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)

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)

A proprietor of a children's bookshop describes the unique characteristics paperbacks possess for motivating children's interest in reading. (MKM)

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)

This book presents an informal history of books and reading, beginning with the first clay tablets and continuing on to the latest novels. The history recounted in the book reveals the power books have always had to delight and entertain, and to enlighten, educate, and "raise possibilities." But the story of reading also contains many…

Relates an anecdote illustrating the variety of ways people can approach reading and suggests that young readers are frequently much more aware of the reading experience than parents suspect. Offers suggestions for parents to encourage their children's literary response. (HTH)

Five librarians discuss ways of increasing the lines of communication between English teachers and librarians to promote reading as a lifelong learning habit. (RL)

Describes how a love of reading paperbacks led to a love of literature and makes a plea for quality children's paperback books. (MKM)

Examines the reading habits of middle school and high school students, presenting two case studies conducted by two new teachers. Shows that students read more than they are generally believed to read but their reading interests are not often tapped in school. (TB)

Suggests that educators need to accept that the young adult audience is unique and find a way to deal with it in order to create a literature from which teenagers can expect to gain a satisfying "sense of comradeship among equals." (SG)

The great majority of the Founding Fathers were readers. In fact, the leading political figures of late eighteenth-century America were generally, and often intimately, acquainted with the output of the greatest European minds of the day--and of the minds of the ancient western world. Two factors above all placed an ineffaceable stamp on the…

Developing life-long reading habits is a process that should begin in elementary school. Children should be encouraged not only to read what has been approved for classroom use but also to look beyond classroom walls to read for interest and enjoyment. "Looking beyond the walls" is a parable that suggests that school curriculum go beyond the…

Discusses selected books that had an influence on the author's childhood and career. (JT)

Examines the health of literature, both in the market place and in the schools. Contrasts the pervasive effects of uncensored popular literature with vigorous efforts to censor the classroom study of literature. (RL)

Combines a personal anecdote involving success with one aliterate student and results of research on the reading habits of adolescents. Presents an annotated list of 50 books for "tough guys" that match the reading habits of that particular group. (RS)