European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 04, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                What do you read s8.s by red grand stars and stripes bookstores sell about 300,000 comic books a month. Hard Gore or comics by Susan Stueker Juergen staff writer Omic books and Penthouse top sales of periodicals in stars and stripes bookstores. Meanwhile a recent study of23,000 naval recruits at a base in san Diego revealed that 37 per cent of the group were unable to read at the 10th Grade level according to chief of naval personnel vice adm. James d. Watkins. Slouched Over a snack bar table Steve Bowen a private from Baum older Ger Many ponders his cheeseburger on one Side and his Choice in literature on the other. Asked what he is Reading he Dis plays his Conan the barbarian comic Book. If i had a free hour or two this is what i would pick up. I appreciate the Art work. Occasionally i do read Newsweek i like the  Bowen s literary tastes Are comparable to those of thousands of other service per sons if is sales figures Are any guide. However it should be noted that these Fig ures May not reflect total readership since some magazines have much higher subscription rates than others. Approximately 300,000 comic books from sgt. Snorkel to the swamp thing Are sold each month at stars and stripes bookstores Accord ing to merchandising supervisor Wil Liam Magnusson. This surpasses sales of any other Type of magazines but is spread among More than 250 comic Book titles while stripes carries Only 13 adult titles. You come to my Barracks and you la see what i read comic books. They help me to relax and escape from whatever is on my mind Susie Bennett a private from Baum older said. A close relative of the comic Book is the sensationalized science fiction Magazine which also attracting Many readers. Bela Lugosi would be pleased to know that about 8,400 copies of Vampire la Are sold each month. A librarian at the Cambrai Fritsch base Library in Darmstadt. Germany attests to this Phenomena. Would you believe that Many people come in Here not for the classics or non in Tion but to ask for the comic books which we keep under the counter for the children to Swap if any Book is written above the fourth Grade Reading level it s classified As a Book intended for adult readers noted Cambrai Fritsch librarian Carla Pomager. Consider that out of approximately 200, 000 recruits in 1974, Only 78,000 were High school graduates according to the army recruiting command. However the number of High school graduates recruited increased to 91,000 in 1976, said maj Gen Eugene p. Forrester chief of the army recruiting command. Paperback books Appeal to Man men because they prefer a medium they can easily carry with them wherever they go Pomager said. The executioner series Are constantly in demand she said. Written by Don Pendelton an inflamed adversary of the mafia the executioner series feature blood dripping titles like Caribbean kill or California hit. Lurid plots evoke images of mass murders and vengeance. Sports and War stories westerns car repair manuals science fiction stories of the occult and the supernatural such As Carrie or the Omen Are also read avidly by military people and their dependents Pomager said. To add a Little Pizazz to their daily dose of hard Gore Many rely upon soft Core skin magazines. Pointing to the stacks of Playboy and Penthouse Larry rises a private from Baum older defended his mainstay. Playboy and the stars and stripes. That s what i read and that s what i d say most of my friends  As of March Penthouse led the pack of adult publications with More than 33, 000 sold each month in stars and stripes bookstores. Playboy s bunnies hop close behind with about 28,500 sales rung up each month. Among the top Sellers at is Book stores six skin or sex magazines ring up total sales of More than 110,000 copies a month. The breakdown Penthouse 33,600playboy 28,500 forum 14,500 oui 12,450 gallery 12,100 club 12,100 top Sellers among the weeklies include Jet 6,000 time 5,000 Newsweek 3,750 people 3,000 among other publications mad Maga Zine is also High on the Bill Selling 10,500 copies each month and National Lampoon 9,000. On the opposite end of the spectrum Only about 300 copies of new yorker Maga Zine Are bought from stripes Newsstands each Issue. . News and world report also fares relatively poorly among Mili tary readers with Only 1,250 copies bought each Issue. In the ., the number one Magazine is to guide while the weekly tabloid nation Al enquirer ranks no. 2, according to sales statistics compiled for 1976 by the audit Bureau of circulation for the bestsellers Magazine corporation in new York. Over seas about 3,500 copies of National enquirer Are sold every week on Stripe stands. One comparable trend has risen be tween servicemen and readers in the states Penthouse Magazine is the to male Magazine for both. If Many gis Are not Reading news magazines such As time where Are they getting information on current topics in the  Or the world i Don t read Many newspapers i can get into them. If i want to find out what s going on at Home i listen to the radio Randy Dieffenbache a private from Baum older said. I get my news from letters from Home and if i see anything about Alabama i magazines i la read that too Susie Ben Nett said. Either the Home town papers or the new York times which my family sends from Home pfc. John Quigley an army Driver from Baum older said. But if i had a spare hour i d just read my Dis charge  while it appears that the majority of gis May not be interested in pick ing up a copy of say Leon Uris Trinity which sold 1,800 copies on stripes stands in hard cover indicating a paperback Sale of More than 10,000 can be expected there Are a rare few who do agonize about the Lack of Cul Tural material available. I read everything sociology anthropology psychology. I just enjoy learn ing. But there s not much available on these subjects so i constantly have to Spe Cial order books from the Book stores. I also joined a Book club Robert Langley. A sergeant from Baum older said. One big problem for servicemen is that they never have enough free time to devote to Reading he asserts. But this Factor constitutes Only a minor part of the problem. Most men Here Don t give a Damn about learning Langley said. They just Don t have the ambition and they Aren t at the level where they want to learn. They re still children especially the 18 and 19 year Olds with no High school education. It s secure and easy to hide in the military just As it s Nice to escape in comic  noting this trend towards fantasy Lang Ley has tried to interest his men in More cultural fantasy such As Tolkien s works which incidentally has also sold Well ones stands. But they re mainly interested in what applies to them such As history or War Sto Ries. At least one person is pleased with the Caliper of Reading material devoured by servicemen. He is 11-year-old Eric mat thews a used comic Book and paperback novel Vendor in Pitburg Germany. "1 sell More comic books to Young sol Diers and airmen than i do to other kids Matthews beamed. This can be very  i f males Are devoted Peruser of Penthouse and Playboy women Are equally staunch in their support of Romance magazines emotion evoke ers like secrets. I read All sorts of magazines like my confession True Romance and those kinds Michele Fraboni a student at the Frankfurt american High school said. That s also what most of my  these types of expose magazines Are interesting and contain a lot of facts she added. True Story agrees Ernestine Alexan Der a private from Darmstadt. But i m mainly interested in philosophy books. From the myriad melodramatic confessions magazines sold at stars and stripes bookstores True love ranks no. 1. However while love Story exposes revealing pertinent information like Why Farrah Fawcett really had to Leav Charlie s Angels May be popular they Aren t the major Type of Magazine read by military wives and women stationed Over  diverse kinds of material that the secrets of women readers women elect to read Are related to factors such As education husband s rank and the number of children in a family according to autumn Warren wife of the director of personnel and Community activities i Darmstadt. I read anything that in t nailed Down she said. I subscribe to time  News and world report and the Wall Street  she also reads science fic Tion newspapers and paperbacks Warren noted pulling a copy of Joseph Wam Baugh s the choirboys out of her purse. For Many women though it is impossible to find time to read especially if they have several children Warren  the top of my head i d say most women read magazines like women s mayor family Circle because they re fast to read and they coordinate with what you Doat  this is confirmed by sales figures fro stars and stripes bookstores. Women s Day easily sweeps the Lead with approximately 21,000 copies bought from stripes stores each month and family Circle fans buy around 17,500 copies monthly. Good housekeeping captures third place. Other favourites in the women s Publica Tion Field in order of sales Are cosmopolitan ladies Home journal rebook Mccall a needlework and Craft Plau Wirland Glamour. The sales for these ten closely emulate those in the states where family Circle is now the most popular women s Magazine and women s Day cosmopolitan and Good housekeeping Are also major pleases. The women who use the Library at Cambrai in Darmstadt Are More conscientious readers than the men librarian Carla Pomager said. Whenever a Book comes out on Thebes seller list it s usually a woman who reserves it. I would say there Are More women trying to Advance themselves than  Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday september 4,1977 this yearning for information on cur rent trends May correspond with the Avail Able time that More military wives May have to keep Pace with what their Hus bands Are being exposed to she said. Most often a women who enters the Library will approach the contemporary or current Best Sellers  Leon Uris Trinity or Erica Jong s How to save your own life Are constantly reserved Poma Gar noted. The John Jakes series which includes titles like the Bastard and the worriers Are also popular. A distinction Between what younger and older women read can also be discerned she added. The younger ones like the Vic Toria Holt and Mary Stewart romances while older women will read More fiction and non fiction family stories and How to improve yourself  the Type of literature that men an women scan May differ widely in scope and Appeal but one thing which both genders value is travel Maga Zines and books Pomager noted. Often if a family comes in together you can anticipate that they will be read ing travel literature before they go on a vacation. Susan Stueker Juergen