Martin Cothran is provost at Memoria College, which offers a master of Arts degree in the great books. He is a cofounder of Memoria Press, which publishes a complete K-12 classical curriculum, and Highlands Latin School in Louisville, KY, and is the author of several popular textbooks, including Traditional Logic, Material Logic, and Classical Rhetoric programs. He has been a voice on education and other public policy issues as a senior policy analyst for The Family Foundation of Kentucky since 1992.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can find his new project at Blood and Morality.
Boys Aren’t Reading
While all reading is dropping, the drop for boys is a steeper cliff.
Among children aged 8-18, 30.4% of girls read daily compared to only 24.9% of boys.
Girls read approximately 25 more minutes per day outside of school hours.
Since 1984, there have been 11-point and 16-point drops in reading rates for 9 and 13-year-old boys, respectively.
Why is this happening?
Why Boys Aren’t Reading
There are two main reasons boys read less now.
Screens, especially smartphones
Some estimates put teenage smartphone use at over 5 hours per day. Your son cannot read Treasure Island while scrolling TikTok.
Video games aren’t necessarily the problem. The Oregon Trail never destroyed a generation. Video games can still offer compelling storytelling and challenges.
Feminized Literature
Modern publishers produce books that boys naturally reject. They feminize every story, making relationships more important than quests. They replace heroes with victims. They substitute emotional processing for moral courage.
Boys are not girls. They need stories where:
The mission matters more than feelings
Heroes risk everything for honor
Violence serves justice
Sacrifice proves character
Modern books serve up therapeutic drivel disguised as adventure. They preach rather than inspire. They lecture rather than lead.
No wonder they would rather play video games. Boys and young men aren’t even watching movies anymore.
Why Literature Matters for Boys
Literature transmits what matters most. Every great civilization has understood that stories carry the soul of a people.
Greece had Homer. The Iliad and Odyssey taught Greek men what courage meant, what honor demanded, and what manhood required.
Rome had Virgil. The Aeneid showed Roman boys how duty conquers desire, how sacrifice builds empires, and how real men carry civilization on their backs.
America has westerns. These have functioned like our Iliad. You could call Louis L'Amour our Homer. The conquest of the West teaches American boys what their ancestors valued: courage, justice, and the willingness to die for what matters.
Boys Are Natural Virtue Ethicists
Your son learns morality differently from your daughter. Accept this or fail him completely.
Girls respond to rules. "Follow this principle because it's right."
Boys need heroes. "Act like this man because he embodies greatness."
Your son will not read abstract moral philosophy, at least not yet. But he will devour stories about men who risk everything for honor.
Heroes Teach Boys How Good Men Think
Great books place your son inside a hero's mind. This phenomenon is different from movies, which make him an observer, and video games, which make him an actor.
Great books are a safe way to practice moral thinking in a safe fictional setting. It goes beyond mere consumption of entertainment, though it can be entertaining.
What types of stories?
These are categories of books your sons will be drawn to. Either hand him one of these and say, “You’re probably not ready for this yet,” or grab one to read out loud.
Survival Stories
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry - A bullied boy becomes a man alone on a deserted island
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen - Modern survival that actually respects boyhood
Westerns
Shane by Jack Schaefer
Any Louis L'Amour novel
Adventure Tales
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
Avenger Stories
The Curse of Capistrano (original Zorro)
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Chivalry Stories
Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Science Fiction
Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert Heinlein
Red Planet by Robert Heinlein
John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Conclusion
Don’t give your sons a smartphone. Or, take it away. It might be painful for a while. Make him face boredom.
Then fill your home with books. Be seen reading. Read to them yourself. A lot of these books you can find used, and many are free in the public domain.
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