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In recent years, the growing publication of interactive picturebooks and the use of electronic tablets by children have prompted us to revise and reconsider how children read in different media. As a material object, a reading device can trigger various actions of the reader, such as tapping, swiping, and shaking. This paper investigates a type of interactive picturebooks that prompts rotational behavior from the reader through composition and layout. The paper presents a typological survey of such books arguing that graphic design invites rotational reading by combining different orientations of texts and images on the page and the connection of back and front covers. The rotation of books takes three paths through space: planar, vertical and horizontal flipping. Rotation, as a kinetic practice during reading, unveils visual wonder, achieves a circular narrative, extends storytelling space, displays parallel narrative perspectives, and reinforces crucial plots. This article opens questions the non-linearity of reading and about how to account for the body's participation in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Via a research–practice partnership centering community partners' needs and goals in the research design, we examined how parent, infant, and social‐contextual characteristics relate to shared book reading frequency and perceptions of Reach Out and Read (ROR), a national physician‐to‐family program. Background: Shared book reading is associated with higher quality parent–child interactions and enhanced cognitive and socioemotional development. However, only a small percentage of families share books with their infants daily. Understanding factors related to engagement in book sharing is necessary to create developmental messaging that reflects families' experiences. Method: Parents (N = 70) in a southeastern U.S. state were recruited from two participating pediatric clinics and responded to an online survey. Regression analyses examined significant infant, parent, and social‐contextual predictors of shared book reading frequency and perceived ROR value. Results: Findings indicated that parents' insurance, mental health symptoms, and perceptions of the parent‐provider relationship significantly predicted shared book reading frequency. Perceived ROR value was best predicted by parents' mental health symptoms. Implications: Strengthening the parent–provider relationship and talking with families about their needs and experiences with their infants may support clinicians in partnering with families around literacy promotion and early relational health. Conclusion: Results suggest the value of considering socioeconomic status, parental mental health symptoms, and the parent–provider relationship when promoting early literacy and relationship‐building experiences during infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roth, as we know, had many identities, but he was always a reader. This paper explores how literature helped him forge an identity, starting in adolescence, his book-besotted college years, and beyond. Like all great writers, Roth was a great reader, consuming novels, stories, and essays in great, gluttonous gulps. Roth read for many reasons, some banal, some surprising, but in a life of flux, books were a constant. They offered pleasure, stimulation, and distraction. In a way, Roth's longest, deepest relationship was with literature. What he read nourished what he wrote; indeed, Roth's books would have many blank pages if one removed the literary allusions. The intimate connection between the man, his reading, and his writing is what we'll explore--in several ways. First, through a discursive peek into Roth's vast library, donated to the Newark Public Library and carefully preserved per Roth's instructions. Second, by reading Roth's own testimony, in interviews, public events, and private correspondence. By way of context, we'll consider libraries--what they reveal, what they conceal--and the paradoxical nature of reading itself. Finally, we'll shine a bright biographical light on Roth himself. Using his reading as a lens, we'll explore periods of formation and transformation, including the late-life changes that produced his haunted (and haunting) final novels. Throughout our investigation, we'll attempt to answer a single question: how was Roth-the-reader different from the other Roths we've come to know. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at censors' statements from the Venice State Archive and asks whether the parallels between censors speaking on literary texts and the mode of literary criticism can be productively analyzed with the help of these archival materials. The Venetian censorship bureau, established in 1814/15 in the context of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia and forming part of Habsburg Empire, is a welcome source given the comparative paucity of censors' statements in other parts of the Empire in the early nineteenth century and during the pre-revolutionary Vormärz period. In particular, the paper examines a set of censors' statements from 1818, containing on the whole arguments in favor of the publication of manuscripts (or circulation of foreign books). Among them figure a number of justification strategies employed by the censors, which point beyond the usual censorship categories of offences against religion, the authorities and morals. The paper looks at various statements on "modern classical" texts (e.g. Schiller's "Song of the Bell", Ossian, James Thomson), as well as the ways censors developed in order to engage with contemporary literature. The main case study in this respect is dedicated to the Italian translation of a historical novel by Jane Porter, The Scottish Chiefs (1810), published as I capi scozzesi in 1822–23. The way censors reflected critical discourses on the one hand, and reacted to materials from the books on the other, immediately situates them in the context of literary criticism and the statements themselves are found to constitute a valuable source for book history, the history of reading, as well as for the development of censorship in the nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools are increasingly concerned with the promotion of student wellbeing, and relatively little is known about school libraries as wellbeing supportive spaces in contemporary schools. This article draws on qualitative interview data from students and library managers to explore how students make use of the school library, and how this relates to the library as a safe space. It finds that school libraries can be highly valued for their capacity to foster belonging and sanctuary and allow exposure to books and opportunities for reading. Students also appreciated how libraries provided a space for relaxing and recharging, supporting lively and social activities as well as quietude. There was recognition of the role of supportive library staff, who created inviting and supportive environments with careful selection of furnishings and decorations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper speaks to deans, department chairs, and members of tenure and promotion committees--that is, the gatekeepers of scholarly contributions in universities. It offers an extension of the article by Aguinis, Cummings, Ramani, and Cummings (2020a) on the "A is an A" approach to evaluating research contributions by proposing to consider the role of scholarly books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the role of Sir Walter Scott's novels, with a particular emphasis on "Anne of Geierstein," in a subscription library in Wigtown, Scotland, during the late 1820s and early 1830s. It delves into how Scott's literary works influenced the reading habits, cultural landscape, and regional identity of the local community, highlighting their engagement with both local and transnational spaces.

The importance of reading for school and career success is well documented, but there are countless benefits to reading for quality of life. This column explores the goal of creating lifelong readers in school libraries, the characteristics avid readers share, and ideas to develop these readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personal narrative is presented in which the author being a librarian, shares how her collection of books in her personal library including "The Book Thief," "The Catcher in the Rye," and "The Cheese and the Worms," has influenced her personal and professional life.

The cross-sectional study explores the reasons behind students' avoidance of library reading. Of the 164 participants, the research uncovers a complex interplay between personal preferences, environmental influences, and social dynamics that shape reading behaviors. Contrary to expectations, students express a preference for classrooms settings and challenge the assumed importance of quiet library environments. The influence of strict regulations on library engagement also emerges as a noteworthy finding, suggesting the need for adaptable and welcoming spaces. The acceptance of digital resources among library avoiders reflects the growing role of online platforms in education. Design recommendations emphasize creating diverse reading spaces, balancing noise zones, and integrating nature-inspired environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the theme of reading in Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra, exploring different types of reading and their significance. Topics include the parallel between the parallel between different forms of reading, the interactions between various conceptions of reading in the play and the annotated editions by George Steevens, and the relationship between reading and interpretation.

This study was conducted to examine students' perceptions regarding reading habits and to explore gender-wise, sector-wise, and grade-wise differences in secondary school students' reading habits. The students (N=538) who participated in this cross-sectional survey were selected through a non-proportional stratified random sampling technique from district Lahore. The researchers developed a questionnaire comprised of four subscales (perceptions, purpose, preferences, and problems in reading) to measure students reading habits. They ensured the validity of the instrument from experts and calculated the reliability that was Cronbach's alpha=0.802. Data were analyzed by using different statistical techniques (mean, standard deviation, and independent samples t-tests). The results of descriptive statistics indicated that students gave more preferences to reading than perceptions about reading, the purpose of reading, and problems in reading. However, the least contributing factor was problems in reading. Whereas the findings of independent samples t-tests showed a significant difference in students' perceptions about reading habits based on gender and class. However, an insignificant difference was found in students' perception of reading habits based on sector-wise (public and private) schools. Books of students' interests may be provided in libraries to encourage them to read. Moreover, teachers may also arrange more reading activities to enhance students' reading skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study carried out to assess dialogic reading's effects on 4th graders' views on values education, and attitudes towards reading based on a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and control group. The study group was comprised of 4th graders in a primary school in Yozgat province, Turkey, in 2021-2022 academic year. Data collection tools were the "Reading Attitude Survey" and the "Student Opinions Survey on Values Education". Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests were used to analyze data. The results revealed that dialogic reading led to statistically significant differences in the views of 4th grade students about values education compared to traditional reading. However, no significant difference was found in children attitude towards reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A list of several books about art history is presented including "The Language of the New Media," by Lev Manovich, "Why AI Is Harder Than We Think?," by Melanie Mitchell, and "All Data Are Local: Thinking Critically in a Data-Driven Society," by Nicolas Maleve.

In this essay, I employ Saidiya Hartman's method of critical fabulation to read The Woman of Colour as a fictional archive, which brings Dido, the enslaved maid of protagonist Olivia Fairfield, to the forefront of the novel. Critical fabulation requires listening for both the silences of the novel and the moments when Dido speaks out. Dido's insistence on claiming her presence within a variety of spaces--a ship, a London household, a large English estate--represents an ontological alternative to traditional notions of agency inherited from the European Enlightenment. Recognizing that our present moment exists within the time of slavery, Hartman's critical fabulation invites us to consider what radical ways of being are contained within Dido's words as well as the gaps and opacities of The Woman of Colour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of this century, academic libraries have been at the forefront of book digitization and access. During this same period, many individuals have made the transition from reading printed materials to reading on screens, which has led to profound shifts in how libraries conceive their mission, structure their spaces, organize their resources, and allocate budgetary funding. This article explores how e-resources impact reading habits and orient readers to approach texts with a mindset of efficiency rather than contemplation. The article proposes how academic librarians can leverage the unique qualities of the physical book to encourage contemplative reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the way in which, beyond some platitudes about the isolation of Spain from the reign of Philip II and the work of the Inquisition, books circulated and crossed borders, fostering a critical and sharing reading among elite circles. Specifically, we focus here on the time of the «Novatores» --between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries-- to demonstrate how none of the cultural changes that took place in that period would be understandable without the movement, circulation, and social enjoyment of reading national and foreign books. And even more specifically, we look at El hombre práctico as a case study that proves the vigor of this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Percival Everett’s Telephone (2021) is a novel published, by deliberate design, in three very different versions. Ostensibly, the author has claimed in interview, this choice was to test the boundaries of authorial authority and to delegate interpretative control to the reader. In this article, I argue that such a stance is disingenuous. Telephone is, instead, a novel that continually withholds information from the reader and that ultimately frustrates close reading techniques. In doing so, the text casts the reader into the mental viewpoint of the terminally ill child in the novel, Sarah, who suffers from the progressive neurological condition Batten disease. The outcome is that Telephone should be read as a novel that pathologizes readerly inattention but that, as a result, passes innovative comment on disability narratives in fiction more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review considers Columbia University Press's ongoing Rereadings —an ambitious series of short books that aims to rethink both individual novels and the larger question of what constitutes "academic" criticism. Focusing on three of the four current entries in the series—Peter Coviello's reread of Thomas Pynchon's Vineland , Ivan Kreilkamp's of Jennifer Egan's A Visit From the Goon Squad , and Kate Zambreno's of Hervé Guibert's To the friend who did not save my life— many of the pressing questions that arise from these books, seen together, ultimately reflect the institutional conditions of their writing and reception. "The university press is and must continue to be a space for new thought and forms of inquiry, but what happens when the university itself cannot or will not sustain the thinkers who produce this work?" [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The life and works of the beguine Marguerite Porete were transformed by fire. In 1310 Marguerite was burned alive in Paris as the first recorded "mystical heretic" of the French Inquisition. A few years earlier her book, The Mirror of Simple Souls, had also been burned in Valenciennes, with Marguerite as a witness. Her use of fire as a metaphor to describe union with God foreshadows her death. Furthermore, The Mirror's emphasis on the insufficiency of language to describe the divine echoes Marguerite's silence during her inquisitorial trial. However, these complaints against language in her book and Marguerite's own refusal to speak should not be seen as an absolute rejection of text, body, and oral expression as vehicles of divine and human encounter. Instead, they reveal a theory of performance in which life and reading cannot be easily separated into different realms of experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Margaret Meek Spencer's writings on literacy evoke reading and storymaking as processes of inquiring; of searching into mystery. This paper considers how Meek's preoccupations with reading process; genre literacy; and text-image dialogism resonate deeply with the genre of young people's mystery and detective fiction. Drawing on Meek's seminal works, Learning to Read (1982); How Texts Teach What Readers Learn (1988), and On Being Literate (1991), the paper applies key concepts from these texts to a group of children's mystery stories. The paper shows how the genre offers a resonant context in which to "take her work on" and to observe the mirroring of certain of her insights in storied form. Moreover, the aptness and theoretical richness of Meek's concepts in relation to the genre is illustrated, not least when her ideas are considered alongside the work (suggestively cited briefly by Meek herself) of Bakhtin, Bruner, and Barthes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on How Texts Teach What Readers Learn (Meek, 1988) and considers how texts teach readers in a digital age. I use Meek's book as a frame for exploring the ways children learn about narration, structure, voice, discourse and language, and becoming an "insider" in the text. To demonstrate this, I use Meek's own stipulation "If we want to see what lessons have been learned from the texts children read, we have to look for them in what they write" (p38). Three vignettes are included as exemplars, offering insights into the ways children use their experiences as readers to create hybrid texts, drawing on different media and modes. I conclude that How Texts Teach is still highly relevant to understanding of children's reading and writing despite changing social and material contexts, and is a frame through which changes in children's reading and writing practices can usefully be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defining text as anything that can be read, self-identified learner and artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed explores reading as radical communion within her multifaceted textual practice. A 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, Rasheed's work spans vast bodies of knowledge and temporalities to interrogate both the aesthetic and the limits of the text. At times producing collages with letters cut out from books in her own expansive library, and at other times posting scans from various books that are marked up with her rigorous note-taking, Rasheed approaches the text as an invitation to commune with the author in order to collectively arrive at new ways of knowing and being. Rasheed's work maps both her own hypertextual engagements while simultaneously enacting a Black feminist approach to literacy, one that recognizes Black women's textual practices as mapping geographic, corporeal, and psychological sites of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents profiles of top law students for 2021 including Chelsea Richard, Justin Winchester and Kelsey Levieux. Topics discussed include Richard studying Master of Laws (LLM) in Commercial Law at University of Cape Town (UCT), Masters in Law as a Rhodes Scholar to be pursued by Winchester at University of Oxford, and experience of Levieux of studying during pandemic.