Do you read? Over.

You might think that publishers are purposely trying to make sure men don't read books anymore, by the kind of stuff they publish. And there's some evidence to support that. Twenty-nine percent of the fiction market is said to be romance books, exclusively targeted at women. Almost without exception, teen books star "badass" female heroes, or more romance, or a combo thereof. Even in the traditionally male dominion of science fiction, "wokeness," which is by nature anti-male, has twisted the field to the point of revolution within the ranks for the last five years. I expect the "Woke Western" to be the next field of contention, if not "Woke War." Where are the books for your average straight guy?

Publishers, for their part, throw up their hands and say, "These men are not buying books! They are playing video games! They are fooling around with their phones! They are reading naughty manga! They are streaming billions of movies! They do not read!"

It could be a chicken-egg situation; did men drop out of reading or did books drop men?

I actually don't know. I love to read, have since childhood. But I didn't grow up in a bookish house. Mom read one novel during the entire time I was alive, I think -- a tawdry Vegas book that a friend pushed on her. Dad liked science fiction, though, but he had stopped reading books by the time the kids came along. Maybe the lack of peace and quiet around the house turned him toward TV in the evenings, which is more social and requires less concentration. When I discovered his trove of old Science Fiction Book Club novels in the cellar one day, some time after I had become a confirmed bookworm, it was like finding out my dad was Batman. I feel like I hardly know you -- and yet this is so cool! 

He did not read again, however; not until his final illness, which lingered for a long while and prevented him from much physical activity. (He liked Planet of the Apes particularly; said it was quite different from the movie, which I already knew.) Later, he was on serious end-of-life painkillers and could not focus enough to read at all. 

Most men I knew who were casual readers were fond of mysteries, SF/fantasy, and especially espionage. I even had an English professor who was a huge fan of spy novels. The father of one of my best friends was never without one, especially wartime espionage; my pal said, "Put a swastika and a bloody knife on the cover and Dad's reading it."

Men are being told to read, but it's generally in the same way that they are being told to eat kale and go to the gym. It's good for you. Well, I agree. But if it's no fun, they aren't going to do it. No one pays for homework.

I may not be a typical male about these things, since I have a lifelong reading habit and a professional involvement, but I feel exactly the way the average guy might when looking over a shelf full of modern books: Mildly discouraged. It's hard to find the quiet time to do any reading, so give me one reason why this is worth the trouble. And most publishers, and perhaps writers, can't. 

When boys hit high school, the vast majority of books directed toward their age group are written for girls. It got that way because girls were buying more books, and has avalanched since. Even teen books about male characters -- even those written by men -- usually star a male who is a doofus who has a female friend who is a badass. 

When I was in high school, there were very few Beverly Clearys for boys; I was reading books for adults from the time I was thirteen, because there was little else to read. I think now that that was a good thing. But all this illustrates that the problem may start earlier; high school is the first time reading assignments are focused on adult literature, but not the books kids would select themselves, so if self-directed reading for enjoyment is to be instilled, it must be done before that.

I'd like your thoughts on this. I know there are serious publishers who would love to crack the code, find the way to get books into the hands of teenage boys and encourage them to be lifelong readers. I've written a couple of books for that crowd, but couldn't get an agent for them; it's hard to write for boys, but harder to find a publisher since no one cares enough to try anymore. Where do we go from here?