The concept · 15 November 2024
The word that was missing
People talk a lot about reading for pleasure, and that's important. But you can't stop there.
People talk a lot about reading for pleasure, and that's important. To get going you have to read a ton, and whether it's Donald Duck or the Bobbsey Twins or Detektivbyrå nr 2 doesn't matter (Donald actually has a much more varied vocabulary than a lot of the simpler children's books!)
But you can't stop there.
4 October 2024 · the Norsklærere 2.0 group
I feel like we need a reading for pleasure campaign for adults too. But preferably not that word, I think it's a bit dumbing down. But how do we motivate adults to read more, but also challenge themselves a bit with somewhat harder books... There's a big focus on new authors in bookstores, in newspaper reviews etc, but very rarely do I see people on social media, podcasts, NRK etc inspiring others to read classics...
15 November 2024, 12:58 · the Norsklærere 2.0 group
"Thinking a lot about this reading for pleasure thing, but also — kind of missing a good concept —"
Of course the first thing is just getting started reading, getting good at it, getting your speed and vocabulary up, and then the most important thing is that you read a lot, and it can be anything from Diary of a Wimpy Kid to Donald Duck comics, go for it... But as your reading picks up speed, I do think the thing is to "level up"... That is, to start exploring more complex texts, more literary texts etc.
But what I'm wondering about most right now is how you can get adults inspired to become a bit more ambitious... I do think that the joy of reading and interest in reading in kids is very much influenced by the joy of reading and interest in reading in adults — to a large degree in their own family, but also to a lesser degree in society as a whole...
Does anyone here have ideas about what you can do to get people inspired to try reading a bit "further" and "broader" and "deeper"? Is there any organization in Norway working on that? What can you do locally? Nationally?
15 September 2025 · the Hamar scene- og litteraturvenner group
Testing a new word: Leseambisjon
What it means
I've been playing with the expression "leseambisjon", which apparently doesn't exist on the Internet at all, so maybe I can make it a trend... It's about daring to try slightly harder texts, slightly older texts, texts about unfamiliar things, texts with more literary language. And that doesn't just go for kids.
It's great that adults choose to read instead of scrolling or watching TV, lots of exciting crime novels and series that can entertain, and also give insight into society and psychology. But even people who are well into adulthood are allowed to decide that they want to challenge themselves a bit. To think that if some texts have been popular for many hundreds of years, then it's not interesting whether you like them or not, but more interesting to ask yourself "what is it about this text that made so many people get inspired by it"...
It's also totally fine to think "I'm not ready to get anything out of this text now, but how can I get there — I want to be one of those people who appreciate this text".
That's what I call reading ambition.
You're actually allowed to say that you're a bit ambitious on behalf of your kids, and want them to try works that have slightly more advanced language and slightly more advanced content, that give insight into lives in other times and other places, that were written in other times and in other places... And adults are allowed to be ambitious! I've been a bookworm my whole life, but it's only in the last couple of years that I've started challenging myself to read plays, see opera, read old texts... It's fun and exciting, and the more you read and learn, the more fun it is, and the more horizons open up.
Why the word is needed
I totally agree that reading is super important, I've always been a big reader, and want my son to become one etc. But over time I think there's been a very blind focus on "reading", without any valuing of what kind of content.
From a letter to an author, August 2024
A lot of adults do read a lot, even though screens of course compete, but an awful lot of it goes to crime novels and stuff like that. Nothing wrong with that in itself — I've read a lot of that myself and it can be good relaxation. But I wish we could get more adults inspired to dare/bother/want to try reading something a bit more ambitious...
We adults are allowed to challenge ourselves too!
So, try the word on your tongue, "leseambisjon"... Does it roll?
Not "do I like it", but "how do I get there"
There's a lot of classical poetry that doesn't say anything to me, but instead of saying that it's dumb I think "how can I get something out of this — obviously an incredible number of people before me have been deeply moved by this poem, how can I get there too"?...