Muses over and responds to several "letters" regarding top 10 lists for reading teachers, political correctness, best sellers, and Howard Gardner on drill and discipline. (SR)

Remarks on recent articles and books regarding literacy and reading in America. (SR)

Muses over how many books bought are actually read. Reflects on factors involved in the decision not merely to buy books but to read them. Notes that some people maintain that most of what is actually read is pap. Wonders whether reading teachers should pay more attention to what people read, as well as how people read. (SR)

Discusses Janice A. Radway's "Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature." Argues that reading educators should consider a more general premise embodied in the book: in order to understand the appeal (or lack of it) of certain books, then educators first need to understand what the books are for the students who read them. (RS)

Muses about teachers' reading habits and their ability to trust themselves as competent, literate individuals. Refers to Howard Gardner's book, "The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach." (SR)