This article in the Guardian, about boys needing action novels to start them reading, got me thinking about my childhood reading habits:
Every secondary school should put up a separate "boys' bookshelf" packed with spy novels and action stories to encourage more boys to read, the education secretary said today.
Certainly, among my earliest reading memories are loads of mysteries. I remember discovering and devouring, in turn, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, the Hardy Boys and the like. And, of course, I powered through the James Bond novels in my early teens although, at that age, I thought they were a bit dull compared to the films and missed Q. Although I liked the sex. And I still have the beloved Signet paperback series.
But oddly - and embarrassingly - it's not action novels I remember giving me my reading start so much as (here it comes) novelizations. I do remember reading things like the adaptation of the movie Earthquake and even a series of novels about (ahem) The Partridge Family. And I remember my disappointment when I'd seek out books which actually came before films - The Planet of the Apes, The Poseidon Adventure - and suffer a similar disappointment as with the Fleming novels. But I think there was something about seeking out the familiar comforts of the characters I knew from film and TV in book form that drew me to them. And from there, to John Banville. So anything is possible - stock those school shelves!
(Aside - True story from grade school. I was in, I think, fifth grade when reading the Earthquake novelization. There was a substitute teacher that week upon whom I had a feverish crush and was desperate for an excuse to approach her and talk to her during recess. My plan was to find a word in the book that I didn't know, and approach her to ask the meaning. But, being both clever and vain, it was tough to find a word I didn't know, nor did I want to appear an idiot asking after a simple word. Finally, I found one, steeled myself and approached her:
ME: Excuse me, Mrs. [Name lost to the mists]. There's a word in here I don't know. Can you help me?
HER: Sure. What's the word?
ME: Nymphomanic.
HER: (beat; marvelous poker face) A nymphomaniac is a woman who loves to have sex.
ME: Oh.
The conversation petered out thereafter, no pun intended. But top marks to her for being straight. Today, she'd be sued and fired.)
"Today, she'd be sued and fired."
You forgot "criminally prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, found guilty and sentenced by a jury of her 'peers' to a state penal facility for a period of time not to exceed 36 months".
I have to admit that as for the main topic, I fit more or less to type -- although I did read a lot of screenplay novelizations of movies I loved, but just the originals; I never cared for any of the serial fiction that grew out of movies like "Star Wars", etc. At any rate, for me it started with The Hardy Boys when I was about six, and I read all of them -- the back covers of the 1970s pint-sized hardbound editions had lists of all the other books; and I kept one of them handy, ticking off with a pen mark each volume as I read it -- up until they hired perhaps the third FWD and started turning out plots contemporary for the time. I'm not sure if I aged out of them or I just didn't care much for Frank and Joe in a post-1962 world.
Posted by: janitorman | March 15, 2007 at 05:22 AM
Does the new Mrs. TEV realize that there was a yearning for... shall we say, "education"... in your heart before you met her?
Posted by: Sean Ferrell | March 15, 2007 at 07:27 AM
Ian Fleming provided my first (of many) disappointment from book -> movie adaptations. After reading (and loving) the book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I was VERY angry after seeing the movie. Speaking of books/movies/bond. I saw that the "new" Bond Craig whathisname will be cast in the Blindness adaptation with Julianne Moore, in case you're scoring at home.
Posted by: tito | March 15, 2007 at 08:53 AM
Mark, Not only do I remember those Partridge Family novelizations fondly but I had the one that is pictured on the blog you link to. I loved Laurie--still have a soft spot for Susan Dey. So I guess the key is making the leap, literature-wise. Hope folks keep on doing it.
Posted by: Martha Southgate | March 15, 2007 at 09:57 AM
These days I love Salman Rushdie, Michael Chabon, and Zadie Smith. 10 years ago in high school I was reading Indiana Jones books, including the novelizations. Go figure.
Posted by: Dan | March 15, 2007 at 07:34 PM
This is such an important topic. As the mother of 8 and 10-year-old boys, one who is a natural reader and one who's a reluctant one, I wrestle with this every day. The James Bond books for today's boys, (other than the 'young James Bond" series, which is OK) are the fast-paced Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. Alex Rider is 14-year-old boy spy for MI6 (his uncle and Dad died under mysterious circumstances while working for MI6 and now only Alex can complete their assignments and save the world) and the novels are full of electronic gadgets, extreme sports and excitement, travel and cliffhanger chapter endings. My kids love these books.
Posted by: denise hamilton | March 16, 2007 at 08:15 PM