David Foster Wallace on Why Men are Reading Less 

You can learn all of that through other forms of media though. The novel has only been around for roughly 200 years. It’s worn out its novelty (no pun intended).

Men, in general don't expect wisdom to be "dispensed to them, not worked out on their own." Quite the opposite. Us men love to figure out stuff for ourselves. When we read non-fiction we're not looking for the book to answer everything for us. More like the knowledge is a tool among other tools, like an axe or a shovel. That is to say, we treat the books as complementary to the quest we're pursuing or goals we're trying to achieve. You talk about how "vital literary fiction is to the growth of their own character". Well, men are very goal-oriented, and we cultivate good character by pursuing goals and achieving them. That's why we like getting the highest scores in videogames and sports, for example--things like that are fulfilling. And, no, men don't "discard the very idea of fiction". Wrong again. Like, have you read like any mythology ever?? Those stories of old were (and still are) inspirational and aspirational for us. They had heroes and warriors and adventurers, ie. things that pertain to roles that men find fulfilling. That's why power fantasy stories like Isekai light novels, LitRPGs, and shonen and seinen manga are big hits among us, because they scratch that itch which is woefully undermined and underserved outside of those niches. Meanwhile, the more intellectual among us are drawn to hard SF and authors like Tolkien, Cormac, Tolstoy, Dotsoyevsky, David Foster Wallace, Faulkner, and others. The fact of the matter is that most books these days aren't written to appeal to men, so most of us have no impetus to read them. After all, it's been beaten into our heads for decades at this point how "male gaze is wrong" and how this and that and the rest is "misogynistic" or "toxic masculinity"--basically anything that men would find relatable, stimulating, or interesting to read about has been demonized, subverted, and/or deconstructed into oblivion, no matter how innocuous it might be. (For crying out loud, if a guy sits with his legs wide open, which is how most of naturally sit, it's seen as an affront or an act of "micro-aggression" towards women.) Maybe it's just me, but your comment seems to have this weird undertone that because men don't enjoy and experience books the same way women do and don't have the same expectations from works of fiction as women have there's something wrong with us. My first hint was your talk of "it defies their 'manly' notion of utility". (Yes, utility is intrinsically tied to masculine identity. Among the reasons for this is the fact that NO ONE, neither men nor women, likes or respects a useless man.) You boldly proclaim that "men need to understand the purpose of reading", As if to say that if we don't approach fiction in the way you are prescribing our minds won't be enriched and our characters won't develop. How about women (and some men, for sure) stop expecting men to read fiction for the same purposes as women? Like, seriously, though, imagine if it were the other way around: a person (a man) saying women ought to read or experience X kind of media this way (the same way men do) or their soul won't be enriched and their character won't develop. That guy wouldn't hear the end of it, and rightly so, because no sex should dictate how the other ought to experience a form of media.

@@miguelthedrawtistincel alert

Well said harrison

​@mumboslick89 so something is only worthwhile if it's new? I love basically all forms of storytelling, but anyone discounting the impact of literature and the exercise of the mind and imagination that comes with it cannot and should not be disregarded as trivial. The only person who would seriously believe it is trivial is someone who doesn't read or reads as little as possible.

one of the greatest works of art i have ever experienced.

Because they're too young to look at his deeper motivations.

Of course brotha

Women are more intelligent than men. Especially when it comes to introspection and emotion. Thats just one example of why women read. Most men only care about immediate personal gain and lack patience. I was one of them. I see this to worse degrees with my meathead friends, who are all gambling nicotine and sport addicts with highschool education

I was with you until the last part. “High brow indulgences” are the last thing dominating the current literary landscape. Cormac McCarthy only got away with it because he’s Cormac McCarthy.

@@adampearson1541 Agreed. You're right about the current landscape. Suppose I was referring to later age writers putting out books in the current-ish era that do get away with it. Point Omega by Don Delillo, for example.

That's why it's probably a good idea to not go into something simply because you love it. You risk draining yourself of that love in your free time. Pursue what you're good at, and if what you're good at and what you love coincide, then that's another question and might be worth serious consideration.

Come on. If life was really hard, as in everyday survival, do you think we would have this transgender epidemic within our midst?

Handmaid's Tale is the best, obviously. I would also highly recommend Angela carter's the bloody chamber as well. I prefer carter to atwood tbh

He would be seriously addicted to tik tok. I mean he got addicted to scrolling TV, just imagine home with one in his pocket.

He predicted all of this already in E Unibus pluram. Its absolutely fascinating and a bit scary on how accurate he was. The greats really can see into the future

Thanks mate, very insightful

And one of those factors is reading less…

Left hand of darkness is the bomb.

I didn't know that exists. I'll have to investigate further. I've been meaning to read more. I love it, but I'm either all in or not at all. A structured list of well vetted material might be of some use. I'm already whittling my way through the Dune and Song of Ice & Fire sagas, but I'll have to hit up what's on those lists next.

Marine Corps.

This is a big reason why guys who want to get into reading should consider adding comics/graphic novels to their literary diet. If you're picking good stories from quality writers (sadly they're few and far between over the last decade), you can read quality dialog and internal narration and good-looking visual storytelling that can be as good as anything you'll read in fiction novels. There's a reason why a lot of guys started their interest in reading vecause of comics. They're more appealing to males as more visual creatures, and at their best, they can be challenging in their own right.

That's all that life is about?

From a certain point of view, isn't it more effeminate to be so concerned about other people finding you effeminate for reading that it completely dictates your actions? No man should ever allow the petty opinions of others to have that much power over their minds.

@@Tyler_W I never said the argument was logical or consistent. Most humanities are becoming more and more led by women

I'm 56 years old and a voracious reader and my sexuality has never once been called into question because of it.

I'm 56 years old and a voracious reader and my sexuality has never once been called into question because of it.

What were the biases? It may not have been Write Conscious who reported you. Pretty sure anyone can report.

It probably wasn't the channel. RU-vid is very sensitive with its censorship.

Not books. Not buying that assertion at all.

@@ericsierra-franco7802 It suits your politics to keep people ignorant and yourself