Our family lives in Oklahoma--in a college town. Our public schools score highly in comparison to other Oklahoma schools, as well as national averages. You would think that all of this would indicate we are rearing a generation of readers.

This year, we moved our daughter to private school. At 12 years old, she is now up many nights until 10 or 11 pm finishing her homework. The reason? Her public school had very few textbooks, and those that existed were shared--your child couldn't bring home their math book--there was none! They couldn't bring home their history book--because they didn't have their own copy--and the history books that they share are FOURTEEN years old--older than our children!

And, that is how we discovered that our daughter didn't know how to study. She didn't recognize the "cues" that my generation learned: Paragraph headings; italic type; bold-face type. Without this knowledge, she had to re-read whole chapters in search of the answers to her homework. She hadn't even learned to use an index. These last few weeks have been very trying for all of us as we help her "catch up" by teaching her the study skills she missed because she didn't have the tools (books) to learn them.

While our daughter reads fluently off the page, her reading comprehension is less than it should be. Well, duh! Comprehension results from reading more--which is hard to do if you don't have books that you are required to read. Given her own head, she would still be reading Junie B. Jones (We love Barbara Park!), which, while they are delightful, do not challenge her nor raise the bar pushing her to expand her vocabulary , and reading comprehension in general.

This breaks my heart. Reading opens the entire world to us. If you want to learn math, science, history, etc., reading is the path by which you can travel.

I am grateful, (if broke!), that we chose to pull our daughter from the public school system. Had we left her there, how would her opportunities be limited?

Reading--THE most important tool. If you can read--and write--you can do anything!

BTW JP, Happy Thanksgiving to you as well...and thanks for making reading so fun for so many! May there be many things for which you can be thankful.

James, just finished Double Cross and LifeGuard (my favorite above all so far) but wanted to relate a story. "Many years ago" in West Palm beach area you showed up at a golf course and wound up playing with my cousin, Joe, originally from NY. He asked what you did - you said you were a writer. Funny thing was it was the same book his wife Flo was reading at the time. Not sure about the golf that day but my cousin will never forget meeting you. You probably might not remember him - he will never forget meeting you.

pcataldo@psu.edu at Penn State University - Smeal College of Business

Wow, that is really sad about your daughters school! What a TERRIBLE thing!! I'm 20 now, but my high school took pride in our huge library....that's actually how I got started on Patterson books...7th grade book report on "Pop Goes the Weasel" haha maybe not great for a 13 year old but it had me hook line and sinker.

A few of my friends and I, along with one of our English teachers started a book club in hopes of encouraging reading. It really is a detrimental tool! Thanks to James Patterson reading became fun and a habit, so much so that I've mastered walking through crowded halls and campuses while reading...I just cannot put his books down! And I started a library with his books...I have almost all of them...including Thirteen! All first editions, however it's crazy hard to find first editions, or ANY edition for that matter of Black Market and The Jericho Commandment! In fact I practically run into old used books stores just to try to find those two.

Any way, I definitely understand the reading for fun, I don't know what I would do if I couldn't lose myself in a good book! It's like my get away from reality.

Also, thank you Mr Patterson for writing these amazing books that have me going to wal mart at midnight the night before just so I can stay up all night reading! It's the best, and it made me realize my passions in life, and helped me to pursue my dream of being a field agent in espionage for the CIA! I owe you!!!

As a devoted reader from the Netherlands, I have my own house library, with 4000+ novels. I think more than 3500 books I have, are "fun" to read.

I don't know the situation in the US but in the Netherlands children in Highschool and even College have to read fiction works for their language classes, in Dutch, english, French and German. They must read them and make summery's and even have oral examens about them. BUT...

It is not allowed to read fun-books! It has to be heavy classics or modern literature. Most teachers don't want exciting books (as for example thrillers) on the booklist. They think, children do not learn from this kind of books. The consequence is, that children have a struggle to read this kind of books and certainly do not learn to love them. In a lot of cases they don't read anymore as they are done with their classes. I know for sure, if children have fun in reading, with books they love, they wil also read more heavy works, if they grow older. The consequence from this attitude from teachers (and society), is that children do have no interest in language at all. We forget that reading en writing is the key succes factor for a social life and a professional career.

It's the same with Pianolessons. Give young children czerny etudes and they stop after a year, give them boogie-woogie (the same learning effect) and they play forever. In most cases they pick up czerny later, because they WANT to play them too!

So, let's learn our teachers, that if reading is fun, children read forever. Is reading dull, they go back to their playstation! It's a sort of arrogant exclusive behaviour that withdraw our children from reading. What's wrong with a "Patterson" or even a Mickey Mouse comic? Let them read, and they develop their self!

From fun reading, comes loving books, from loving books, comes more reading and a healthier society!

Greetings, Ryan

Turning kids on to books is a daily challenge I face as a 6th grade teacher in rural Maryland. I real orally to kids every day to try to get them interested. It's so exciting when we read a book together in class, and a student wants to take the book home to read in the evening. Many of my students have never read a book from cover to cover in the past. Many are below level readers, and have never felt the pleasure reading can bring. Currently, one class if reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.
Al Capone Does My Shorts is a good page turner for 11 year olds on grade level. I just started a Cornelia Funke book about Santa Claus.(can't remember the title) But the kids enter my classroom and get each other quiet without my direction so I will read to them for 15 minutes. I love reading for pleasure and try to get kids involved. I keep hundreds of books on shelves for them to borrow. I never have them sign them out, nothing makes me happier than a mysteriously disappering book. I guess someone liked it so much they kept it. Yeah.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot James Patterson is the man. I've loved every single one of his books and I've read most of them. What a writer.

My mother was a reader and in return so am I. I have passed the love of reading on to my son who just turned 13 and your post concerning the "FUN' in fundamentals reminded me of an instance when he was 8 years old.
Schools insist on making our children readers, but then want to set limits and rules on what can be read. In third grade my son had a book report project assigned. He was very excited because they could pick any book they choose and they got to present the report with their artistic vision of the main character. Just two days prior to this assignment we had been to the book store and he had picked "The Day My Butt Went Psycho", by Andy Griffiths. He could not wait to finish his first big chapter book so he could do his assignment. What occurred after, to me is a travesty and in the end a victory for children and reading.
My son read the 240 page book in less than two weeks. He then spent the next week writing and re-writing his report and countless hours on creating a toddler size creation of "Zach Freeman" to hold his beloved book report. Due to his level of excitement he could not wait until the due date to turn it in. So a week before the due date I went to work late just so I could give my son and "Zach" a ride to school and help with getting the toddler size project turned in.
What happened next was one of the most gut wrenching experiences I have had with the school system. His teacher took one look at the title of the book he had read and said it wasn't appropriate and his project would not be accepted for the assignment. In less than a minute his teacher had killed his joy and I must admit I was worried she had killed his love of reading.
We went to the book store that night to pick a new book for the project. Everything he wanted, he decided wouldn't be allowed. His attitude is what made me decide I had to show him that sometimes we have to fight for what we love, even our books. I took my son to school again the next day and talked to his teacher. It turned out the book wasn't a problem with her it was the fact that the projects were going to be on display for the whole school to see. She was worried about what would happen if a parent or child, or other teacher saw it and took offense. So we went to the principal to find a compromise. My son was allowed to use it for the project but "Zach" was banned to the class room after all of my son's fellow students parents agreed to allow "Zach" to stay in the class.
After all of this my son got an A, he still to this day maintains a love for books and reading, and "Zach" is a permanent student in that third grade class. Every year the teacher tells the story of how one child loved a book so much that mountains were moved for him to use it for the book report.

James Patterson I am a few yrs younger than you. I just learned you are from Newburgh, NY...I'm from New Windsor(then a Newburgh address)but I went to CCHS because of the convoluted town lines but alot of my family on my maternal side lived in Newburgh. Many of my cousins went to NFA. Don't remember a catholic male HS just Mt St Joes which was a Seminary if I remember correctly. I only remember Mt St Mary's all girls high school....Know any of the Petrillo's, Fayo's, Scalfarri's or Angelone's,Cubito's or Pete's hot dog stand not far from the town pool?
I wondered what talent comes from Newburgh that ever makes it in the lime light...Now I know ...you and General Petreus a CCHS grad 2 yrs before me. I've been out of the area since college. Anyway...Really just found you 9 yrs ago and love your books. Keep writing and I'll keep reading! Thanks Mary M.