Teens HATE to read? Seriously?

At a recent book signing at the Enfield Mall, I was struck by number one, how dead the mall was compared to when I used to hang out there on the weekends with my friends, and two, how many teenagers reported that they HATE to read. Blasphemy! Horrors! And what’s up with that?

“Really?” I asked in shock.

In keeping with current vernacular, the young ladies replied, “Seriously. With all the crap we have to read in school, we like, have NO interest in reading.”

“Wow! So if I said this book is a young adult romance between a seventeen year old girl and a nineteen year old Marine who was wounded in Iraq, you wouldn’t be interested?”

Eyes widened, snarky smiles lit up their faces, and eyes rolled—all signs of interest for teenage girls—whether they will admit it or not. Since I had captured their attention and felt like I was on the cusp of breaking through a barrier of some kind, I pressed on. I thought, if I could influence these young girls to become readers, how cool would that be? My mission was clear. I needed to change their minds about reading. I gave them each a copy of the book and laid out the challenge.

“Read to the end of chapter one, and I dare you to put down the book.”

They all giggled and took the books, satisfied grins on their faces that they had been gifted a kind of treasure—for free! The only thing I asked in return was for them to go on Amazon and leave a review after they read it. They all smiled and said they would. We’ll see. Most importantly, the possibility exists that they will read the book and it will change their minds about reading.

I couldn’t blame them entirely for their disdain of books. After all, I too had to endure reading such classics as The Red Badge of Courage, Farenheight 451, and Catcher In The Rye. And who could forget Chaucer, Fitzgerald, Hemmingway and the works of Shakespeare? Umm…most of us, probably. I’m not against reading good literature, but kids in today’s world of immediate gratification and technological warp speed want to read about people they can identify with. They want stories that draw them into a world where kids are powerful—where they can take on the monsters and win—thus the fascination with the paranormal. Harry Potter, Twilight and the thousand other vampire, werewolf and witch stories available on today’s shelves have kids drowning in magical possibilities. Again, I can’t say I blame them. I too, read to escape the harsh realities of a world spinning out of control. So can we find a compromise?

This is a new generation of readers and we need to offer them books with stories that will engage them while also offering real, identifiable characters. If there are underlying life lessons, moments of poignant emotional revelation and reasons to root for our heroes and heroines, all the better.

Help me out here. How can we make teenagers LOVE reading again? Any ideas?

Multi-tasking. Asset or Addiction?

In a time when there has to be a law against texting and driving, and fast food restaurants have provided us with meals on wheels, how far will we take the concept of multi-tasking? Is multi-tasking an asset or an addiction?

I’m an avid multi-tasker from way back, myself. Call me obsessive compulsive or call me efficient, I’ve become adept at juggling many projects simultaneously.

I used to do homework and listen to music at the same time when I was growing up. As a parent I learned to do at least five things at once. Now I watch TV as I write, though I confess I cannot listen to music while I write. Even without caffeine, I have a ridiculous capacity for doing many tasks at once.

But is it the adrenalin rush that has me so dependent on my Android phone? Or is there a bigger plot we have as yet to uncover? Muaaaahhhha! The internet allows us to be in many places at one time, and technology offers us limitless possibilities. Scary? Yes. Exciting? You bet. Addictive? Maybe. So when is enough really way too much? These are a few of my quirky little multi-tasking obsessions…er…tricks.

1) I practice singing, plot out scenes in my current WIP, or plan my next marketing strategy while in the shower or while I’m out walking my dog in the woods.
2) I exercise while watching last night’s shows or catching up on episodes of Days Of Our Lives.
3) I check messages and e-mails while waiting for my next appointment or, I hate to confess, waiting for the light to turn green.

How do you know when you’ve gone too far?

You know you are doing too much when you are texting or checking your e-mails while sitting on the toilet.

You know when you are doing too much when you have six Scrabble games going at the same time and you are still working a full time job.

You know you are doing too much when you forget to eat, shower, sleep…you fill in the random necessity you’ve forgotten.

You know you are doing too much when Amazon algorithms become your next focused thought.

So tell me readers, “What crazy multi-tasking habits do you have?”