In this article, the author, Roger Soder, discusses past books he has read throughout the year on his own and with his book club. He also makes suggestions for summer reading selections. He thanks valued and nearby colleagues and friends for blessing him with books of great wisdom throughout the year.

This article is a discussion of authors and controversial novels that should be on the top of library media specialists' reading list if they work with high-school-age teens. "Controversial" is not a dirty word, it is an enticement! The goal of library media specialists is to get teens who may be burned out with reading due to incentive programs…

Advises administrators to use their summers to relax and recharge their intellectual batteries. Reading suggestions include Edith Wharton's "House of Mirth," Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club," China Achebe's "Things Fall Apart," Paule Marshall's "The Chosen…

Begins an examination of dragons in literature, particularly in the works of J.R.R. Tolkein, K. Grahame, E. Nesbit, J. Yolen, U. Le Guin, and A. McCaffrey. (CRH)

Discusses whether books and reading as a leisure activity have a future, noting the impact of the modern mass media, especially television; highlighting the loss of the rich tradition of the western humanities and the educational significance of this tradition; and looking at the humanities, the novel, and the death of the novel. (SM)

Suggests several novels for educators' summer reading enjoyment, including classics by Robert Pirsig, Robertson Davies, John Steinbeck, Albert Camus, and Charles Dickens. Educators might also read Alex Kotlowitz's "There Are No Children Here" (Doubleday, 1991) and Sharon Quint's "Schooling Homeless Children" (Teachers College Press, 1994) to gain…

Advocates stories, poems, and other fictional forms as healing agents, using the distinctive configuration of "The Physicians' Desk Reference" (a comprehensive description of the drugs physicians prescribe). (SR)

In this article, the author reminisces about the pleasure she derived from growing up in a "book-rich" home, and how that developed into a lifelong love of reading. Today, one-third of all children do not have books in their homes, and, even though they may have access to books over the Internet or at a library, the author contends that this is…

Discusses the importance of making nonfiction a pleasure to read. (EL)

Discusses the 1985 American Booksellers' Convention in San Francisco and the growing proliferation of children's bookstores. (EL)

Points out that reading has to be made something that those learning to read want to do, now, and in the future, and argues that people who can read should help those who cannot. (EL)

Reviews the title novel as a rare example of contemporary fiction for children with its chastened prose and suggestive details. (CRH)

Describes the impact on the author of reading Harvey Cushing's "The Life of Sir William Osler," a biography of the leading American medical educator in the late nineteenth century, which stressed his reading interests. (DD)

Discusses the appeal of romance fiction for adolescent girls, particularly the "Sweet Valley High" series, and summarizes some research in the area. Topics addressed include reading preferences of teenage girls, sales and marketing of romances, literary criticisms, what readers gain from the books, and what constitutes good pleasure…

Examines the increasing demand for baby books for the children of "baby boomers." Discusses subjects and authors of board books. (EL)