New York: Scarecrow, 2002) by the same author discusses "radical" books that should pique teens' interests.

These books were written for librarians and may be difficult to locate, but you can find them in your nearest library by using Worldcat (http://www.worldcat.org)

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Have you considered magazines, like car magazines? I would assume his difficulty reading is what puts him off, so perhaps shorter stories/articles might help.

Another idea is to watch a movie produced from a great book, then he might be interested enough to read the book and pick up more of the characters and story line. We all know movies rarely capture the entirety of a good book.

[My hearts in London - Everett]

My daughters didn’t like to read either due to a confusing mix of phonics and whole word when they were young. You have to find something they are really interested in to get them to read. For my daughters it turned out to be romance fiction and Harry Potter. (Hey, whatever it took! Even period romance fiction has words that need to be sounded out and/or researched.) Now they’ve expanded their topics of interest, which include a love of learning about all types of history, and have gotten better and spelling and comprehension in the process.