Well this writer’s strike sure is something. Good thing it doesn’t apply to book writers. I don’t think I’d be a happy camper if I couldn’t write every day.

It does, of course, have some real-world impact on me. I don’t know if you heard that ABC is doing a TV-series adaptation of my Women’s Murder Club series (which is for grown-ups, not kids!), but of course that’s on hold now after they showed the first batch of episodes this fall.

And though it hasn’t worked its way through the pipe yet, the strike might end up causing fewer choices at the movie theater in a matter of months. Being the compulsive movie-watcher I am, I wouldn’t be happy about that, either.

Which reminds me, you know that notion we had about finding books that got or are going to get turned into movies? A friend found this link: http://www.kidsreads.com/features/books2movies.asp

Hope that’s useful, and please let me know how that goes if you get a chance to put it to use.

JP

Can’t write much this week—Sue and I are taking a little long-overdue holiday away from home and if she catches me writing here, well . . .

But I did want to highlight a clever post Beth made last week. She writes,

“Here's an idea: have kids do reports on video games every day in school for years; keep logs on them and take them apart, diagram their dialogue structure, make everyone in the class work at the exact same pace (too slow or too fast) and generally take all the 'fun' out of the games.

You might find the kids turn to books for enjoyment instead of those 'boring' (frustrating) computer games!”

Whether or not it’s possible to ruin video games for kids in this way, I think we can all recognize that books do sometimes die an ignominious death in our nation’s classrooms.

And while they certainly don’t always get ruined in school—there are a lot of great teachers making books exciting for kids and turning them into readers—it does happen. It happened to me back when I was a student, and it’s happening to thousands of kids every single day.

And it’s exactly why, as parents, we can’t just assume that our kids are going to learn a love of books in school, and why we have to undertake this particular mission ourselves.

Fortunately, it’s a rewarding one . . . and one that’s very, very do-able.

More soon,

JP

First of all thank you for your smart and fun comments. I read them all and, as before, I’m going to respond to some this month:

Jocelyn rightly points out that one doesn’t need to spend lavishly on books to enjoy them, and reminds us that we can find some pretty good books for free at the library. I fear she was worrying that I was equating not spending on books with some sort of personal failure, but I think the article was merely noticing the fact that Americans are spending less and less on books, and taking that as a symptom of how books are becoming less and less popular. Clearly she’s not part of that distressing trend, nor are June, Lee Ann, and Renee.

On the more controversial end of the spectrum, Gabriel suggests that, “Reading a book is alright as a distraction from studies or while waiting for a bus, but overall it serves little purpose and can even be detrimental.” And I applaud him for being so articulate on the subject—maybe it was partly through the books he read in school that he learned to get his ideas across as well as he does? At any rate, I’d very much like to see any research that shows reading books to be a bad thing. Personally, I expect it will be hard to find any.

I also suspect Gabriel’s school-based reading experience may have been limited—as my own was—to books that didn’t really work for him. I happen to like Moby Dick these days, but it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, especially among young readers who may not be ready for that 700-page whale of a book.

And thank you, Terrie, for your own very articulate response to Gabriel’s post.

Shawna, like Gabriel, is also clearly not gobbling up everything I’ve written and goes further to suggest she doesn’t like my books. I happen to like popcorn myself (and confess I’m not quite so sure what “popcorn trash” is) but I am glad she’s at least reading my blog entries. Maybe she would care, as did Sarah, to suggest some other books she does enjoy?

Finally, I’d like to just point out some of my favorite 1-liners from that batch of postings:

“Turn off the tv and read a good book!” –Mary

“When the world outside is crazy and stressful, a good book is like a mini-vacation. A step away from the world and a chance to breath and relax. LONG LIVE THE WRITTEN WORD!” –June

“Reading is important and can be a way to escape the hum drums.” –Debbie

“There is no substitute for reading. It's far better than movie or TV version. It has a world of its own...in our minds.” –Baklita

“The principal complaint among employers is the poor writing/spelling/general communication skills among young applicants...” –Debra

And my personal favorite:

“I wish parents would hand children a book once and a while instead of a new video game.” –Rachel

I hope our words have a chance to cross paths again next week,

JP

I’m mindful that last week’s entry wasn’t the cheeriest I’ve ever written. Here’s something a little lighter:

During the summers, my grandfather would take me on his frozen food and ice cream delivery route once a week.

These trips were a great treat for me. We’d be up at four in the morning packing his truck, and before five we’d be on our way.

Now, most of us know that driving a delivery truck isn’t the most romantic job in the world.

But every morning, my grandfather would drive over the storm king mountain toward west point, and he’d be singing at the top of his voice.

His big, clumsy truck would be jouncing all over the road—and in a loud, terrible voice he’d sing “Oh, Susanna,” or “Put Another Nickel in the Nickelodeon,” or “She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain.”

And my grandfather told me this: “Jim,” he said, “When you grow up, I don’t care if you’re a truck driver or a famous surgeon—just remember that when you go over the mountain to work in the morning, you’ve got to be singing.”

And, at least since I discovered books and eventually decided to become a writer, I do.

JP

A friend in the publishing industry brought a recent article in The New Yorker to my attention. It’s called “The Twilight of the Books: What Will Life Be Like If People Stop Reading?”, and it begins with some scary statistics about how, as a nation, we’re turning into a bunch of non-readers. . .and what that means.

I won’t repeat it all, but here’s a fact that stood out for me:

• In 1995, the average family spent an average $163 dollars on reading (including newspapers, magazines, books, e-books).
• In 2005, that amount had fallen by almost a quarter, to just $126 a year.

I’m not arguing that money’s the best measure here, but I do think it gives an indication of how reading ranks among those things upon which we spend our money. (What’s a cup of coffee cost these days? Seems to me $126 is about what it costs to take a family the movies two or three times. Or indulge a parent’s Starbucks habit for a couple months.)

And then it goes into a history of reading and the science behind the claims people have always made—and that some of us know or have suspected from our own experience and common sense—things like how readers are more likely than non-readers to:

1. play sports
2. exercise
3. visit art museums, theater, concerts
4. make art or take pictures
5. volunteer
6. vote

I believe the author was making the point that some of these things are kind of important to our society.

Anyhow, it’s a pretty long article, but it was definitely a thought-stirrer for little old me.

JP

Happy New Year! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been becoming a progressively better resolution-keeper as I get older.

The trick, as with many things you wish to accomplish in life, comes down to being realistic with yourself.

For instance, if you are trying to start a really noble habit, you should make sure it’s actually do-able and at least somewhat in line with your character. Like, say, you tell yourself that this year you’re going to start running five miles a day, but you’ve never been much of a runner, and you’re pretty out of shape, and you really don’t like running (except when playing basketball, I don’t like it much, I will confess), well, maybe you should pick another resolution. Like walking a couple miles a day.

It’s great to have ambitions, but they don’t tend to flourish unless you know what you’re working with.

And I don’t mean to presume to know you that well, but I think I’ve stumbled on a great resolution, in case the one you picked isn’t shaping up so well.

If you think your kid(s) should read more, if you have Internet access or are able-bodied, and if you have fifteen minutes or more of free time a month, here’s the idea.

Hold up your right hand and read this next bit aloud—

“I, [your name, and don’t be a wiseacre and say 'yourname’] do hereby resolve for 2008 to help get one great book a month for into the hands of a child in my life.”

That wasn’t so painful, was it? And you can do that, can’t you? If you can’t afford a brand new book each month—either from a store or from an online retailer—get a used one, or borrow from your local library (here’s a handy list of local libraries and links for how to set yourself, and your kid, up with a library card) or even a friend who has the book you think your child will like.

And if you need recommendations for books—bookstores and libraries, with all the thousands of books they have, can be a pain to find your way around, I know—then come here and check out recommendations that I—and your fellow blog-readers—have made. Or go ahead and ask somebody here at the message boards, or your child’s teacher, or a bookseller, or a librarian.

It really shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes from start to finish.

JP

Hope your holidays were great. Christmas happens to be one of my favorite days of the year.

And my family outdid themselves this year. I got some great books myself, gave a couple good ones—including one of my all-time favorites, To Kill a Mockingbird—to my son, Jack. I also received some of the world’s best ice cream, from Graeter’s in Cincinnati.

So now it’s time for thank-you notes! I know, thank-you notes can seem like a total drag and, these days, with the speed and ease of email, IMs, cell phones, and texting, it seems downright old-fashioned and inefficient to actually commit pen to paper, but I personally think part of enjoying books comes from an appreciation of this old-fashioned, first-hand, and magical experience of turning our own thoughts into words.

To that end, even if thank-you notes are a hard-sell with your child, have you ever considered getting them a blank notebook? Here’s a thought and a letter you’re welcome to adapt for your own young reader:

Dear ___,

You ought to keep a journal. Do you know what a journal is? It’s basically your own book. And it’s a place where you can keeps things you want to remember. Things like [and of course use your own examples here, these are just for-instances]:

• How much the Cowboys are going to win by in the next game
• What sorts of table scraps Rex likes best
• The right amount of ketchup one should use on one’s burger
• What is the best joke you heard at school this week
• What day of the week you get your allowance on
• How many Whiffle balls you’ve hit into the next-door-neighbors’ yard
• What sort of cake you want for your birthday
• What Mom or Dad said to you that ticked you off the other day
• Best fishing spots at the river
• Secrets that nobody should know but you

My point is that if you have a journal and practice writing in it—just like with our bike or smacking Whiffle balls into the neighbors’ yard—you’ll get good fast.

And writing’s a good thing to be good at. It helps you remember things, it helps you get your ideas to across to other people (so you can get into good schools and get good jobs and stuff like that) and it can even be pretty good fun.

And you don’t have to write in this journal when you don’t feel like it. You can glue pictures you’ve cut out of magazines, things you’ve printed off the computer, hide money in it, or even smash leaves or bugs into it if you like. Or you can neglect it for weeks or months at a time.

Anyhow, why don’t you give it a try, and let me know if there’s anything I can help with? I’m proud of you being such a good reader and writer.

JP

Thank you, Terrie and Sandi, for replying to that last post and, Jocelyn, I’m impressed you found that excerpt for the next Maximum Ride book. For all you parents who aren’t aware of the Maximum Ride series, it’s written for readers of all ages, from 10 to 110. I’m careful with the language and content and everybody seems to love the books.

Staying on the subject of Maximum Ride, I just returned from Hollywood and can tell you the books are headed to the silver screen. Avi Arad, who made Spiderman, and Sony Pictures will be making the movie-version.

Ironically, just last week I blogged about how movies often aren’t as good as the books, but hope does spring eternal and sometimes movies-based-on-books are pretty good. I think the Harry Potter films, for instance, are entertaining.

And that sparks another idea that may be useful for those of us embarked on turning kids into readers.

Find a movie your kids might be into that’s based on a book. For example, The Spiderwick Chronicles will be out in February. Or The Golden Compass is out now. Or try Holes, which you should be able to rent. The important thing is to find a movie your kid wants to see and to harness their interest by giving them the book before they see it.

Oh, and if you have some suggestions of great books that have been turned—or are getting turned—into decent movies, why don’t you share them? Maybe we can build a list here for us all to reference.

JP

You may have heard Ingmar Bergman died this past summer. Or you may not have. He was a very smart, creative man, and a favorite of critics and students of film.

But I believe he’s probably not as famous as Walt Disney or Steven Spielberg because he made what most of us call “art-house” films. His films are popular with “expert” film watchers, people who watch tons of movies and are looking for more than just a good, clean, popular entertainment, but they don’t hold any major box-office records.

All that to say, if people’s first movie-going experience was with Ingmar Bergman films, I suspect movies wouldn’t be as popular as they are today.

This is something we know about books, too. Part of the reason they’re not as popular as movies these days is because too often, for instance, an eighth grade English teacher assigns a paper on Silas Marner or some other “classic” chosen by academic professionals, but that is not suitable for fledgling readers. And then that class comes to the conclusion that reading is a drag.

This happened to me, and I daresay it’s happening every week to untold thousands of kids around the world.

And that is yet another reason why it’s so important that we parents, as we’ve been discussing, make the effort to be the first to introduce our kids—who we know better than any teacher ever will—to the right books.

To that end, I should mention that for all of you who’ve been looking for some concrete recommendations from little old me, you ought to check out a piece I did for Parade magazine (which is carried in a lot of local papers) this weekend.

They’re running a letter I wrote to my son, Jack, and a list of some books I truly hope he loves.

Have a great week,

JP

Hope you liked that reading-late tip from last week. As Michelle, Terry and Zanna (who commented on it) I think would agree, there is something special about staying up with a book. If you’re at all open to the thought, please give it a try with your kid and—in a month or so—let me know how things worked out.

This time, I thought I’d just pose a thought-starter that occurred to me while Sue and I were up in New York so I could do publicity stuff for the latest Alex Cross novel, Double Cross, and meet with my publisher—about this year’s awards for volunteers, booksellers, teachers, librarians, and other people who are out there spreading the joy of reading. (If you’re in this category, or know somebody who is, please go to pattersonpageturner.org.)

Jack, my son, was a little mad at us for going without him—especially since I had a talk at the original Apple Store in SoHo and he’s an Apple fanatic—but fourth grade comes first. (If you have iTunes, give it a *free* listen here.)

While we were at the Apple event, he e-mailed Sue with his spelling homework. He did well except for spelling “perilous,” which he had as “perilles,” but that’s not an easy word.

English, of course, is full of not-so-easy words, and it’s no wonder lots of people never get proficient at reading, much less confident enough to enjoy books.

But, of course, if we hadn’t learn to read, we’d all probably still be living in trees and caves, and maybe I’d be logging rather than blogging.

All that to say when we get our kids reading, we need to remember it’s a big challenge, perhaps the single biggest challenge in their entire education. And that’s why we need to be really smart and take advantage of the best tools out there to encourage them.

More to come next Thursday on just that subject.

JP

Okay, as promised, here’s the first of some practical thoughts for getting kids into the reading habit:

This one’s courtesy of a friend of mine & Sue’s. It came up over dinner at their house the other night. Get your kids a good reading lamp, either battery-powered or plug-in, and institute a new rule: They can stay up an hour (or more or less) past their usual bedtime if, and only if, they spend it reading. I don’t know about your kids, but in my experience nothing seems special to kids like having permission to stay up later than usual. Why not have them start associating reading with this special-ness?

Wanted to mention a couple other things, too.

One is that I really enjoy your comments on the blog here. Please keep them coming and I’ll try to respond to some of you as we go along.

The other is that as this gift-season approaches, I’d be remiss to not remember that a lot of kids don’t have adults like us out there working to help them become readers. To that end, if you're thinking of making any charitable gifts this season, I’d like to point out that First Book—whose mission is to get books into the hands of kids who have never had one before—has a deal going where for every dollar you give through the end of the year, they'll get at least one entire book into the hands of an underprivileged child. Anyhow, just a thought.

Happy reading,

JP

So I’m reading The New York Times this morning and I come across an article, “Study Links Drop in Test Scores to a Decline in Time Spent Reading,” and I go, "Hmm, I should probably read this one, being a parent and an author and all that." And it begins, “. . .Harry Potter, James Patterson and Oprah Winfrey’s book club aside . . .” and I’m like, "Hey, is that James Patterson as in. . . !?"

Needless to say, I’ve read articles with less provocation than that, and it did end up being a thought-stirring piece. For the first time in my memory, smart people in the book industry are addressing the fact that it’s not just that young people are reading less, but that they “appear to be reading less for fun.”

Now there’s the under-rated concept of the new millennium—people do better with things when they’re having fun at them!

Of course it’s a wisdom good teachers, good parents, and good habit-changers of all kinds have always known.

It’s also why I created the PageTurner awards. They’re purposely not about identifying and giving money to folks who say reading is critically important for future success, but finding those teachers, booksellers, librarians, community volunteers and others who are communicating that reading is a joy. (If you know anybody like that—including yourself—please stop by the awards’ site and let us know about them.)

It’s important that we all realize that reading is a crucial habit. But being aware of that and knowing how to do something about it are two different things. One truth I think we can hold to be self-evident: The pursuit of happiness is a little harder for our children to undertake if they don’t see the happiness they can have in their “academic” pursuits.

More soon on how we can show kids the enormous happiness that can be found in books—but right now I’ve got to go finish off what I hope is a “fun” manuscript for my publisher.

Have a happy Thanksgiving.

JP

Hope you all were able to catch me on TODAY this morning, talking about my old friend Alex Cross. For those of you who like to sleep in, here's what you missed:

Here's another interesting clip to share and get you thinking, "What are your favorite children's books?"

I’d love to hear your own picks here on the blog.

...And here’s some good ones to get you started in case you’re a bit rusty.

JP

I may be the bestselling author in the country these days, but I didn’t always love books.

In fact, I didn’t even like reading until I found myself in a mental institution. WORKING in a mental institution. (Summer job.)

I’d graduated from high school as a valedictorian, so it wasn’t like I couldn’t or didn’t read when I had to. I doubt I would have passed English class, much less gotten a good grade, if I hadn’t been able to trudge through Silas Marner.

But there I was after high school in a psychiatric facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, (where, interestingly enough, some famous folks you may have heard of were patients, but I'm not telling) doing the night watch—which entailed sitting up all night making sure the patients didn’t attempt suicide—and they had a library with some really random books in it. And because I was bored out of my skull, and had a ton of time to kill, I started picking them up and leafing through them. And then I started reading one. And then another. And then another. And, before I knew it, I was picking books up even when I wasn’t on duty.

I think a lot of it had to do with me being in control of the situation. There was something about it being me choosing the books for myself that made them more palatable during than all those years of them being force-fed me by teachers. And, of course, a lot of it had to do with the books themselves.

I’m not going suggest you throw your just-reading child at the work of some of the French existentialists I found in that institution’s library, but way back then—as now—schools, for whatever reasons, often select books that just don’t work for kids.

And because kids often first—and sometimes only—experience books at school, this is really unfortunate. Because, as you know, if you have a bad experience with something, you tend not to want to try it again.

We humans are kind of smart like that.

But we’re not smart when we take a bad experience and over-generalize. Until that summer after high school, and simply because I hadn’t enjoyed one yet, I thought all books were stupid and boring.

And that wasn’t very bright of me because, as I later discovered, books can be the best, most addictive, educational, and door-opening entertainment in the whole world.

I expect we’re all on the same page when we say we’d rather see our kids reading a book than watching hours of television or playing mind-numbing video games—or out succumbing to peer pressure and doing things worse than that—but I’d of course suggest that most of the successful and happy people out there aren’t just able to read. They actually like reading, and do it on their own.

In the coming weeks and months I’m going to be sharing some examples of what I’m talking about here, tips about books that—unlike those your kids might be forced to read in the school curriculum—they actually might want to read, and other pieces of advice and hopefully wisdom I’ve picked up in my years as an author, father, and late-blooming reader.

Thank you for reading.