A consideration of how reading may change in retirement and old age, demonstrated in relation to five books by women.

Two-time Caldecott Honor winner (Free Fall, Sector 7) and three-time Caldecott Medal winner (Tuesday, The Three Pigs, Flotsam), David Wiesner is regarded as one of the most remarkable creators of visual storytelling living today. Wiesner is well known for his innovative and unique subject matter and his sophisticated painting-like illustrations…

The British Museum Library and Reading Room played a significant role in George Bernard Shaw's literary life. Having already read every book that had come his way, Shaw first gravitated toward the reading room in 1880, where he began work on his second novel and drafted most of his three remaining novels. His literary, artistic and musical…

Award-winning short-story writer talks about her own reading and writing, censorship, young adult novels, and ways teachers can increase students' interest in reading. (ARH)

Describes the shifts in the author's literacy in the three years she has been a mother. Discusses the two books she has had time to read for pleasure, as well as the books she has written and edited (in her role as a teacher educator). Shares how this reflects the fragmented, challenging, exhilarating existence of motherhood. (SR)

This memoir describes the author's childhood reading, its variety, and its importance in childhood and later life. The narrative clearly shows the role of reading in building the adult mind and the importance of libraries in a child's life. (SLD)

Seven scholars respond individually to these questions: Do you read many contemporary novels? If you do, whose novels do you read and for what reasons? If you no longer read many contemporary novels, why have you ceased to do so and what kinds of reading have supplanted them? (Editor/SJL)

Three famous writers--Eudora Welty, Madeleine L'Engle, and Jack London--used their silent reading experiences to survive not only their childhoods, but also to become adult chroniclers of human lives. Pulitzer-prize winning author Eudora Welty credits an extended period of silent reading when she was 7 years old (and home from school for nearly a…

An author and teacher offers a memoir of his experiences with reading and writing. (FL)

Provides selected quotations about reading from great writers of the past (MKM)

Offers reasons why popular literature, such as the work of Judy Blume, and the literary "classics" do not keep adolescents interested in literature and reading. Suggests several authors and books that are especially suited to the reading needs of young adults. (RL)

Intended for use by those interested in promoting books and reading in the world, this report describes the state of books and reading in Kenya. Following a brief description of Kenya, major sections of the report deal with authorship, publishing, physical production, distribution, reading habits, professional training, and legal and institutional…

Situates the mid-nineteenth century feminine romance within its social, political, and historical context in order to reveal the cultural authority for its existence. Focuses on "The Lamplighter" by Maria Cummins as an archetypal novel representative of its genre. (SRT)