The Magic of a Good Book:
Voluntary Fiction Reading Habits and Preferences of Adolescents
by
Charles Aron Jones
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A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Approved July 2020 by the
Graduate Supervisory Committee:
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James Blasingame, Chair
Henry Quintero
Lorena Zertuche
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
August 2020
ProQuest Number: 28028994
All rights reserved
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Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2020 ). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.
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ABSTRACT
Do adolescents read? What do they read? This purpose of this study was to
examine the voluntary fiction reading experiences of secondary students. Literature was
reviewed concerning the adolescent reader and voluntary fiction reading. The readers
were found to be capable of making profound meanings out of text. The readers found
characters, plot, learning from their books, and the desire to read more beneficial to their
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engagement and reading pleasure.
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DEDICATION
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I dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Megan Jones. You made all this possible.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem..................................................................... 4
Research Questions ............................................................................. 6
Importance of the Study....................................................................... 6
Limitations of the Study ...................................................................... 6
REVIEW OF LITERATURE ......................................................................... 8
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Adolescent Readers ............................................................................. 8
Voluntary Reading ............................................................................ 14
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METHODS ................................................................................................. 21
Research Questions ........................................................................... 21
Methodology ..................................................................................... 21
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Selection of Participants .................................................................... 22
Procedures ........................................................................................ 23
Data Analysis .................................................................................... 24
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RESULTS ................................................................................................... 25
Pilot Study ........................................................................................ 25
The Importance of Characters ............................................................ 28
The Importance of What Happens ...................................................... 29
The Importance of Learning............................................................... 30
The Importance of Wanting More ...................................................... 30
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Page
CHAPTER
This I Thought…Now I Think ........................................................... 30
Adolescents Readers.......................................................................... 31
Conclusion ........................................................................................ 32
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................................... 33
Summary of the Study.................................................................................... 33
Implications ................................................................................................... 38
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Places to Find Good Books ............................................................................ 39
APPENDIX
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REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 40
2012 SURVEY ............................................................................................... 47
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2018 SURVEY ............................................................................................... 50
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INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL ....................................... 54
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A
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.
—J. K. Rowling
I loved reading as a child. In fact, some of my earliest and fondest memories
involved the reading of a good book. I fought crime and solved mysteries with Batman
and Robin, I narrowly escaped the cunning velociraptors of Isla Nublar, and I frequently
assisted my good buddy Hank the Cowdog in escaping from one sticky situation after
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another. These experiences and more were regular occurrences that all took place within
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the comfort of my own home thanks to the magic of reading. Not only did I love to read,
but I would also describe it as my favorite childhood pastime. Unfortunately, both my
passion for reading and the frequency with which I occupied myself with literature would
greatly diminish as I grew older and left my elementary and middle school years behind.
As I grew older, my reading time was overtaken by a series of new challenges and
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personal interests. Schoolwork became more demanding as I entered my secondary years,
and the time allocated to reading in class was greatly reduced thanks to a greater
emphasis on test preparation. As such, reading became a perfunctory task that I no longer
considered enjoyable or participated in with any great regularity. I spent a lot of time with
the new friends I had met in high school, became fanatical about the sport of soccer, and
even turned to video games to replace the time previously devoted to reading. Ultimately,
reading became something that I viewed as academic and not something that I often
allowed to occupy my leisure time. This unfortunate view of reading tagged along with
me until I reached adulthood and met Mr. Harry Potter.
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling, 1998) was published for
American audiences in the fall of 1998, the same time that I had all but lost interest in
reading. Unfortunately, I did not read J. K. Rowling’s wizarding masterpiece until I was a
full-grown adult. I would like to think that my life would be completely different if I had
discovered Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger as a teenager. This book
kickstarted my love for reading again in a way that I had never experienced before.
Reading became my primary hobby once again and any free moment was spend buried in
the pages of a book. I am nearly 40 years old now and still feel the same about reading as
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I did right after reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling, 1998).
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What was it exactly about this specific book that ensnared me into a lifetime of
reading? In Books That Don’t Bore ‘Em, Blasingame (2007) describes four characteristics
of Young Adult Literature (YAL):
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Has characters and issues young readers can identify with; those issues and
characters are treated in a way that does not invalidate, minimize, or devalue
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•
•
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them.
Is framed in language that young readers can understand.
Emphasizes plot above everything else.
Is written for an audience of young adults. (Characteristics of Young Adult
Literature section)
The above characteristics are helpful when examining why Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling, 1998) impacted me so much, especially the description of
characters. From the opening chapters I began to identify with Harry as a character and
the issues he faced all throughout the novel. For instance, Harry was raised by his Aunt
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Petunia and Uncle Vernon, and I spent a large portion of my childhood under the care of
my grandparents. Like Harry, I did not have a bedroom of my own. I slept on a couch in
the living room and Harry slept in a cupboard under the stairs. Another aspect of Harry
that I felt a connection with was our age. We were both born in 1980, so I felt as though
we were contemporaries whilst reading the series. That made it quite easy to see myself
in the story.
I decided to pursue a career in education largely inspired by my newfound love of
reading. When I became an English Language Arts and Reading (ELA) teacher in the fall
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of 2005, I was not surprised to discover that many of my 9th grade students did not
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consider themselves to be readers. They, like I once had, considered reading to be
something that must be done when required. I believed that I could change their negative
attitudes and resentment towards reading. I was ready to try at least.
I was devastated to learn that my English department had mandated reading
selections. There would be no time for Harry Potter that year as the upcoming
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standardized tests were of the utmost importance. The decision was made to be the best
English teacher that I could be even though I was not allowed to bring in outside
literature. I did find, however, the reading selections to be interesting, and I mistakenly
thought the students would as well. The year started off with “The Most Dangerous
Game” by Richard Connell and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, two
high-interest short stories that, unfortunately, did not seem to resonate with my diverse
population of students. The male students liked these short stories more than my female
students, but few truly loved them. I could see it in their eyes that I had to do something
fast to help them fall in love with reading.
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After discussing the issue with a colleague, I decided to build a classroom library.
We did not have the time in class to dedicate to independent reading; however, I planned
to allow my students to check out and take home any of the books that they wanted to
read. My classroom library largely consisted of canonical texts and discarded books from
the local thrift shop due to my lack of funds as a novice teacher. The solitary bookshelf
that served as my classroom library was ignored for the most part that year. However,
that all changed when I placed a copy of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (2005) on the
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shelf.
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Statement of the Problem
I once asked my grandmother what she liked to do for fun as a teenager. Her reply
was immediate and specific, “read.” What kind of activities did I enjoy during my
teenage years? Playing video games, watching movies, and obsessing over soccer were at
the top of my list. Reading, however, was not. My grandmother was definitely not
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pleased about this. I left reading behind after middle school and never looked back until I
became an adult. My story is not unique. There are countless students across the United
States who can functionally read but choose against doing so. How do we get them
hooked on reading? Which books can be added to classroom libraries for students to
enjoy?
In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) published a report titled
Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America. In this study, the NEA found
that “less than half of the adult American population now reads literature (National
Endowment for the Arts” [NEA], 2004, p. ix).” In addition, the report indicated that the
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greatest decline in literary reading occurred in the 18-24 age group, the youngest group
surveyed (NEA, 2004). The NEA (2004) concluded by stating their belief that unless a
solution is found to the decline of literary reading in America that we could be facing
serious consequences as a nation.
Three years later, the NEA (2007) published a follow-up report titled To Read or
Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence. The study indicated three notable
findings: Americans were spending less time reading than in previous years, the reading
comprehension skills of Americans was negatively impacted due to this, and the impact
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of lowered reading rates could have “serious civic, social, cultural, and economic
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implications” (NEA, 2007, p. 7). Reading rates were also shown to be decreasing,
especially amongst teenagers.
What could be causing young people to abandon reading literature? We all know
there are more digital distractions in the modern world. According to the American
Psychological Association (APA, 2018), modern teenagers are spending less time reading
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and more time using digital media. The International Literacy Association (ILA, 2019)
even questioned the internal conflict faced by students when it comes to choosing to read
over playing an exciting video game.
If we want more adolescents to participate in the reading of fiction, then we need
to learn more about what they value in the books that they enjoy. We need to learn more
about how appealing reading experiences shape the making of meaning for adolescents.
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Research Questions
This study was designed to answer the following research questions:
Research Question:
•
How do self-selected, appealing reading experiences impact the
making of meaning for secondary students?
Sub Questions:
What do students report makes a book appealing?
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What do students report makes a book meaningful to them?
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•
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Importance of the Study
This study may help teachers, librarians, and anyone else who contributes to the
literacy development of students understand the importance of appealing reading
experiences. Teachers and librarians will learn more about the specific books that were
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reported as being appealing, allowing them to add them to their library or make
suggestions to potential readers.
Limitations of the Study
While I believe this study to be a sound attempt at learning more about the
reading experiences of adolescent students, I also believe that my study has a few
limitations. The first limitation is that I used a single research method to collect data. I
would add an interview portion to this project if given the chance to complete it again.
The survey instrument was lengthy and almost resembled an interview itself. This length
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may have caused some participants to rush through rather than taking the time to really
think about their responses. Another limitation to this study is that the survey was
distributed to students at only one site. The diverse student demographics at the school
were representative of the southwestern location; however, the information discovered
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from this study may not be as suitable to other schools across the United States.
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Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.