The more we understand the pressures our boys face in the wider world, the better we’ll be able to help them cope with those pressures.
The more we understand our boys’ experiences, the better we’ll be able to advise, guide, parent and teach our boys.
That’s why I do what I do here at BuildingBoys, and it’s why I read as many books and articles about boys as I possibly can. Reading the books of Michael Gurian and Leonard Sax (The Wonder of Boys, Boys Adrift) helped me understand what I was seeing in my own home, and better prepared me to advocate for my boys (and all boys). Reading Rosalind Wiseman’s Masterminds & Wingman helped me better understand the world of today’s tween and teenage boys — a great help to a mom who was, at the time, traversing the world of teenager-dom for the first time as a parent.
In 2013, I launched the first iteration of BuildingBoys Book Club, a virtual book club that’s open to all and focused on non-fiction books about raising, guiding and educating boys. And then…the idea petered away. I got busy. Life happened. I focused my attention on other things.
But I never lost my passion or interest in reading, learning about and discussing boys. Since 2013, I’ve amassed quite a few interesting boy-related books: A Parent’s Guide to Boys, by Abigail Norfleet James; Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy, by Andrew Smiler; House of Testosterone, by Sharon O’Connel; and many, many more. And sure, I can read these books on my own — but I get so much more out of them when I read and discuss them with other people. When I sit and ponder the ideas, shift them through my own experience and hear from others. So, I am re-launching BuildingBoys Book Club, and I invite you to join me.
Our first pick will be The Last Boys Picked: Helping Boys Who Don’t Play Sports Survive Bullies and Boyhood, by Janet Sasson Edgette. Why this book? 4 reasons:
- It’s been sitting on my desk, unread, for far too long.
- Janet is a psychologist — and mother of a son. She has both a personal and a professional understanding of the issue.
- The book touches on an important, not-oft discussed issue that affects the lives of lots of boys and families.
- Janet has graciously agreed to participate in a BuildingBoys teleseminar about her book. This is your chance to read the book and discuss it with the author and other interested readers. This FREE teleseminar, Helping Boys Who Don’t Play Sports Survive Bullies and Boyhood, will be on Tues. Dec. 13, so you have plenty of time to pick up a copy & read the book. (Want to register for the teleseminar? Click here.)
Please join us! Joining BuildingBoys book club couldn’t be any simpler:
Step 1: Get book.
Step 2: Start reading.
Step 3: Check in on Fridays. Fridays will be Book Club days here at BuildingBoys. Each Friday, I’ll write a post about what I’ve read so far; I encourage you to stop by and share your questions and comments as well. I’ll also post a question or comment on Twitter and Facebook using #BBbookclub. Watch for the hashtag, and use it to share your thoughts, comments and questions too. And to share information about our book club.
I can’t always promise that we’ll have an author Q & A teleseminar, but we do this time, so I encourage you sign up.
Questions? Leave them below; I’ll get back to you as possible as possible.
Happy reading!
