# Do kids still read Asimov/Heinlein/Bradbury et al? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722 "2016-02-10T16:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722/21 "2016-02-11T23:58:14Z")
> [@](#): > > **Do kids still read [del]Asimov/Heinlein/Bradbury et al, [/del]?** There. All fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722/22 "2016-02-12T02:18:47Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > It took me 3 starts before I could finally finish _Dune_. Took me three starts to finish _Lucky Jim_; couldn’t figure out why everyone called it the wittiest British novel of the 20th century. You know what? It doesn’t start getting funny until CHAPTER THREE. One guy the kids today definitely aren’t reading is Kingsley Amis. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722/23 "2016-02-12T03:34:13Z")
Fantasy is easily the biggest genre in kid lit these days. Book after book about magical power and wizards and spells and all that shit. I find the whole genre utterly boring and haven’t read a single Harry Potter or any other fantasy. There is certainly good sci fi for kids, though. If one of my young patrons asked me for a science fiction recommend I would point them towards The Search for Wondla or Ship Breaker or Airborn or The Boy at the End of the World. For something more classic maybe The White Mountains or Fahrenheit 451. Most of the classic 50s sci fi is getting pretty dated and is not very relatable for today’s kids. Plus there has been a boatload of really good kids’ science fiction written since those “classics” were published. Modern books are more appealing to kids, both in style and substance. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722/24 "2016-02-12T03:39:32Z")
I was looking for a copy of “Where’s My Cow?” for a friend who was a new grandfather, when I came across a little girl looking for a book. I greeted her and asked her how old she was and she told me she was 9. So I found a copy of “Wee Free Men”, handed it to her, and told her it was about a 9 year old girl with a bratty little brother who finds out she’s a witch. I don’t know if she bought it or not. They didn’t have “Maurice and the Amazing Rodents.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722/25 "2016-02-12T17:29:53Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > As a whole, I’d agree fantasy is currently more popular than science fiction, but don’t despair! Scifi is far from dead. Of course, you won’t really find “popular kids” or whatever who can do an analytical comparison of Jules Verne vs HG Wells, but could you ever? I was under the impression that fantasy/scifi has _always_ been something of a niche interest among kids. It’s less niche now than it used to be. I was in high school exactly during the run of ST:TOS, and there were not a lot of kids into it, and we did not have anything like a shared experience of the Star Wars movies. I did a massive analysis of the books of Arthur C. Clarke, comparing the non-fiction with the fiction, in 9th grade. As for Clarke, I’d recommend “The City and the Stars” as a good starting point. When I reread it I found that he predicted VR video games back in the early 1950s. It’s less dated than the closer to now space books. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722/26 "2016-02-12T18:38:55Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > **Martin Prince** : As your president, I would demand a science-fiction library, featuring an ABC of the genre. Asimov, Bester, Clarke. > > **Student** : What about Ray Bradbury? > > **Martin Prince** : I’m aware of his work… Right, one thing I hate is schools forcing Bradbury on kids, telling them it is Science fiction and not much of it is), so that then they hate SF for the rest of their lives, not knowing what they are missing. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722/27 "2016-02-12T18:53:57Z")
Slightly OT, I noticed “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” on my home library shelf the other day and thought ‘you know, I haven’t read that since I was a kid.’ You’ve inspired me to pick Heinlein back up and see how well he’s aged (keeping in mind it was a juvenile). ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722/28 "2016-02-12T19:55:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Right, one thing I hate is schools forcing Bradbury on kids, telling them it is Science fiction and not much of it is), so that then they hate SF for the rest of their lives, not knowing what they are missing. Preach it brother!. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-kids-still-read-asimov-heinlein-bradbury-et-al/745722.md?page=1)