One thing I noticed in Literature classes is that textbooks contained the most boring possible short stories. The only story I actually liked, through the years of Lit class was "The Most Dangerous Game." The morons that wrote these textbooks actually managed to find a dull, un-funny James Thurber story.
Want to motivate young male readers? Assign Dracula. Or Beau Geste. Or Blind Corner. Or the Scarlett Pimpernel. Or Kim. Or Prester John. Or any Sherlock Holmes story.
It will never happen. God forbid the boy should actually ENJOY what he reads.
So true. I've found that the best way to get my son to get interested in the Bible is to have him read the OT books with lots of battles, fighting and the like. 1 and 2 Samuel read like an action movie, my boy loves them.
I'm sorry to hear about your school's problem with boy-friendly literature. What a waste of time not to use material that captured your and other boys' imaginations.
I just watched "The Scarlet Pimpernel" again last night. Love the story.