How would you go on convincing someone who doesn't read books to do it?
 

I have a bit of a situation here. Someone I know has NEVER read a book and they are in their 30s. He doesn't suffer from any particular condition and his parents were mild readers. Since I assume we all agree that reading is the most enpowering thing at our disposal, I want to get him to undestand that. Not that I am not good persuading with my own charm alone, I just need an outside input and ideas. Contributions will be rewarded with internet head-giving where possible (i.e. rep).

I would see what his interests are (fiction vs. non-fiction, horror vs. romance, true crime vs. sci-fi, etc.) and pitch him different books. Get him interested in the story/subject first, and he will want to read.

Just lend him a good book.
Do not yell: "READING IS GREAT!! YOU MUST READ!! NOW!!"

I wish things were as simple as that.

Does he enjoy being intellectually challenged? If so, find some sort an angle around this.

What music does he like? Get him to read some music biographies, they're always an easy read (apart from this Coltrane book I have which goes into extreme musical theory... but that's another story) and always very enjoyable from start to finish.

He hardly likes any music. Depressing.

Does he have ANY interests at all?

sounds like his brain activity is minimal. what is your interest in this person? evangelical? (i don't mean religiously, i mean you want some sort of conversion). or sexual? reason i ask is because if you're sleeping with a beautiful dumbfuck you should not expect to change him-- enjoy the muscles and don't try to have a conversation. though who knows. you ever watched "educating rita"?

he might be closet dyslexic, so i'd say audio books for a long car ride/bus ride/ dull chore could pique his interest.

otherwise, feed him fish. it's good for the brain.

Music is such a weird thing. I know all of one person who isn't a serious fan of it, and oddly enough he happens be outrageously intelligent. I've only ever known him to like three bands, and I've known this guy since 7th grade.

He happens to be the network administrator for the United States judicial court, here in Macon. 26 years old, humongous house....once saw the guy purchase an '08 Honda fit in cash....in 2008 (I was tagging along as he test drove cars). To top it off....High School dropout. Everyone said "a brilliant mind gone to waste" < (teachers, other classmates, etc), now he makes well over what most who made this claim bring in. Not that ANY of this matters...it doesn't, but given his age...impressive.

He DOES read...very well read in the subjects of philosophy, politics, and obviously literature related to technology. Never known him to read much in the way of fiction.

Maybe it isn't even so much the fact that he doesn't like music, as it is he doesn't allow himself much time for it.

Why am I saying all this? Basically, I'm trying to figure out what your friend's interests happen to be exactly. As my friend doesn't enjoy music all that much, maybe yours just simply doesn't enjoy reading....but maybe invests his time in something else.

It's odd to me, however, that someone couldn't enjoy reading OR music...

Is he artistically inclined in any sort of way? I know at least some of these people have the tendency to absorb themselves in whatever it is they create, allowing themselves little time for other things they likely consider "distractions".

yeah we need more info. options may vary from bribery to electroshock depending on each individual case.

I have a similar problem with a number of my friends. Almost none of them enjoy reading, or actively engage in it. In high school most all of them cheated on those book tests they have you take to make sure you're reading. One guy in particular always seems to stand out. He never made it past page four in 1984, shame, great book.

Anyway, the thing they always say is something along the lines of thinking it takes too long and they have to invest a bunch of time into it (can't just sit around for a couple of hours like a movie). I always tell them it's not like you have to read 200 pages in one sitting. Go at your own pace, maybe one day you'll read only two or three pages, somedays maybe ten, maybe one day you'll just fucking wonder if Pip is going to get with Estella at the end and read the last two hundred pages in one sitting.

So whatever. You can at least remind them of that. That it's not necessarily the time consumer they may think it is. May influence them some.

yeah I think it's the fact that most of them may find it "boring" and rather dull. I mean...I honstly don't think you can blame them for not being into reading. Everything is all about visual stimulation rather than mental stimulation.

Text is something that surrounds us all the time. It's not that he doesn't read, he just isn't consciously aware of the ubiquity of text; or, he's not into that particular form of reading.

I don't really think it matters too much though. I know plenty of people who read loads and are still wastes of flesh, and plenty who read nowt (long-form) yet are smart as new tacks. I'm sure he gets his culture somewhere. Maybe take him to the ballet or something?

Charles Dickens - start him with Pickwick Papers as it's kind of a bunch of short stories that are all tied together.

my brother, who used to *never* read at all when we were teenagers, found "a clockwork orange" in my room & devoured it in a couple of hours. he was like "it's gooood" and i was like "you actually READ this???"

i don't know if my brother was secretly into ultraviolence (he's pretty mellow), and i suspect what he found appealing was the very simple rose of the book, but maybe start your friend up in a subject he likes? e.g., if he likes sports, a book about sports?

gun to the head.

its a great book!

can I speak for the other side?..... I don't read books myself. I love the craft of writing, and have just as much respect for it as I do any other creative endeavour. I don't lack for intellect by any means.... but for some ungodly reason, I just can't stand reading. My brain doesn't work well for reading.... humbly but honestly. I can't read a paragraph, especially if it's a name heavy content and comprehend what's going on by the time I'm done. By the time I'm on the next page, I'm lost. It feels like an attention span thing.... because I really try. It's only with reading. It's like my brain cramps up with each sentence with forced focus on reading... otherwise, it wanders.

My dad reads like a freak.... like a book every two days or so. And when he's not reading he's doing audio books. His mom owned a book store and her life was about reading. My brothers read constantly too.... I've been cursed with a short attention span.

I've excelled with other forms of art and challenge my brain in every other way.... 'cept reading. Honestly, I wouldn't push anyone to read. If reading brings them pleasure, they would be doing it. I think for some people, who's brains don't work like that, that it's torture... (speaking for myself)

Hmmm, I'm tempted to ruminate on my own reading habits rather than provide anything actually useful. I shall correct myself. Does the person in question enjoy movies? If so, you might want to pick a movie based on a short fiction, read the story together, and then see the film. This might work if you're close friends with him and have other people to do it with. I don't know. Just an idea.