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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m a mom to three voracious highly advanced readers.  My kids will often read 8-10 hours a day for fun on a weekend or summer day and typically 4-6 hours a day on a school day.  I think some choice is good but I also think there’s a lot of value in having limits on those choices.  I understand your saying the research shows that encouraging reading is better than defining what they should read, but I think that research is primarily directed at reluctant readers and doesn’t fully meet the needs of enthusiastic and advanced readers. [/quote]

I’m curious and would like to go further here. How do you think this would not benefit your kids, who are voracious readers? Let’s say they came to me and said I’ve read XYZ, I hate ABC books, my favorite authors and books are L, M, N. What can you suggest?” I could give them some options. They know this about themselves because they have rich reading lives already, which is great. But what if I assigned a book to the whole class that they had read already, or was way too easy/simplistic for them? Would they not feel bored and maybe even disengaged? How could I convince them that book mattered and HAD to be read? I’m not pushing back, I just am interested in how you perceive choice could hurt your kids. If anything, I think the highly advanced ones are some of the few who would particularly benefit. [/quote]

DP- my DS is an advance reader (not voracious, but advanced). At home, I do a mixture of things. In the summer, I tell DS roughly how many books he should read--caveat that this is flexible, depending on the length and complexity of the books, timing, etc. but it is to let him know that reading won't be sacrificed for video games and youtube (he is a young teen). It's a very achievable amount even if he was reading the bare minimum. I tell him that I would like for him to choose a non fiction and a realistic fiction (both outside of his comfort zone)--totally his choice which books. The rest is up to him as long as it's new material or revisiting complex, older material (reading the same graphic novel over and over doesn't count). I try to encourage him toward some difficult texts that I think he might enjoy, but I don't push it. Overall, it works well as long as I'm not pushy and will entertain modifications. So, if he's reading all of Tolkien and it will take up time--great, he can take all the reading time for that. 
The key is to suggest, but not push or force. My DS is very clear that pushing and forcing will turn reading into homework and he won't be interested. Engagement and reading advancement is what I am trying to achieve, so obviously being coercive is counterproductive. 
I guess you could call what I do, guided choices-- some kids will pick up anything and read it. They need little to no guidance- they are mature. Others, even the advanced readers, need a framework. OP, you asked what our teens are reading. I mentioned a few earlier - but the dystopian fiction is very popular. I've even parlayed it into similar, better books-- Orwell, Bradbury, etc. My DS also read The Haunting of Hill House-- he didn't see the Netflix version (it's a little scary for him still) but knew it was popular and wanted to read the book. If you want to engage a reluctant reader-- Neil Shusterman is fantastic. [/quote]

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