Recently, I had the privilege of surveying seven very cool South Asian teens on their likes and dislikes regarding book genres, themes, language, and sexuality content in their reading material.  I wanted to share the (revealing!  Surprising!  Fascinating!) responses I got with the AuthorsNow! readership.

To keep from taking over the site completely, I’ve included the first half of the survey here.  If you’d like to read the rest of the questions and responses, they are up on my site at www.NeeshaMeminger.com/funstuff.

Q.  What are some of the most recent books you’ve read for fun? Which ones did you like the most?

• Chitra:     Twilight – I enjoyed it the most.
• Ritu:         The Harry Potter series seem the most fun to me but I have not read any other recently.
• Pinku:     Daughters of the Moon books & Alex Rider books. I liked them both, they were really good.
• Nikhal:     I don’t read for fun. King Lear
• Touria:     The Tweneith Wife. I love creative stylistic novels. I also enjoy autobiographies.
• Kamil:     I liked Tomorrow Never Ends, The Jester, 4^th July, Memories of Midnight, Books by Sidney Shewlon and James Patterson
• H.S.:        2pac

Q.  What are some things that make you want to buy a book?

• Chitra: Storyline
• Ritu:    The description; horror and mystery books are my favorite
• Pinku: The story
• Nikhal: Music production
• Touria: The author
• Kamil:  Nice themes, real life experiences, more non fictional theme
• H.S.:     I don’t buy books.

Q.  So, what are things that make you put a book down?

• Chitra: If its just too serious or confusing
• Ritu: Too much detail
• Pinku: The author
• Nikhal: Title, cover
• Touria: When I cannot understand it
• Kamil: Hard to understand themes, book that deals with no major topic
• H.S.: The cover

Q.  How do you feel about blunt sex talk in books for teens?

• Chitra: I think it’s disgusting, more porn than literature
• Ritu: It’s good to be aware of everything.
• Pinku: I don’t mind.
• Nikhal: Not cool
• Touria: I feel comfortable
• Kamil: No probs
• H.S.: Its alright

Q. What about swear words?

• Chitra: Depends how much and where
• Ritu: It used in everyday lives
• Pinku: I don’t mind.
• Nikhal: Just not cool
• Touria: I feel comfortable as well
• Kamil: No probs…either…
• H.S.: Its all good

Q.  Do you have a favorite genre of books, i.e. fantasy/sci-fi (like Harry Potter, Golden Compass, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, etc.), romance, action/adventure, drama, comedy? What is it/are they?

• Chitra: Twilight series, romance/adventure
• Ritu: Harry Potter, horror, romance and mystery
• Pinku: Fantasy/sci-fi
• Nikhal: Not really but I liked goosebumps
• Touria: Autobiography, Shakespeare
• Kamil: I like mystery, adventure, thriller and romance
• H.S.: Romance, action

Q.  Do you feel that there is currently an accurate portrayal of South Asians in books, TV and the media? Why or why not?

• Chitra: Not really frequently
• Ritu: No. They show them poor and the show India filled with poverty
• Pinku: No, not really. They kind of just put them in there like a joke.
• Nikhal: Yes, they offer book and media advice
• Touria: Only at times. Novels are more accurate than the media because the media is more narrow minded and stereotypical
• Kamil: I do not think so because it only shows some cultures of many existing in South Asia
• H.S.: . . .

Q.  What kind of representation would you like to see of a South Asian teen? What qualities would s/he have?

• Chitra: Normal, like any other teenager
• Ritu: A smart, educated person because not all South Asians should be portrayed as poor, living in slums.
• Pinku: Strong, kind.
• Nikhal: Someone who is straight forward, nice and kind.
• Touria: South Asian teens (girls): youthful, independent, cultured
• Kamil: I like South Asian teen trying to cope in a white American society this quality would be confident, confused and questioning.
• H.S.: . . .

Q.  What kinds of issues do the South Asian teens in your life face that are not depicted on TV, in films, or in books? What would you like to see addressed?

• Chitra: Their family lives, rules, culture
• Ritu: Prejudism
• Pinku: Peer pressure, religion vs. society
• Nikhal: Racism, how South Asians are being blamed for 9/11
• Touria: Parent/sibling conflicts; peer pressure
• Kamil: I would like to see South Asians influenced by Western lifestyle and struggling to choose the right one.
• H.S.: family problems, relationships and etc.

Neesha Meminger is the author of SHINE, COCONUT MOON, her debut novel. For more information, visit her author page.

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