| Summary: | The aim of this thesis is to examine patterns in the way young adultschoose the literature they read, and to assess the importance of genderas a factor. Using qualitative methods, the empirical material has beenbased on research on gender and reading, and on three group interviewswith participants aged between 16 and 18 years old; there were betweenfour and six participants in each group. The participants were allstudents at the same school and the interviews were carried out in theschool library. The theoretical framework focuses on literature onreading and gender. In the analysis, the study is related to the theoriesof Louise M. Rosenblatt and Yvonne Hirdman.The conclusion is that young adults read for a variety of reasons, butfirst and foremost to find the meaning of their lives and to learn how tobecome good and successful adults.The majority of girls in the study are interested in reading aboutother young adults who live lives they can identify with. Those whoclaim to be readers, read to escape from reality; they love to betransported to a world which is totally different from the one theyknow.The boys read to find out things, their reading has a purpose. They readboth fiction and non-fiction. The boys are in the process of developingtheir male genus, and have no wish to be associated with female values.All the young adults claim that it is important to be oneself. In real life,however, it proves very difficult to live up to this ideal. === Program: Bibliotekarie
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