Alan Maley's Extensive Reading

Girls and boys from school districts around the world are encouraged to practice reading in their daily lives due its beneficial effects. Writer Alan Maley encourages Extensive Reading, which guides students to read independently and extrinsically. He believes that it, “develops learner autonomy...enhances general language competence” and, “helps develop general, world knowledge” (Maley 2-3). However, the number of people choosing to spend their leisure time invested in a novel is declining by the year. According to Charlotte Alter from Time, “45% of 17-year-olds say they only read once or twice a year, but in 1984, 64% said they read once a week or more”(1). The reason for such a decline can be traced back to technological advancements distracting the younger
According to YourDictionary, there are over 30 genres of books, not including sub genres (2-3). Between fiction and nonfiction, there’s a multitude of topics that either route can build upon. Fiction can be further divided into mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and romance; while the nonfiction genre contains books about every possible subject; anatomy, space travel, American history, even self-help books and autobiographies. For a person whose preferred activities don’t include reading, it can be difficult to explore the sea of genres and find a text that they will love. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the variety in literature, people should view it as a community where writers and readers from all walks of life share one common love: reading.
If searching for the novel to begin one’s reading journey, it may be useful to explore genres that correlate with one’s sex. Boys and girls differ in preferences for movies, activites, school subjects, and of course, books. A survey done by Statista in 2012 investigates the similarities and differences of tastes for book genres between girls and boys in the United Kingdom. The results conclude, “Girls were more likely to like to read romance and