Discussion: 5 things to do if you come across a non-reader

Friday 2 January 2015

It's a pretty harrowing thought - but....some people out there DON'T READ. AT ALL.


Shocking, I know. *sigh*

In fact - they might just hate books altogether. 


That in itself is a hard thing to accept for us bookaholics - but alas - it is a phenomenon that does exist.

Though it may be tempting to simply look down upon people who think in this way, there are much more effective methods of turning even the most passionate book-haters into bookworms (or at least occasional readers), rather than simply doing this:


If you know any non-readers out there, here are a few of my tips on how to encourage them to pick up a book and get reading:

1. Explain that within the realm of infinite pages and possibilities, it's not all about those big heavy classics which may instill fear in some people because of their daunting size. 


Side note: This doesn't mean that one should avoid classics altogether for this reason - and in fact, there are some which are quite short eg. The Great Gatsby. 

Obviously there are many genres out there to choose from, and taking a person along to a library or bookstore with you could really be a positive experience. Try to suss out what they might like by making a few suggestions, and perhaps you could be well on your way to convincing someone that books aren't so scary after all.

2. If that doesn't work - maybe convincing them via movies could be a help. 

These days book-to-movie adaptations are more popular than ever, so if you know the person has seen a bookish movie, then why not say that it may be good to read the book? Even better, if you know an adaptation is coming out soon, a buddy-read may be helpful so that you can bond over the book before going to see the movie together.



The Fault In Our Stars is one of the most prominent examples, but a few others in the YA world include:

  • The Maze Runner
  • The Book Thief
  • If I Stay
  • Vampire Academy 
  • The Hunger Games/Catching Fire/Mockingjay Part 1
  • Divergent
  • The Giver
3. Take them to a book event


Now it might be hard to convince them to go in the first place, but this could still be worth a shot. What they expect to be a gruelling and boring experience at first, might just turn out to be something they enjoy. If there are authors signing, that would be even more special - having a signed book and meeting the writer in real life can be really motivational when it comes to picking up their story which they took so much effort to write. 

4. Get reinforcements. 


In the form of your own companions who are fellow readers, or virtually through book blogs - providing exposure to a non-reader to these reading advocates can make all the difference. Getting them in touch with a non-reader to reader convert could well be a method of getting through to them from the perspective of somebody who's also felt that way. If they can understand that the reading community is a wide, welcoming and diverse one, then they might just feel more compelled to join. We don't bite (most of the time)*

*just kidding!


5. Last resort - shove a book in their face and hope for the best.


This gif is probably one of my all-time favourites. It just works in so many situations.
It's all or nothing - if all else fails, just giving them a book as a gift or one of your own to borrow (if you're willing to risk it), is something that could kick-start those non-readers who have no idea what to choose. Going for a well-known release might pay off in this case, especially if it's received lots of positive hype, but if you're willing to lend some of your own lesser-known gems then this could work as well. Encouraging them to enter book giveaways on blogs is another way to introduce them to books with the possibility of a freebie, as well as immersing them into a plethora of bookish posts to be found. 

If you're lucky and at least one of these options work, that person who once avoided books will become one who embraces them. 


What do you think of my tips? Do you have any of your own to add?

26 comments :

  1. Haha I love this! I have this problem with my husband, he actually said last night that books and reading were weird (that didn't go over too well) but I have done a few of these with him. I've took him to an author signing, and he promptly sat in the car and wouldn't come in. I've always dragged him to watch some book to movie adaptations like THG, Divergent, TFiOS, If I Stay and The Maze Runner. He liked 3/5 of those, but he still refuses to pick up a book *sigh*

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    1. Oh well Christy - at least you tried and he's had *some* bookish exposure! Perseverance is the key, hopefully he'll be willing to try a book soon!

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  2. LOOLL THIS IS PERFECTION! I'm probably just gonna utilise number 5 because it's probably the best tip out of all of them. ;)

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    1. Thanks Laura - number five should have a pretty good success rate! ;)

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  3. I think we have a problem, Eugenia. We can't be friends anymore. You're just too nice ;) I just give up on all my non-reader friends, lol. That's why we have the internet after all :P

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    1. *Reads 'I think we have a problem'*
      *gasps*
      *Reads rest of comment*
      *smiles*
      Awwww :) Too true - it's great to meet other readers on the interwebs!

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  4. Haha I love this sooo much!! =P My boyfriend if a non reader and I actually resort to bribery. As in, if he reads one of the books I loved so we can talk about it, I'll watch a movie or a TV series that he loves that I"m not all that into. So far, it hasn't really worked but I haven't had to watch bad action or crappy comedy movies =P

    -Jazzie @ The Book Dancer

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post Jazzy :) That sounds like a pretty good system, hopefully he gets reading soon!

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  5. Hehe this is a really wonderful list Genie! With most of my friends, I either do the book shoving or the movie adaptation route and that tends to work well if they enjoyed the movie. Although MOST of them don't read at all and cower in fear at my bookshelves in my house....oh well, better luck next time.

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    1. Haha at least two of my tips are of some use - movies seem to definitely be a popular avenue these days, they definitely hype up the book they're based on more.

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  6. Haha, I love this.
    I have a friend who isn't against reading...she just has more important things to do.
    Plus, she has trouble focusing on words on a page, so she prefers audiobooks.
    However, I am the only booknerd she knows, and so I dragged her to the Between the Covers party in October, and I think she was actually surprised to see so many people who love books as much as I do.
    It was great.
    Otherwise, I don't really have that many non-reader friends who I see regularly.
    I don't have many friends, period.
    But these are definitely good suggestions. What got my sister into reading was me throwing books at her until we found one that she loved. It was Percy Jackson, and I was so happy.

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    1. It's great that you brought someone along to a book event :) I really want to try and read more audiobooks this year, just to see what it's like. I definitely need to get to the Percy Jackson series too - one of my best friends has been telling me to read them for aages!

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  7. Definitely throwing books at people's faces. I'm sure it's a given that it'll work perfectly. And if they don't read, sure, they might be dead from a hardback novel but HEY AT LEAST WE TRIED. *coughs*
    So yes.
    I love this post. xD
    I am mortally ashamed of my family, though, who are watching all the YA movie adaptions of last year and totally have not read any of the books. Omg. I can't even look at them.

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    1. Exactly Cait - it's the thought that counts *nods*. Hopefully you can find a way to get your family to read the books for those movie adaptations!

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  8. HAHAHAHAHA I LOVE THIS. I'm with Cait, I just utilise that last point. I book push like no other. I will physically purchase the book and shove it into their hands and nag. And it works so hey, I'm sticking with that HAHAHA

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    1. It's great that you've found that system which works!

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  9. I'm lucky that I don't know many non-readers. Well, okay, I do...but they're work people, so I don't think they count lol I often get made fun of for reading on my lunch break, but I figure I'm doing something productive with my time :)

    Actually. My Mum never used to read books, but we got her hooked with the Harry Potter series, and now she reads books ALL the time!

    - Wattle @ Whimsical Nature

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    1. Reading is definitely a good use of time, and a fantastic way to wind down at any rate. Yay for getting your mum to read! It just goes to show, once you introduce someone to one book or series they love, they can become booklovers for life :)

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  10. LOL We don't bite! ;) This is a great post and I love your suggestions. I sooo wish I knew more local readers. I also wish my girls loved to read (only one out of the three does *sad face*). All I have to say is, thank God for the interwebs! What would I do if I couldn't share the #booklove with lovely people like you? <3

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    1. Thanks Jessica :) At least you've got a bit of an advantage being an author and you can try and get them to read your books ;). The interwebs is a brilliant way to connect with other readers and bring the bookish community together.

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  11. I know, right? I can't believe that there are people who don't like reading. What do they even do in their freetime? I don't understand!

    These are really great tips, though. If I was taking someone to a book-to-movie adaptation, I would totally take him/her to see The Book Thief. It looks really good and the book is quite amazing. It would also be cool to go to a bookish event, but I've never been to one myself.

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    1. I don't either - hopefully some people can come to their senses and see all the awesome-ness they're missing out on!
      The Book Thief, I agree was a fantastic adaptation and very true to the story - it's one of my favourites.

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  12. I LOVE this! Hopefully this will encourage a whole heap of people to get into reading. I hear from a lot of people that they want to read, but they don't actually know what they like etc, so they can't actually be bothered to try anything because they want to love the first book they read. I definitely agree that most will be tempted by the books to movies novels. Especially if they like the movie, then the book would be the perfect start to reading.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post Gina :) It can definitely be a little tricky at first for people to find out what the like - it just comes down to finding *one* that they really love which will hopefully convert them to bookworms! Book-movie adaptations are definitely encouraging more reading these days which is certainly good to see.

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  13. Lol. Those gifs are awesome. I'm constantly trying to get my almost non-reading/most picky readers AKA my brothers to read something. It's so frustrating when they swear everything off. I'll be sitting there and I'm like, NO YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON SO MUCH.

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    1. Haha thanks Steph :) That must be hard! I'm sure when they find that *one* special book they'll be booklovers forever - it's picking it out that's the hard part!

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