@@FDAPOIt was. He wrote a book after saying that. That's the grift. He says something outrageous it gets a lot of attention, and some people stick around. Stop paying attention to the man.
@@FDAPO Huh, the dude is making a video about not reading. Either he's making a clickbait troll video or he's a moron and not aware how stupid it is to make a YT video about not reading. But points for wearing lipstick.
I just started reading again this year. You kind of hit the nail on the head here. I read a lot up until college. School caused some burnout and by the end I just couldn't enjoy it anymore. My 20s and 30s were dominated by a mentality that every waking hour needed to be focused on productivity. Any hobby needed to be a marketable one. I can attest to the half-hour idea. My journey back to reading started because my kids like me to lay on their floor till they're asleep. I was just browsing my phone in that time but I bought a cheap little light so I could read in an effort to reduce screen time. Now I go out of my way to find more time to read. My stress level is just so much lower and I feel overall happier.
As a man who never read a book until I was 21 (about 8 months ago) I never considered reading because I never saw anyone around me read. Every once in a while I would see a random person read in public and it was always either an old person or a woman. I started reading because of how awesome the first Dune movie was and I wanted to read what happened next in the story. After reading the first three books in the dune series I read an additional 6 books and I’m halfway through “The Way of Kings” I am so happy I started reading. Sometimes my guy friends make fun of me for it but it doesn’t bother me at all. I feel like everyone needs to read instead of wasting their time doomscrolling on tiktok for several hours every day
Very similar to me to me it was game of thrones everyone kept saying how superior everyone in the books are and wanted to check it and was surprised how enjoyable reading was then I wanted something not adapted and read stormlight archive my favourite fantasy and now reading turned from something I never understood the appeal for to an addiction keep going with stormlight words of radiance is even better than way of kings my top 5 fantasy are 1.stormlight=suneater(cant decide) 3. A song of ice and fire 4.first law 5.red rising Dune part 2 is my favourite movie of all time but I am waiting for messiah to drop to read the books from my experience a movie can’t ruin a book but a book can ruin a movie
I think modern publishing is very geared toward young women, young guys may not be finding books marketed to them. the covers are very generic and confusing too. If you looked at a selection of book covers from 30 years ago there would be no question about what genre it was or what age/gender it was aimed at.
This. The market is almost exclusively geared to women. Before people get bent outta shape...nothing wrong with women authors, women sharing the market, etc. But it's obvious the booktok-ification of reading has dominated the market for the past handful of years. The hobby is controlled on socials by women, thus the market caters to them. Again, nothing wrong with demographics and catering to them, but the scales are way off balance.
7:14 "Ego reading" is such a perfect term for what it is. I never thought about it that way. I remember getting back on my exercise journey, and I tried to run a mile and a half, and I did it, but I destroyed my leg and felt awful afterward and I realized it was because I wanted to just get back into doing what I know I used to be able to do.
I loved this video! Thank you for the advice! I identify with your story about looking up to Brian Jacques as a kid. I remember thinking it was so cool that he came up with all those stories and I could chill out in that world apart from what was popular at school like Harry Potter and other stuff that had movies. In Jr High I was then inspired by reading “classics” by men recommended by my Literature teacher: Treasure Island, Call of the Wild, etc. Later in highschool I looked up to the male writers Dostoyevsky, Twain, Hemingway etc as well as my male AP Literature teacher. Last but not least, probably what made me a life long reader was everyday seeing my dad reading in his free time: both the Bible, self help books for work, and literature like 1984. Having male role models especially a dad who reads, applies what he’s reading to his life, and talks about it with you has made me who I am today. Thanks so much for posting this. Your fan.
Great video! For fans of Cornwell: Patrick O’Brian’s Napoleonic war novels are an incredibly compelling depiction of adventure, war, and male friendship. Probably the best work of historical fiction I’ve read. Cornwell himself has said that reading O’Brian makes him want to give up and try a new career.
I’m 32. I tried getting back into reading when I was in my late 20s and succeeded a wee bit but mostly used audio books and I tried to multi task too much. I ultimately failed but read a few. This is not an indictment of audio books. But an indictment of me. So at 31 dealing with a lot of anxiety I forced myself over a few months to read ‘The circle’ it was an awful book, but completing it hooked me. I read 15 books from May to December and now it’s a habit. I’m reading almost entirely fiction or history. Very little non fiction self help stuff. You’re right about smart phones. Resting has cured much of my behavior like that. Don’t give up guys. Don’t red pill, just start reading.
Mainstream publishers no longer publish books for boys and men. Book store chains like Indigo, Coles, Chapters etc. are increasingly focused on Romantasy and the Booktok market. These are major reasons why boys and men are reading less.
Those are true issues for male readers but I think it's far more likely those are symptoms of a lack of male readership, not a cause. Why write and market books to a few thousand men when you can write smut for millions and millions of women? Easy choice to make.
Fortunately there are more amazing books already published than you could ever hope to read in your entire life. Even if no one published a book suitable for you interests ever again you’d still never come close to running out of great reads.
I think that it has to do with the fact that there is SOOOOO much other things for men to do that competes with books. Video games, Movies, Comics. Videos on the internet. It takes a lot of effort to read books. I read my first long book ever not more than a year ago. Mistborn the final empire. Now that took me a long time to get in the mood to read. I get the motivation to read by seeing what other people like and when i hear they have a great experience then i feel that i also want that experience. Thats how you sell reading to men.
First off great video. As I commented on your TikTok I really don’t know where I would be without reading. I am not a book/reading snob. Reading is reading. Read what you enjoy. I had a friend tell me that he didn’t feel accomplished when he read fantasy. I had a long discussion with him that reading should be enjoyable and he was being kind of a snob. Want to read romance, westerns, mysteries, comic books? Good just keep reading. No judgment about what people like to read. Just read!!! Btw you are my favorite book person. You are down to earth, smart, funny and I love your recommendations. Keep reading keep posting content! ✌️📚
Thanks so much, Gary! I wholeheartedly agree. Reading for fun seems to be something we do less and less. I, too, hate the idea that reading should be viewed as an accomplishment or a means to an end. Cheers!
Vintage Sci-fi booktube is predominantly male, which may be explained by your intro about Jack Vance : Men seek adventure and sense of wonder that old sci-fi and pulp fiction provide.
You're totally right. I was a prolific reader until I was about 18, which is when I left home, got a job and also happened to be when social media became a thing. I started regularly reading fiction again 10 years later due to a combination of a) certain books resonating strongly with me, b) I quit social media and c) I was able to convince myself again that there was value to reading fiction. And perhaps that might be the key to getting men to read again? It's to convince us that fiction isn't a waste of our valuable time and that there are practical applications to it too?
100% it’s hard to quantify, but I do believe it is a net positive! Distraction is everywhere, there’s inherent value in being able to lock in on something. But also, there’s value in experiencing personal enjoyment that also as a bi-product gives your brain a rhetorical and imaginative workout!
I got back into reading for fun this past year after graduating from csuf. I like to read both fiction and non fiction. I want to start my own side business so I have been focusing on non fiction at the moment.
You hit it right on the head. Lost my thirst for reading in high school and hated it in college. Im 36 now and in 2024 i switched back to reading science fiction novels. I was reading comics the few years prior to this but began to run out all the storylines I wanted to read. I also deactivated my social media this year as well. Never enjoyed so many books, movies and video games as I do now. Social media no longer there to pull me away form what I enjoy.
Excellent video, Josh! Interesting take on transactional reading versus reading to enjoy the journey. Bro culture online is pretty divisive when it comes to this topic, and I'm all for more men promoting the merits of reading fiction.
My goal in 2025 is to fall in love with reading again. I am going to read novels that have been on my TBR forever, I am going to buy any good books I find at the dollar store (yes, if you know when to look you can find good books at the dollar store: just today I grabbed Exiles by Jane Harper, Twelve Monotasks, and Silver Tears, by Camilla Lackberg), actually read the books on my bookshelf and on my kindle, and read nonfiction about my passions: geology, museums, and digital technology. No minimum number of books read. No Goodreads. Nothing. Just me. Reading. Books. Like back when I was 12. Can't wait!
Great video Josh! It's always depressing to read transactionally. It's so important to just enjoy what you're reading and really immerse yourself in the book and I got back into a reading as an adult on a whim, I always wondered why I stopped, and now I've been reading again, quite a lot for about a year now.
I found a good trick to get back into reading is with short stories. And I would suggest staying away from audio books, I find it a more pleasing experience to have my inner voice tell me the story. Also mixing up the genre's you read, don't just stick to one kind.
For anyone looking to get back into reading, I would strongly recommend reading Red Rising by Pierce Brown. It's fast paced, action packed and has awesome characters.
Personally, I found it to be very cringy and juvenile. I think The Hunger Games portrayed the dystopian elements that this series strives for much better. Not a bad book by any means, but it reads very YA
I just started reading again. I read every night before bed. Sometimes I read for purpose, but most of the time it’s to learn about a niche historic event or just to escape. 10/10 recommend the blade itself! Thanks for this great video!
I agree Abercrombie is a great starting point in fantasy-that and Tad Williams were my true intro into reading the genre and wouldn’t have it any other way
Great video, Josh. As I just now joined the Booktube world, I'm finding that many (most?) of the Booktube content creators are women. Now, perhaps that's just my perspective, and I could be wrong, but it's just an observation. I also find myself gravitating towards my fellow male booktubers. Not for any sexist reason - there are several AMAZING women booktubers! - but I guess more because I want to know what the other guys who enjoy books are reading. I do believe the number of male booktube content creators IS growing, so I think there may be a growth of more male readers than in the past. Let's hope! :) New subscriber! Thanks again for inspiring this new booktuber! :)
One thing that works for me is reading short stories. They don't require the time investment of a novel. They typically move along quickly. I am working my way through Best American Noir of the Century now. Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by Updike is good, too. There are many anthologies to choose from. I don't like all the stories, but if one isn't grabbing me, I just skip it and go to the next.
I’m a 34 year old man and started reading again last year. Now I’m writing, too. Why didn’t I do this sooner? I feel like a male literature revolution could be sparked off very easily, as modern entertainment continues to be mangled by large ideologically driven investment companies. Writing has no limits and cost nothing to start. Well, assuming you’re an average westerner, I suppose. It really is a profound hobby.
I hated reading my whole school career because i was bad at it, super slow reader. I took a Reading class in Middle school and read a book called "Freak The Mighty" and after high school got into superhero comic which are basically picture books. Then Remembered That book from middle school and bough it and loved reading it as an adult with more life experience and a different lense. I loved "The Martian" movie and read the book and i catch myself falling out of gaming and wanting to read more. Still new to reading per se but i have like 25 on the TBR and lists and lists written down
I read Harry Potter twice as a kid and really wanted to get that feeling back after college. I started back with The First Law trilogy about a year and a half ago. I read all three of them pretty quick but really really did not like the ending. (I didn’t know it at the time but I’m not a fan of grim dark). Then I started Stormlight Archive and loved it even if the third and fourth books are slower. I read some more Sanderson and now I’m working through The Wheel of Time. For me I really love the lore and complex worlds of these books, it makes me feel like a kid again! Find a book that you think you’ll like and give it a shot, you can have that feeling too!
I fit into the reading timeline perfectly as described. Thankfully choosing again to read as an adult. I actually just started again about 2 months ago. Someone recommended I start reading for fun. I said I don’t know where to begin and they recommended Harry Potter. So I started reading and I couldn’t put them down. I read all 7 in about 3 weeks. Jumped from that to The Brothers Karamazov and now I am about finished with that. When I get burned out in that I’ll read the Sun Eater series as a nice change of pace. Now my TBR list is ludicrous!! I tried audio books, but not a fan personally not for me. I love the experience I get when zoning out and getting lost in the book. I just don’t get that in an audio book.
I followed a similar path from many of the comments. It was only until the pandemic lock downs did I pick up avid reading once again. Two manly and enriching book recommendations I offer are: Musashi, by Eiji Yoshikawa - a fantantic redemption story of strength and humility. The second is Growth of the Soil, by Knut Hamsun - that book made me want to pick up an axe and cut down a tree and build my own home or grab a shovel and start digging just for the sake getting my hands dirty.
As a self-proclaimed “macho man” please do both! Be an absolute nerd while being “jacked.” nothing is more joyful than making your body into what you want it to be, especially if you’re inspired by your favorite characters.
I just discovered El Borak, a wily Texan fighting in 1800s Afghanistan. Talk about fun adventure stories! Written by Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian.
Hey I wanted to thank you for reccomending me 1356 by Bernard Cornwell on a tik tok comment. I listened to it on audio and loved it! that genre is right up my alley.
I’ve been reading every day for an average of 50 pages a day for the last 16 months and I hadn’t read anything regularly since I was a kid and the book that started it all was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography 🤣 but then I moved into Star Wars novels and then branched out to fantasy and read all of John Gwynne’s works now I’m reading GoT. I love it it’s part of my routine and a nice way to wind down
I hated reading as a kid. Mainly because I associated it with school and homework. But 2 years ago I moved to a different department at my job working overnights. Music got boring after a while, and I was scrolling through TH-cam and saw an audiobook of The Lord of The Rings. I was a massive fan of the movies, and so I listened to them. And since then, my free time has been spent reading.
I am a man, i lived in southeast asia, i read English book, predominantly classic sword and sorcery like Robert E Howard's Conan and Weird Tales magazine. That probably represent only 1% of my country's population
60% of writing classes being women seems right. Most men who write do non-fiction, for which you don't need fiction writing classes, and a 60-40 split is not at all a big difference. I think the "men don't read" shtick is overblown. In general very few people read nowadays, not just men in particular. The (book) reading person is a rare breed, not the reading man.
speaking in generalities, you're right. Although with tiktok there has been a bit of a shift in reading where after 2020, you saw a lot of people get back into reading (more often women than not) and those female readers got into a few authors (Maas, Hoover, Yarros) and then went downstream in those respective genres from there. Male readers didn't quite have that same reading boom, although I think reading became a bit more in vogue than it was before. I did attend an MFA program, and for whatever it's worth, in my experience the split was more like 80/20.
@@JoshReadsBooks12 Hey I also have a linguistics and literature related Bachelor (Philology), it was mostly women there as well, maybe even 90%. But I don't think this is indicative of reading in the general population. I know plenty of guys that didn't go to Literature programs who read books. Also most guys are into films, TV series, games, anime, manga etc. and get their story fixes from there.
Men are still writing, but "modern" publishers won't print anything that promotes healthy values of interest to men and written by men. Thus you have a dwindling number of readers, boosted by the current 'trend' of deliberately atrocious design aesthetics. Secondhand sales for pre 90's material is very strong, but the stock for which is drying up too.
I read lot of books lately nearly all written by men (but Anne Rice) though most are not recent. I don't have much time for other hobbies, in addition reading can be an inexpensive hobby (I mostly acquire mass market paperbacks) though for many people buying books is a different (and pricy) hobby.
Hey bro, I'm new to the channel. I don't know how I got on this topic. Perhaps it's for men who are not reading anymore. I used to read a lot. I'm 45 years old now. It's difficult. I started reading a book last days by Adam Nevill, I'm about 60 pages into a almost 600 page book. Thank you for helping remind me that it's not about how quickly I finish the book or if I finish the book at a certain point, you're going on the journey and you have no particular destination in mind. With that said, I'm also glad that you recommended dark matter. I've heard good things. I'm definitely going to read that next and the blade itself is well. Thank you for helping men continue to read. I'm looking forward to digging back in. I think I can do a half an hour a day so new to the channel subscribed and really appreciate the effort and really enjoyed the video thank you 🙏 🔥 🫡
1)Something that no one mentions is that men have move to other hobbies like video games and table top games 2) Men like to read fiction that involves epic fantasy/sci fi universes like Warhammer
I think readers are more open-minded in ways. Being a realist probably doesn't help creativity and imagination, hence harder to read fantasy without disgust. The reader seems to not care about that and just enjoys it. That's my take.
Eh...men have never really been into fiction, and that's ok. And its also why we like the screens with the talking heads. Try recommending some history or simple poly-sci stuff.
A few days ago I was talking about dating with someone who thinks reading is a waste of time and they said they want someone who is intelligent and can think for themself but doesn't care if they read. I thought, "uh okay good luck"
Men do read. The idea that all of us are insecure babies that hate fiction because it's "a waste" is stupid. Publishing simply caters to women readers and writers because the industry is mostly made up of women.
Great topic with quite a bit to unpack. School could do much better helping boys to develop a love of reading at the very least by offering more appealing books.
The truth is I’ve read thousands of great books over the years, both fiction and non, and it’s never really gotten me anywhere. So in my old age I actually welcome some of these distractions, especially TH-cam and cable news political networks.⚛️❤
Let me say the thing we all know, but don't want to say. I would venture to guess that the reason women read and men don't comes down to one word: porn. Looking at the timetable you put up on the screen, and the fact that most of those surveyed were millenials, or people who grew up during the transition to the internet, that would make the most sense. Beyond everything else that has proven to be bad about porn, it also pushes aside any other interests, and makes pursuing even our obligatory tasks difficult. Take it from someone who was a porn addict in college and then, even graduate school, (even whilst having a girlfriend, both times!) Porn fucks up our brains and turns us into instant gratification addicts. Reading good books is the opposite. You have to have the patience to follow the flow of the book. Let someone else take you, the long way, through their story. Say NO to the new drug! Say NO to porn!
6:00 If that doesn't control genetics, then it's a worthless study. And without even looking into it, I'm going to assume it didn't because they never do. Having genes for intelligence and consciousness means you'll probably find it easier to read for pleasure... and you'll do better in school. Maybe there actually is a casual relationship, but we'll probably never know because of that bullet you've been loading sense reading this comment the charge of "gentic determinism."
"Tough books" I agree and also don't. What form has "Reading for Pleasure" for a person. What do you what in a book. You see I found Brother Karamazov dry and slow[ it was not what I was loking for]...but I liked Jack London and I to this day have the example of The Count of Monte Cristo, that I stole from the library. Yes I did that🤣. I love that book....and I read it with 16-17. The book is a BIG ADVANTURE ABOUT REVENGE! . . . I still know that the book has a female character who is slowly poisening her step-daughter just so she would inherit husbands money and not his daughter. The book is so old but had a woman planing a murder and not only man doing bad things. Even the ending had a 20-30 years age-gap romance that may be one-sided but it is on the page [movies alwys make him get his old first great love back 😑 because probaly female cinema goers identify with it more....while 19 year-old romanticly loving a 40+ man would get evil eyes from the side( the gold of todays romantasy) ] I don't believe these books are tought compared to 10 book Malazan series. They are not that bad. . I am starting The Sun Eater series....no idea if is going to be a pleasure to read....I"ll just keep and open mind and let it take me...
It's funny watching the intelligentsia bend themselves into pretzels on this subject. The answer is simple, if you want young cis men to read, publish books that appeal to them. Shaming them to read the stuff the culture wants to force won't work. Men are constantly shamed and have learned to tune it out. Holding up the straw man of Andrew Tate, isn't as powerful an argument as you think it is. 99 percent of us agree that dude is a douchebag, and not wanting to read the latest brave and amazing book where we are portrayed as everything wrong with the world doesn't make us his admirer.
@@HerpDerp-ql1jw if nothing else, being called the intelligentsia is nice. In all seriousness, the full argument of the video is this: Men read/write less than is ideal because either they are too busy or too distracted. If they do get back into reading, sometimes they try to bite off more than they can chew. Then, I offer up some books that should be both entertaining and also gateways to a wider range of genre fiction. I think you got hung up on a minor example that was tertiary to the point of the video.
Almost nobody reads anymore. The only way to be a half-way serious reader is to put away at least one hour a day towards reading and not straying from it. There are lots of people who talk about books and reading, but with most people their books are just decorations on their shelves. In fact, there is a new trend in people buying empty, colour-matching books to fill their shelves. Its shocking how we got here, but we are a dying race.
I think books 1. Are not very popular in Pop-culture these days for anyone to feel FOMO 2. They are not friendly to beginners and men like more action and excitement in their fiction, women are patient 3. But men do read Manga if that counts
Do you feel as bad that men dominate literally every other field on earth? Get some perspective. Maybe have a think about how much writers get paid….basically sweet fk all.
“I’m too smart to read” is perhaps the most utterly ridiculous statement I have heard. The epitome of an oxymoron.
It really is
I am convinced he is trolling. That is insane, even coming from him.
@@FDAPOIt was. He wrote a book after saying that. That's the grift. He says something outrageous it gets a lot of attention, and some people stick around. Stop paying attention to the man.
He is @@FDAPO
@@FDAPO Huh, the dude is making a video about not reading. Either he's making a clickbait troll video or he's a moron and not aware how stupid it is to make a YT video about not reading. But points for wearing lipstick.
I just started reading again this year. You kind of hit the nail on the head here. I read a lot up until college. School caused some burnout and by the end I just couldn't enjoy it anymore. My 20s and 30s were dominated by a mentality that every waking hour needed to be focused on productivity. Any hobby needed to be a marketable one.
I can attest to the half-hour idea. My journey back to reading started because my kids like me to lay on their floor till they're asleep. I was just browsing my phone in that time but I bought a cheap little light so I could read in an effort to reduce screen time. Now I go out of my way to find more time to read. My stress level is just so much lower and I feel overall happier.
That’s really awesome! I’m glad you’ve found your way back to it!
my library card is probably one of my best assets now. QoL increased just from going back to the library.
As a man who never read a book until I was 21 (about 8 months ago) I never considered reading because I never saw anyone around me read. Every once in a while I would see a random person read in public and it was always either an old person or a woman. I started reading because of how awesome the first Dune movie was and I wanted to read what happened next in the story. After reading the first three books in the dune series I read an additional 6 books and I’m halfway through “The Way of Kings” I am so happy I started reading. Sometimes my guy friends make fun of me for it but it doesn’t bother me at all. I feel like everyone needs to read instead of wasting their time doomscrolling on tiktok for several hours every day
Very similar to me to me it was game of thrones everyone kept saying how superior everyone in the books are and wanted to check it and was surprised how enjoyable reading was then I wanted something not adapted and read stormlight archive my favourite fantasy and now reading turned from something I never understood the appeal for to an addiction keep going with stormlight words of radiance is even better than way of kings my top 5 fantasy are
1.stormlight=suneater(cant decide)
3. A song of ice and fire
4.first law
5.red rising
Dune part 2 is my favourite movie of all time but I am waiting for messiah to drop to read the books from my experience a movie can’t ruin a book but a book can ruin a movie
I think modern publishing is very geared toward young women, young guys may not be finding books marketed to them. the covers are very generic and confusing too. If you looked at a selection of book covers from 30 years ago there would be no question about what genre it was or what age/gender it was aimed at.
This. The market is almost exclusively geared to women.
Before people get bent outta shape...nothing wrong with women authors, women sharing the market, etc. But it's obvious the booktok-ification of reading has dominated the market for the past handful of years.
The hobby is controlled on socials by women, thus the market caters to them. Again, nothing wrong with demographics and catering to them, but the scales are way off balance.
I'm 52 and I've loved reading all my life. In fact I'd rather have read this video as an article :)
7:14 "Ego reading" is such a perfect term for what it is. I never thought about it that way. I remember getting back on my exercise journey, and I tried to run a mile and a half, and I did it, but I destroyed my leg and felt awful afterward and I realized it was because I wanted to just get back into doing what I know I used to be able to do.
@@james_library gotta ease yourself into it for sure!
I loved this video!
Thank you for the advice!
I identify with your story about looking up to Brian Jacques as a kid. I remember thinking it was so cool that he came up with all those stories and I could chill out in that world apart from what was popular at school like Harry Potter and other stuff that had movies.
In Jr High I was then inspired by reading “classics” by men recommended by my Literature teacher: Treasure Island, Call of the Wild, etc. Later in highschool I looked up to the male writers Dostoyevsky, Twain, Hemingway etc as well as my male AP Literature teacher.
Last but not least, probably what made me a life long reader was everyday seeing my dad reading in his free time: both the Bible, self help books for work, and literature like 1984. Having male role models especially a dad who reads, applies what he’s reading to his life, and talks about it with you has made me who I am today.
Thanks so much for posting this.
Your fan.
@@mudbrick6083 thanks so much for the comment!
I love your reading journey, and it’s one that a lot of people can relate to
Great video!
For fans of Cornwell:
Patrick O’Brian’s Napoleonic war novels are an incredibly compelling depiction of adventure, war, and male friendship. Probably the best work of historical fiction I’ve read. Cornwell himself has said that reading O’Brian makes him want to give up and try a new career.
I’m 32. I tried getting back into reading when I was in my late 20s and succeeded a wee bit but mostly used audio books and I tried to multi task too much. I ultimately failed but read a few.
This is not an indictment of audio books. But an indictment of me.
So at 31 dealing with a lot of anxiety I forced myself over a few months to read ‘The circle’ it was an awful book, but completing it hooked me. I read 15 books from May to December and now it’s a habit.
I’m reading almost entirely fiction or history. Very little non fiction self help stuff.
You’re right about smart phones. Resting has cured much of my behavior like that.
Don’t give up guys. Don’t red pill, just start reading.
Mainstream publishers no longer publish books for boys and men. Book store chains like Indigo, Coles, Chapters etc. are increasingly focused on Romantasy and the Booktok market. These are major reasons why boys and men are reading less.
Those are true issues for male readers but I think it's far more likely those are symptoms of a lack of male readership, not a cause. Why write and market books to a few thousand men when you can write smut for millions and millions of women? Easy choice to make.
smut definitely sells better than anything else, there's no denying that
@ chicken and the egg. The other factor is the vast majority of the publishing industry is female and they will tend to favour female content.
Fortunately there are more amazing books already published than you could ever hope to read in your entire life. Even if no one published a book suitable for you interests ever again you’d still never come close to running out of great reads.
@@andybarker8787 it really is more of a marketing issue than a lack of content.
I think that it has to do with the fact that there is SOOOOO much other things for men to do that competes with books. Video games, Movies, Comics. Videos on the internet. It takes a lot of effort to read books. I read my first long book ever not more than a year ago. Mistborn the final empire. Now that took me a long time to get in the mood to read. I get the motivation to read by seeing what other people like and when i hear they have a great experience then i feel that i also want that experience. Thats how you sell reading to men.
First off great video. As I commented on your TikTok I really don’t know where I would be without reading. I am not a book/reading snob. Reading is reading. Read what you enjoy. I had a friend tell me that he didn’t feel accomplished when he read fantasy. I had a long discussion with him that reading should be enjoyable and he was being kind of a snob. Want to read romance, westerns, mysteries, comic books? Good just keep reading. No judgment about what people like to read. Just read!!! Btw you are my favorite book person. You are down to earth, smart, funny and I love your recommendations. Keep reading keep posting content! ✌️📚
Thanks so much, Gary! I wholeheartedly agree. Reading for fun seems to be something we do less and less. I, too, hate the idea that reading should be viewed as an accomplishment or a means to an end. Cheers!
Vintage Sci-fi booktube is predominantly male, which may be explained by your intro about Jack Vance : Men seek adventure and sense of wonder that old sci-fi and pulp fiction provide.
These recommendations sound really interesting especially from the synopsis you gave. Would check them out for sure.
You're totally right. I was a prolific reader until I was about 18, which is when I left home, got a job and also happened to be when social media became a thing.
I started regularly reading fiction again 10 years later due to a combination of a) certain books resonating strongly with me, b) I quit social media and c) I was able to convince myself again that there was value to reading fiction.
And perhaps that might be the key to getting men to read again? It's to convince us that fiction isn't a waste of our valuable time and that there are practical applications to it too?
100% it’s hard to quantify, but I do believe it is a net positive!
Distraction is everywhere, there’s inherent value in being able to lock in on something. But also, there’s value in experiencing personal enjoyment that also as a bi-product gives your brain a rhetorical and imaginative workout!
I got back into reading for fun this past year after graduating from csuf. I like to read both fiction and non fiction. I want to start my own side business so I have been focusing on non fiction at the moment.
0:16 The article said that 73% men had read a book in the last month!???
You hit it right on the head. Lost my thirst for reading in high school and hated it in college. Im 36 now and in 2024 i switched back to reading science fiction novels. I was reading comics the few years prior to this but began to run out all the storylines I wanted to read. I also deactivated my social media this year as well. Never enjoyed so many books, movies and video games as I do now. Social media no longer there to pull me away form what I enjoy.
Great video, I struggle with reading because of my phone. The only option is to put the phone in another room and dedicate time to the read.
It can be tough to get away from it, I feel you on that
Excellent video, Josh! Interesting take on transactional reading versus reading to enjoy the journey. Bro culture online is pretty divisive when it comes to this topic, and I'm all for more men promoting the merits of reading fiction.
@@Johanna_reads thanks so much, Johanna!
My goal in 2025 is to fall in love with reading again. I am going to read novels that have been on my TBR forever, I am going to buy any good books I find at the dollar store (yes, if you know when to look you can find good books at the dollar store: just today I grabbed Exiles by Jane Harper, Twelve Monotasks, and Silver Tears, by Camilla Lackberg), actually read the books on my bookshelf and on my kindle, and read nonfiction about my passions: geology, museums, and digital technology.
No minimum number of books read. No Goodreads. Nothing. Just me. Reading. Books. Like back when I was 12. Can't wait!
If you find the right book, you can never escape the hobby
Great video Josh! It's always depressing to read transactionally. It's so important to just enjoy what you're reading and really immerse yourself in the book and I got back into a reading as an adult on a whim, I always wondered why I stopped, and now I've been reading again, quite a lot for about a year now.
Great video mate. You're perhaps my favourite 'little-known' Booktuber right now!
@@angussinclair1344 that’s high praise, thank you so much!
Only for now!
Ego reading is a dagger of truth that I won't soon forget
I found a good trick to get back into reading is with short stories. And I would suggest staying away from audio books, I find it a more pleasing experience to have my inner voice tell me the story. Also mixing up the genre's you read, don't just stick to one kind.
For anyone looking to get back into reading, I would strongly recommend reading Red Rising by Pierce Brown. It's fast paced, action packed and has awesome characters.
Personally, I found it to be very cringy and juvenile. I think The Hunger Games portrayed the dystopian elements that this series strives for much better. Not a bad book by any means, but it reads very YA
I just started reading again. I read every night before bed. Sometimes I read for purpose, but most of the time it’s to learn about a niche historic event or just to escape. 10/10 recommend the blade itself! Thanks for this great video!
I'm glad you're back in the saddle!
I agree Abercrombie is a great starting point in fantasy-that and Tad Williams were my true intro into reading the genre and wouldn’t have it any other way
Great video, Josh. As I just now joined the Booktube world, I'm finding that many (most?) of the Booktube content creators are women. Now, perhaps that's just my perspective, and I could be wrong, but it's just an observation. I also find myself gravitating towards my fellow male booktubers. Not for any sexist reason - there are several AMAZING women booktubers! - but I guess more because I want to know what the other guys who enjoy books are reading.
I do believe the number of male booktube content creators IS growing, so I think there may be a growth of more male readers than in the past. Let's hope! :)
New subscriber! Thanks again for inspiring this new booktuber! :)
I agree there’s a place for content aimed toward male readers on book tube! Glad you enjoyed the video!
New best joshreadsbooks video alert ‼️ 🚨‼️
Seth! I appreciate it!
One thing that works for me is reading short stories. They don't require the time investment of a novel. They typically move along quickly. I am working my way through Best American Noir of the Century now. Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by Updike is good, too. There are many anthologies to choose from. I don't like all the stories, but if one isn't grabbing me, I just skip it and go to the next.
I’m a 34 year old man and started reading again last year. Now I’m writing, too. Why didn’t I do this sooner?
I feel like a male literature revolution could be sparked off very easily, as modern entertainment continues to be mangled by large ideologically driven investment companies.
Writing has no limits and cost nothing to start. Well, assuming you’re an average westerner, I suppose. It really is a profound hobby.
writing is singular among hobbies, I agree!
Great video! Thanks for the recommendations , I added a few books to my Amazon shopping cart!
I hope you enjoy them!
I hated reading my whole school career because i was bad at it, super slow reader. I took a Reading class in Middle school and read a book called "Freak The Mighty" and after high school got into superhero comic which are basically picture books. Then Remembered That book from middle school and bough it and loved reading it as an adult with more life experience and a different lense. I loved "The Martian" movie and read the book and i catch myself falling out of gaming and wanting to read more. Still new to reading per se but i have like 25 on the TBR and lists and lists written down
That's awesome!
I read Harry Potter twice as a kid and really wanted to get that feeling back after college. I started back with The First Law trilogy about a year and a half ago. I read all three of them pretty quick but really really did not like the ending. (I didn’t know it at the time but I’m not a fan of grim dark). Then I started Stormlight Archive and loved it even if the third and fourth books are slower. I read some more Sanderson and now I’m working through The Wheel of Time. For me I really love the lore and complex worlds of these books, it makes me feel like a kid again! Find a book that you think you’ll like and give it a shot, you can have that feeling too!
I fit into the reading timeline perfectly as described. Thankfully choosing again to read as an adult. I actually just started again about 2 months ago. Someone recommended I start reading for fun. I said I don’t know where to begin and they recommended Harry Potter. So I started reading and I couldn’t put them down. I read all 7 in about 3 weeks. Jumped from that to The Brothers Karamazov and now I am about finished with that. When I get burned out in that I’ll read the Sun Eater series as a nice change of pace. Now my TBR list is ludicrous!! I tried audio books, but not a fan personally not for me. I love the experience I get when zoning out and getting lost in the book. I just don’t get that in an audio book.
that's fantastic!
Such a good video - well done!
Thanks so much!
I followed a similar path from many of the comments. It was only until the pandemic lock downs did I pick up avid reading once again.
Two manly and enriching book recommendations I offer are: Musashi, by Eiji Yoshikawa - a fantantic redemption story of strength and humility. The second is Growth of the Soil, by Knut Hamsun - that book made me want to pick up an axe and cut down a tree and build my own home or grab a shovel and start digging just for the sake getting my hands dirty.
Practically learned to read on my own when I was heading into elementary school. Will never stop reading, physical or audiobook. Especially fantasy!
As a self-proclaimed “macho man” please do both! Be an absolute nerd while being “jacked.” nothing is more joyful than making your body into what you want it to be, especially if you’re inspired by your favorite characters.
I just discovered El Borak, a wily Texan fighting in 1800s Afghanistan. Talk about fun adventure stories! Written by Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian.
Hey I wanted to thank you for reccomending me 1356 by Bernard Cornwell on a tik tok comment. I listened to it on audio and loved it! that genre is right up my alley.
I love that book! So glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve been reading every day for an average of 50 pages a day for the last 16 months and I hadn’t read anything regularly since I was a kid and the book that started it all was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography 🤣 but then I moved into Star Wars novels and then branched out to fantasy and read all of John Gwynne’s works now I’m reading GoT. I love it it’s part of my routine and a nice way to wind down
That’s so awesome!
I hated reading as a kid. Mainly because I associated it with school and homework. But 2 years ago I moved to a different department at my job working overnights. Music got boring after a while, and I was scrolling through TH-cam and saw an audiobook of The Lord of The Rings. I was a massive fan of the movies, and so I listened to them. And since then, my free time has been spent reading.
That’s awesome!
I am a man, i lived in southeast asia, i read English book, predominantly classic sword and sorcery like Robert E Howard's Conan and Weird Tales magazine. That probably represent only 1% of my country's population
60% of writing classes being women seems right. Most men who write do non-fiction, for which you don't need fiction writing classes, and a 60-40 split is not at all a big difference. I think the "men don't read" shtick is overblown. In general very few people read nowadays, not just men in particular. The (book) reading person is a rare breed, not the reading man.
speaking in generalities, you're right. Although with tiktok there has been a bit of a shift in reading where after 2020, you saw a lot of people get back into reading (more often women than not) and those female readers got into a few authors (Maas, Hoover, Yarros) and then went downstream in those respective genres from there.
Male readers didn't quite have that same reading boom, although I think reading became a bit more in vogue than it was before.
I did attend an MFA program, and for whatever it's worth, in my experience the split was more like 80/20.
@@JoshReadsBooks12 Hey I also have a linguistics and literature related Bachelor (Philology), it was mostly women there as well, maybe even 90%. But I don't think this is indicative of reading in the general population. I know plenty of guys that didn't go to Literature programs who read books. Also most guys are into films, TV series, games, anime, manga etc. and get their story fixes from there.
@@Wind_Falcon I agree it's not indicative of wider reading trends, although it was just something I noted.
I actually realized only a few years ago that reading fiction is that unpopular.
I always wondered why anyone should read something else.
Men are still writing, but "modern" publishers won't print anything that promotes healthy values of interest to men and written by men. Thus you have a dwindling number of readers, boosted by the current 'trend' of deliberately atrocious design aesthetics.
Secondhand sales for pre 90's material is very strong, but the stock for which is drying up too.
Yeah a lot of those men seem to be going the independent ublishing route.
I read lot of books lately nearly all written by men (but Anne Rice) though most are not recent. I don't have much time for other hobbies, in addition reading can be an inexpensive hobby (I mostly acquire mass market paperbacks) though for many people buying books is a different (and pricy) hobby.
It can be inexpensive (even free) or it can be REALLY expensive. Just depends how you go about it
Hey bro, I'm new to the channel. I don't know how I got on this topic. Perhaps it's for men who are not reading anymore. I used to read a lot. I'm 45 years old now. It's difficult. I started reading a book last days by Adam Nevill, I'm about 60 pages into a almost 600 page book. Thank you for helping remind me that it's not about how quickly I finish the book or if I finish the book at a certain point, you're going on the journey and you have no particular destination in mind. With that said, I'm also glad that you recommended dark matter. I've heard good things. I'm definitely going to read that next and the blade itself is well. Thank you for helping men continue to read. I'm looking forward to digging back in. I think I can do a half an hour a day so new to the channel subscribed and really appreciate the effort and really enjoyed the video thank you 🙏 🔥 🫡
@@Satsui_No_Hado so glad you enjoyed it, thanks my man!
1)Something that no one mentions is that men have move to other hobbies like video games and table top games
2) Men like to read fiction that involves epic fantasy/sci fi universes like Warhammer
Ooh, Brian Jacques fan! A man of culture with a great childhood here.
Man of culture sounds quite good. Give me a minute to get that made my official title everywhere
I got redwall for Christmas!
That's awesome!
I think readers are more open-minded in ways. Being a realist probably doesn't help creativity and imagination, hence harder to read fantasy without disgust. The reader seems to not care about that and just enjoys it. That's my take.
Eh...men have never really been into fiction, and that's ok. And its also why we like the screens with the talking heads. Try recommending some history or simple poly-sci stuff.
I guess I've stumbled upon my new favorite booktube channel
Thanks so much, I greatly appreciate it!
A few days ago I was talking about dating with someone who thinks reading is a waste of time and they said they want someone who is intelligent and can think for themself but doesn't care if they read. I thought, "uh okay good luck"
Redwell got me into reading fantasy
I’ve never been able to get into non fiction. Can’t imagine I ever will lol
Redwall was my jam too
Men do read. The idea that all of us are insecure babies that hate fiction because it's "a waste" is stupid. Publishing simply caters to women readers and writers because the industry is mostly made up of women.
Me a 32 year old man with a massive Redwall half sleeve tattoo on my leg 😂. Bonus points to the video for the redwall talk ❤
gagging for a house of chains review Josh
👀 I need to drop that for sure
Great Video Josh. If people only read non-fiction then does that mean they only watch documentaries? Because books are just mind movies 😂
Mind movies, I love that😂
Thanks Man❤
Great topic with quite a bit to unpack. School could do much better helping boys to develop a love of reading at the very least by offering more appealing books.
I wholeheartedly agree.
The truth is I’ve read thousands of great books over the years, both fiction and non, and it’s never really gotten me anywhere. So in my old age I actually welcome some of these distractions, especially TH-cam and cable news political networks.⚛️❤
There is going to be an explosion of men's fiction coming up in 2025. Ian from Write Conscious says so and also I know it.
Men will read the textbooks needed to get that college degree
Let me say the thing we all know, but don't want to say. I would venture to guess that the reason women read and men don't comes down to one word: porn. Looking at the timetable you put up on the screen, and the fact that most of those surveyed were millenials, or people who grew up during the transition to the internet, that would make the most sense. Beyond everything else that has proven to be bad about porn, it also pushes aside any other interests, and makes pursuing even our obligatory tasks difficult. Take it from someone who was a porn addict in college and then, even graduate school, (even whilst having a girlfriend, both times!) Porn fucks up our brains and turns us into instant gratification addicts. Reading good books is the opposite. You have to have the patience to follow the flow of the book. Let someone else take you, the long way, through their story.
Say NO to the new drug! Say NO to porn!
6:00 If that doesn't control genetics, then it's a worthless study. And without even looking into it, I'm going to assume it didn't because they never do. Having genes for intelligence and consciousness means you'll probably find it easier to read for pleasure... and you'll do better in school. Maybe there actually is a casual relationship, but we'll probably never know because of that bullet you've been loading sense reading this comment the charge of "gentic determinism."
Looks at self-pub industry….plenty of male novelists
"Tough books" I agree and also don't. What form has "Reading for Pleasure" for a person. What do you what in a book.
You see I found Brother Karamazov dry and slow[ it was not what I was loking for]...but I liked Jack London and I to this day have the example of The Count of Monte Cristo, that I stole from the library. Yes I did that🤣. I love that book....and I read it with 16-17. The book is a BIG ADVANTURE ABOUT REVENGE!
.
.
.
I still know that the book has a female character who is slowly poisening her step-daughter just so she would inherit husbands money and not his daughter. The book is so old but had a woman planing a murder and not only man doing bad things. Even the ending had a 20-30 years age-gap romance that may be one-sided but it is on the page [movies alwys make him get his old first great love back 😑 because probaly female cinema goers identify with it more....while 19 year-old romanticly loving a 40+ man would get evil eyes from the side( the gold of todays romantasy) ]
I don't believe these books are tought compared to 10 book Malazan series. They are not that bad.
.
I am starting The Sun Eater series....no idea if is going to be a pleasure to read....I"ll just keep and open mind and let it take me...
Point with those is just that if you’re hopping into reading again, I wouldn’t recommend them first.
But they’re great books.
I'm man. I read.
I’m an avid reader, but you know what has been preventing me from reading? Trump……yes ,I have to keep up with his crap
I’m a man. I read loads. 63 fiction books last year.
That’s awesome!
Acually is bexose I am Iliterate :)
It's funny watching the intelligentsia bend themselves into pretzels on this subject. The answer is simple, if you want young cis men to read, publish books that appeal to them. Shaming them to read the stuff the culture wants to force won't work. Men are constantly shamed and have learned to tune it out. Holding up the straw man of Andrew Tate, isn't as powerful an argument as you think it is. 99 percent of us agree that dude is a douchebag, and not wanting to read the latest brave and amazing book where we are portrayed as everything wrong with the world doesn't make us his admirer.
@@HerpDerp-ql1jw if nothing else, being called the intelligentsia is nice.
In all seriousness, the full argument of the video is this: Men read/write less than is ideal because either they are too busy or too distracted. If they do get back into reading, sometimes they try to bite off more than they can chew. Then, I offer up some books that should be both entertaining and also gateways to a wider range of genre fiction.
I think you got hung up on a minor example that was tertiary to the point of the video.
uh...its cuz they are too busy playing video games. Where ya been?
Almost nobody reads anymore. The only way to be a half-way serious reader is to put away at least one hour a day towards reading and not straying from it. There are lots of people who talk about books and reading, but with most people their books are just decorations on their shelves. In fact, there is a new trend in people buying empty, colour-matching books to fill their shelves. Its shocking how we got here, but we are a dying race.
Cut hair now!
@@joeyq9953 my wife would fight you
I think books
1. Are not very popular in Pop-culture these days for anyone to feel FOMO
2. They are not friendly to beginners and men like more action and excitement in their fiction, women are patient
3. But men do read Manga if that counts
Do you feel as bad that men dominate literally every other field on earth? Get some perspective. Maybe have a think about how much writers get paid….basically sweet fk all.