What Do Teenagers Like to Read?

It may come as a surprise in a media-infiltrated world that teenagers enjoy reading. Teenagers have a diverse interest in books. Among their favorite categories are literature, history that has a story they can relate to, fiction and biographies about people who affect their lives today.

Misconceptions

They have video games, sports, movies and social lives plus hours of school, so very few teens must read, right? Wrong. Many teens are voracious readers. Teens have favorite genres and favorite authors.
They choose favorite authors for studies that count for a major part of grades in high school English class. High school students complete at least two author studies during their four years. J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Charles Dickens, Michael Crichton, Cynthia Voight, Pearl S. Buck , Lois Lowry, C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle and hundreds of classics and best-selling authors are among teen favorites.

Considerations

Literature is timeless. A teenager can choose from Mark Twain, Hemingway and Steinbeck as the tip of the iceberg in American Literature. Fiction is always a popular source of reading for teens. Historical fiction, romance, humor and the horror of authors like Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Edgar Allan Poe are on teen reading lists. Teens like an intelligent scare, and books give it to them. Biographies and autobiographies are important to teenage readers. They want to read and learn about favorite entertainers, sports figures and the people who are front and center in today's news. Teens also like to read about historical figures and teens to whom they can relate.

Types

Popular authors on the market from the year 2000 on have captured the interest of teen readers. The Harry Potter series has been a major contributor in reawakening an interest in reading. The "Lord of The Rings" movie brought Tolkien's books into additional printings with updated covers for teens and adults. The Redwall series from Brian Jacques brought young teen boys along over the years. Christopher Paolini's dragon novel series is another male teen favorite. The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer is a best seller. Stephenie Meyer attracted the readership of girls with her debut "Twilight" vampire novel. Christian writers offer a variety of genres that teens enjoy to read. "Chicken Soup for the Soul," the Christy Miller collection written by Robin Jones Gunn, mystery and horror novels by Frank Perretti are popular in this category. Christian-based romance appropriate for teens under the Harlequin Steeple Hill Love Inspired collection are excellent reads. Janel Yolen, Lurlene McDaniels and Jannette Oke are popular faith-based authors and best sellers. Oke's books have also been made into heart-warming movies.

Considerations

Teen readers need a writer who knows how to grasp their attention and keep them interested. It takes a detail-oriented author with a true knowledge of how to draw upon a reader's emotions to keep a teen turning the pages. Teens enjoy a fantasy world, but the book has to make perfect sense. They will not appreciate an author who wastes their time, talks/writes down to them or has a weak plot.

Benefits

A teen who reads and enjoys books will have added strength when meeting the challenges of the reading that must be done in high school and college. Reading is a great stress buster and escape for a teenager. A teen who reads and appreciates books will be a reading adult. She will also be a parent who encourages her children to read one day.