.
| Hearsay: |
Maybe I should have put quotes around “men” too… If I read more, I might know what to do here. Sigh. Alas, I don’t read, apparently, because I’m not being courted by the powers that be. Interesting article: definitely worth a thought, but perhaps sore for your head on Monday? Listen, come back tomorrow when you’re more rested and have stopped those burpy little dry heaves you’ve been getting since Sunday morning, the ones that taste like peach schnappes cut with turpentine. Once those are gone, you’re ready for serious critical thinking.
Men read. Tons of them do. But they are not marketed to, not targeted, and often totally dismissed. Go to a book conference, a signing. Outside of a Tucker Max event, what percentage of attendees are men?
I thought about this while watching the first television ad for the Barnes & Noble Nook. The ad itself, I think, is quite well done and effective. It tells a story, hits strong emotions. But notice something odd? It markets itself solely towards women. What about the Kindle? Amazon is a brilliant, juggernaut of a company, but the ads for Kindle with their twee music would make any guy groan. Why would men buy an e-reader, considering the takeaway from these ads is you can a) learn about your pregnancy after falling for Mr. Darcy, or b) become Amelia Earhart or Holly Golightly?
Now look at the ads for the iPad. Cool, right? They catch your attention without alienating half the consumer population. Why can’t we do that? Make a fun, cool campaign that doesn’t cut your audience off at the knees?
I’m tired of people saying Men Don’t Read. Men LOVE to read. I’ve been a reader my whole life. My father is a reader. Most of my male friends are readers. But the more publishing repeats the empty mantra that Men Don’t Read the less they’re going to try to appeal to men, which is where this vicious cycle begins.
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April 26th, 2010 at 8:41 am
I wish I knew why men don’t seem to read as much. I know anecdotal evidence is problematic, but in my little circle of experience, women both seem to read more and be more interested in what I’m reading. No idea why this would be exactly, but it’s something I’ve thought about off and on for years.
April 26th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
I think that part of the reason is that “old” literature was literature “for men” but that in the last generation or two, we’ve turned towards explorations of minority issues: feminist, queer, postcolonial, etc. The publishing industry and serious literature feels that it “has done that man thing” – Hemingway et al. Unfortunately, there’s often a stygma of effeminsation/minoritisation attached to literature which tends to turn men away from reading.
April 26th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
“Men” don’t read for the same reason “any guy” would hate the music in the Kindle commercials. Both are patently untrue. Sweeping gender generalizations aren’t good in any form, so you should probably avoid them in an article complaining about them.
April 27th, 2010 at 10:08 am
Who reads what? I do four book discussion groups in libraries around Montreal, but only have one where men are regular members. Don’t really know why since the books we read are pretty much the same (makes it easier for me) as is the hour (early evening.)
Go figure.
April 27th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
The author of the essay makes a good point. I’ve just picked up “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk. It was a huge hit when it came out in ‘96, was made into a popular film, you know the rest… I can’t stop from wondering, if men aren’t reading fiction who the hell bought this book? If publishing is in the doldrums maybe it’s partly because the industry has been ignoring fifty percent of the market. It seems self-evident that when a book like Fight Club becomes a mega-hit, or Harry Potter or The DaVinci Code, that the difference was all the men reading the books too.
April 28th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Who is Tucker Max, a monster-truck driver?