News About Reading
Book bans are a problem everywhere.
Eleven people are responsible for most book bans.
According to a recent Washington Post article by Hannah Natanson, eleven people are responsible or the majority of book bans in the United States. Virginia has its share of book bans, but most of these are local. For example, “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen was banned by the Hanover County School Board on June 14, 2023. Eighteen other books were also banned at that time. But that was just the beginning.” By December 22, 2023 the Hanover County School Board had ordered the removal of another 75 books from its schools, including Slaughterhouse Five and The Handmaid’s Tale.
The 74 Education News Source
“The 74” is an education news source that routinely carries articles on reading. The name refers to the 74 million American children in American schools. News on the site is updated frequently. I’m always looking for articles on reading and this one titled “What Experts Recommend to Encourage Childhood Literacy at Home” by Jemma Stephenson on January 3, 2024 caught my eye. Basically, the message is to focus on subjects that kids are interested in.
Check out “Reading Rockets” for Reading News about Kids
“Reading Rockets is a national public media literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.”
Here’s One Way to Improve Students’ Reading Scores: Get Them Eyeglasses
Sometimes it’s the obvious things. “… new research shows how learning could improve if schools help students identify and swiftly correct developing vision problems.” Many students aren’t being tested for eye problems that they have. Being able to see helps them read better. Who knew? A randomized clinical trial found students read better when they see better.
Do Liberals Care if Books Disappear?
The Dr. Seuss cancellation illustrates all the problems that they used to have with censorship.
From the New York Times by Ross Douthat, Opinion Columnist, March 6, 2021.
“From the idealistic liberalism of my high school English teachers, I learned that to try to get rid of offensive literature is the great sin of easily triggered rubes… This week I learned from a different kind of liberalism that only easily triggered rubes care when offensive books are made to disappear.”
HEMINGWAY: A FILM BY KEN BURNS AND LYNN NOVICK
PBS has launched a new three part series on Ernest Hemingway, “The Man. The Myth. The Writer Revealed.” The series is available for free download and viewing. All three episodes can be downloaded and viewed for free from this PBS site: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/hemingway. Roger Ebert says “Ken Burns and Lynn Novick have done it again” in his review of the three part series. James Poniewozik in the New York Times’ review of the series says that it helps “us see an old story with new eyes.”
Reading Too Much Political News Is Bad for Your Well-Being
Obsessing over politics could hurt your happiness and your relationships. The Atlantic, October 8, 2020.
By Arthur C. Brooks
A “million word gap” for children who aren’t read to at home
Article by Jeff Grabmeier, Ohio State News April 4, 2019. Research by Dr. Jessica Logan.
Studies since 1992 have reported on substantial gaps (millions-plus words) in children’s exposure to words based on whether or not they were read to.
Why ‘getting lost in a book’ is so good for you, according to science
This 2018 article by Sarah DiGiulio summarizes research on some of the benefits of reading fiction.
So Much to Read, So Little Time: How Do We Read, and Can Speed Reading Help?
By Keith Rayner, Elizabeth R. Schotter, Michael E. J. Masson, et al
This article in Sage Perspectives was first published January 14, 2016. This is a scholarly article in a peer reviewed journal. The abstract states, in part, “The current article reviews what the scientific community knows about the reading process—a great deal—and discusses the implications of the research findings for potential students of speed-reading training programs or purchasers of speed-reading apps.” Articles such as this express, in the words of the journal, “viewpoints from our academic and professional community.” Journal articles typically synthesize and build on existing knowledge. Try this! (Image from Iris Reading.)
“12 Sites Where You Can Read Full Books Online”
By Piotr Kowalczyk, Updated on November 1, 2020
From https://ebookfriendly.com
This article provides links to 12 sites that provide links to free books online. It lists the obvious sites like Project Gutenberg and Google Books, but also others that feature self-published authors, such as Smashwords and BookRix.
Bookboon focuses on free and paid textbooks.
Libraries Transitioning to E-Books
See Daniel A. Gross’s September 2, 2021 New Yorker article “The Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-Books” in which he discusses the transition of libraries from print to electronic lending. This transition has been hastened by Covid. For example, the New York Public Library closed, but continued to offer access to e-books.
Random Facts about Reading.
Reading is a town in Berkshire, England, about 40 miles west of London.
The Reading Chronicle is the newspaper of Reading.
News about book collecting. Read “The Book Collector” by Charles Nodier. It first appeared in French under the title “L’Amateur des Livres,” in Les Français Peints par Eux-mêmes, Paris, 1841.
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