Summary
Concerns about American men reading less fiction have sparked cultural debates linking the trend to toxic masculinity and political shifts, such as increased support for Donald Trump.
Men read fewer books and less fiction than women, but the gap is modest. 73% of men and 78% of women read books annually, with fiction readership differing by 10-17%.
The exaggerated 80/20 gender fiction market split lacks verified sources.
Critics argue the “crisis” reflects fears about male disengagement, yet male authors still dominate bestseller lists and literary awards, complicating the narrative.
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Not a single mention of the word game or gaming in that article. It’s my hypothesis that video games have largely supplanted fiction reading for boys and men over the past several decades. Men do read some science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction books but not general fiction or erotic fiction. Those latter categories are heavily targeted at women (eg. any of Elena Ferrante’s books or smash hits like Fifty Shades of Grey).
There’s nothing here to suggest that toxic masculinity or the rise of Trumpism or the alt-right have anything to do with it.
I (as a 40yo man) stopped reading for the most part many years ago. And it’s not for a lack of trying! I have purchased many books (fiction and nonfiction) but I struggle to bring myself to read them. I just don’t have the attention span and it’s really frustrating. I actually really want to read these books!
Hey, I don’t know if it will make a difference for you, but some time ago I had to take a really long trip where I had spotty internet at best, and I got back into reading in that trip because I was really bored. I rediscovered my drive when I went long enough without any alternatives to reading, forcing boredom on myself.
Maybe something like this will help you also?
That’s a great idea! I need to do that at some point! For a long time I’ve wanted to hike the pacific crest trail. Maybe I’ll bring books along for that! Thanks!
I used to sell books at Borders (so far before MAGA crap) and you are 100% correct. Most men were reading books as well, but they really didn’t gravitate to Ann Rice’s vampire series, Twilight, or even most mystery books. Is was Sci Fi, fantasy, history, general knowledge sort of stuff.
The sheer volume of women buying romance novels was staggering, and I think speaks more to porn habits than anything. These women kept the store alive long enough for corporate to fuck up and bankrupt themselves.
Now that I think about it, there was a whole row of JUST Star Wars books. But because Disney erased so much of the Expanded Universe canon that they wrote, they all faded away. I don’t even have one in my local Barnes and Noble. Not even a single novel, from what I saw. Everyone totally lost interest and Disney doesn’t care to rekindle that spark.
I don’t read books but I am constantly reading things all day. Mostly technical documentation and stuff like that. Should I be worried about myself? Lol reading books makes me fall asleep.
Also what about audio book people? Are they not getting any benefits because they didn’t read it from the book themselves? Does the value come from reading or knowing the information? I would think the information is the valuable part regardless of how it got into your brain but if that’s the case why would this matter at all even if people moved on to new ways to consume information?
Are they not getting any benefits because they didn’t read it from the book themselves?
It engages different parts of your brain, so yes. Listening to an audiobook or YouTube video is not the same as reading.
But there’s lots of other differences too
While I don’t disagree that it engages different parts of the brain, reading audio books is still beneficial, and no studies have shown a demonstrable difference in a person’s comprehensive ability using physical vs audiobooks. In fact, some groups like the National Literacy Trust have shown that audiobooks can be beneficial for engagement in education and if used properly, beneficial to the learning process in general. Humans (and our precursors) spent millennia conveying stories, culture and history entirely through verbal storytelling. As a species we have spent more time listening to stories and absorbing them that way than physically reading them.
While there is certainly a difference between reading and listening to books, I absolutely would not criticize anyone who chooses to pick up an audiobook vs not consuming books at all. Seeing words spelled out and the punctuation within the writing is helpful, especially for those learning to read or learning the language. But audiobooks are still books and as far as I’m concerned you “read” the book if you listened to the audio in full.
I can only speak for myself, but since December I read 4 fiction books and I’m working on my 3rd non-fiction book.
Somehow I only had the patience for 3 or 4 books all year last year, but I got myself an eReader for Christmas and I’m already on my third book, so I guess that was the problem. Weirdly, I thought I wouldn’t like an eReader but I got it for the purposes of future commuting. Turns out I like it a lot more than physical books. 🤷♂️
Weirdly, I thought I wouldn’t like an eReader but I got it for the purposes of future commuting. Turns out I like it a lot more than physical books.
I’ve found Reading ebooks on a portable screen a better experience for myself than paper since late 90s Palm Pilot (Handspring Visor, for me) days.
Being able to carry dozens (or now hundreds) of books with you is so convenient and if you don’t like the book you’re reading, you don’t need to go somewhere to get a different one. Its replacement is already in your hand. Reading paperbacks for hours isn’t comfortable for me as it either takes two hands, or one hand with a difficult “guitar chord” like hand shape. Hardbacks are heavy to carry. Ereaders also can produce their own light (and at VERY low levels if you want). Paper books means finding and staying next to a reflective light source.
Paper books are great for collectables, but if I’m going to read, I much prefer an ebook.
I have read on my phone before but I really didn’t like it. This is different somehow.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. E-ink (like Kindle and Kobo) are far superior to backlit LCD screens of old school PDA and modern phones.
I can only do the same. I pretty much exclusively read non-fiction but I’m about as far from toxic masculinity as you can be at this point
I hope to read less anti-male, pseudo intellectual slop like the article OP linked. Even for Vox this is too much.
Yet another article telling me how I’m not living my life correctly. I’m about to just leave the fucking Internet forever and just live my life without all the pressure to be better all the time.
No matter what I do, someone on the internet tells me I’m not good enough.
Garbage in, garbage out
Forget about what men are reading. Kids as younf as 12 are getting politically charged. And being praised for it
What a bunch of BS. If anything we’re all reading TOO much.
