The Extensive Reading Foundation

No doubt reading is crucial to the functionality of our society - our institions and practices are built upon the written word. Reading is also one of our most sophisticated mental functions and the one which contributes to the uniqueness of human mind. However, usefulness and scientific issues apart, reading can be also a sort of self-indulgent practice. How hasn't already been in a situation where you have piles of things to do and you simply decided to leave them alone, grab a book and forget the rest? Reading can also be quite self-celebratory - we love to love books!

All these facets of reading, and more, are the stuff of a couple of books Alan Maley reviews in his article 'Reading About Reading', which is being published later this year in the ETp issue 64. The titles he looks at are:

Nancie Atwell,  2007. The Reading Zone.  Scholastic.

Alan Bennett.  2007. An Uncommon Reader. Faber and Faber/ Profile Books.

Stephen Krashen.  2004. The Power of Reading. (second edition.)  Libraries Unlimited / Heinemann USA.

Alberto Manguel.   1997. A History of Reading.  Flamingo.

Azar Nafisi.  2003. Reading Lolita in Tehran:a memoir in books.  Fourth Estate.

Daniel Pennac.  2006.  The Rights of the Reader. Walker Books.

Bernard Schlink.  1997. The Reader.  Pantheon Books.

Maryanne Wolf. 2008.  Proust and the Squid.  Icon Books.

Don't miss the article :)