James Patterson Quotes

Like measles, the reading bug is best caught when you are young.

If my books can help children become readers, then I feel I have accomplished something important.

I think it's so important for young readers to find a book or series that ignites their passion for reading, especially boys, whose interest in reading wanes as they grow older.

Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.

I am glad to say that I used to read a lot right from a young age.

As a historically voracious reader - pre-baby, I averaged a book every week or two, and when I was a kid, I'd routinely read a book a day - I never understood how some people could not read. When I heard people say they didn't have time to read, in my head, I simultaneously pitied and ridiculed them: there was always time to read.

Anything that encourages a boy to open a book, in a world of more violent and therefore more compelling video games, is something I'm going to pay for.

What I want is to try and get across the idea that reading for pleasure is so beneficial. And turn children on who have maybe been switched off reading or never found a love of it in the first place.

As a kid, I didn't read a great deal of fiction, and I've forgotten most of what I did read.

I'm just trying to get kids motivated to be readers by connecting them with a book they like.

I never stopped reading.

I think kids will read more good books than we can possibly produce.

Every generation likes to think that children don't read as much as they used to when they were young! You listen to some adults saying they were going around reading 'Ulysses' when they were seven or eight! I think children are voracious readers if you give them the right books and if you make those books accessible to them.

It distresses me that parents insist that their children read or make them read. The best way for children to treasure reading is to see the adults in their lives reading for their own pleasure.

I don't like the idea of a book being a test or being used for a test. The way - in my opinion - to make good readers is to let kids choose their own books and not test them.

School librarians play such an enormous role in bringing children to books they are going to enjoy. It's a magic alchemy when that works.

I was thrilled to be able to read at three. I just thought everyone loved reading as much as I did.

There are many reluctant young readers who haven't yet found books that make them laugh.

Bore children, and they stop reading. There's no room for self-indulgence or showing off or setting the scene.

Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school.

I think reading is important in any form. I think a person who's trying to learn to like reading should start off reading about a topic they are interested in, or a person they are interested in.

If a child wants to read 'Twilight' over Middlemarch, they should be encouraged - the important thing is to get them reading in the first place.

The best way to get kids reading more is to give them books that they'll gobble up - and that will make them ask for another.

I can't actually wrap my mind around it easily - I can't really visualize what 2 million books looks like... So I try to keep it real for myself by focusing on individual anecdotes of how my books have helped kids learn to love reading.

I believe we should spend less time worrying about the quantity of books children read and more time introducing them to quality books that will turn them on to the joy of reading and turn them into lifelong readers.