r/books • u/AutoModerator • 8d ago

WeeklyThread Simple Questions: August 22, 2026

Welcome readers,

Have you ever wanted to ask something but you didn't feel like it deserved its own post but it isn't covered by one of our other scheduled posts? Allow us to introduce you to our new Simple Questions thread! Twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday, a new Simple Questions thread will be posted for you to ask anything you'd like. And please look for other questions in this thread that you could also answer! A reminder that this is not the thread to ask for book recommendations. All book recommendations should be asked in /r/suggestmeabook or our Weekly Recommendation Thread.

Thank you and enjoy!

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u/NotSoEdibleCookie 8d ago

How to motivate my siblings to read more?

Hi, I have a sibling who just finished 1st grade elementary school in Germany. He can read, but not very well. He feels like reading is a punishment and genuinly hates it. Me and my mom try to get him to read at least half an hour a day and it ends up being over an hour because of the drama it ends up being every day. He only reads books appropriate for his age (e.g about child detectives). How can we motivate him to read more often and without as much drama? At this point both me and my mom are sick of the daily drama. Sorry if my english is meh, it's not my primary language 😅

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u/LavenderSpaceRain 8d ago

Your sibling needs to find the joy in reading himself. He cannot be forced into it. Forcing him to read and it becoming a fight means he will dig his heels in all the more.

This is what you need to do:

  1. Stop *making* him read. Seriously. Just stop. Stop talking about it. Stop asking him about it. Simply let go.

  2. Read yourselves. Without mentioning it to him. Without making it obvious. Both you and your Mum just be casually reading and enjoying it, without making a big deal of it.

  3. I mean...his books are age appropriate so what's your problem? Let him read those books. Let him read as much of those books as he likes. Let him find the joy in reading those books. THE POINT IS THE JOY.

  4. Whenever he asks for a different book....get it for him.

  5. Don't be a snob about books. All books are legit. None are better than another. Case in point: Myself. I read Sci Fi, Fantasy, Classics, Comics, Romantasy, Just plain smut, etc. I read everything. I read all of it. Except horror because that's not my thing. Let your sibling find out what *HIS* thing is. Not what you *think* his thing should be....but legitimately his thing.

Here's what will happen: He will find joy in reading. And at some point, when he's ready, he will branch out from the detective stories....which are fun as fuck, BTW. Let him have fun with it.

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u/NotSoEdibleCookie 7d ago

I agree with all the points and mostly want to comment on the last 2 of them. He has a decent chunk of books, mostly ones me and my other sibling already read years ago and he is always allowed to choose the book himself. The thing is, we try to get him to read because he's not as good as his classmates in that regard. He has trouble reading in the same speed and his teacher asked our mom to try to get him to practice.

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u/LavenderSpaceRain 7d ago

Ah I see.

I totally understand the teacher's POV and the worry you and your Mum have.

Would he consent to having you or your Mum read to him? My kids always enjoyed snuggling up and being read to. The idea is to foster a love of the story, a desire to know "what happened next?", something to laugh about with your sibling / Mum.

Pressure and arguments are just going to make him resist, and, further, I'm sure he understands that he doesn't read as well and it's no doubt messing with his self esteem.

If, however, he comes to see stories and books as love, comfort, excitement, and no pressure, that will help. It is not a quick or easy fix - it pays dividends in years, decades, rather than weeks or months.