Dear Reader,

I found out recently that a good chunk of my followers on social media, readers, and reviewers are female. At conventions and fairs, I would find it frustratingly difficult to talk to boys about their reading habits. This is especially true of teenagers between 13-19 years. At the Muscat Book Fair, a guy smirked when I asked him about what he likes to read. He said: “Me, bro? Naah, I’m not into that kind of stuff.” He said it in pride, as if he was expecting a group of gangster to pop out from the stall next to us and to applaud his bravery.

In the Arab World English Journal, Rahma Al Mahrooqi (2017) in “Establishing a Reading Culture in Arabic and English in Oman” tackles painful research findings that suggest that most Omanis read at a secondary language level in both Arabic and English. Her research is focused on methods to develop a reading culture in Oman, and what possible benefits this would bring. Yaqob 2012, ‘ Sum of all fears: Arabs read an average of 6 pages a year, study reveals (alarabiya.net)‘ compounds our fears.

I don’t believe that every person needs to be a reader. Games, Documentaries, films, and Youtube are able to provide just as much as books. The mediums excite us, educate us, and bring us to tears sometimes just as well as a book can. However, my discussion with teenage boys revealed something to me that I found particularly worrisome: I think boys might believe that being illiterate is manly. More importantly, I think they are afraid that if they opened a book, their manliness might spill out and fall onto the floor, sullied by stories or education. That they would forget how to kick a ball or climb a tree or, heaven forbid, throw a punch. This is synonymous with the ‘nerd’ stereotype, I suppose.

I don’t know how to conclude this post except to say that the paragraph above is untrue. It’s possible to have hobbies, and to read, and to watch anime and to do all the strange things that we love, and to still be cool and strong. In fact, I’d argue that it takes a great deal of courage to be proudly, unashamedly nerdy while still hanging out with the boys.

I need to run now, so I will say that boys do need stories which speak to them. This is why I’m always happy to write stories like Sarim that contain a good amount of action and adventure. I hope it converts a few hesitant boys into readers, and that they find happiness in it.

Keep reading for fun.

Regards,

Ammar