Study Links Drop in Test Scores to a Decline in Time Spent Reading
By MOTOKO RICH
Published: November 19, 2007
Harry Potter, James Patterson and Oprah Winfrey’s book club aside, Americans — particularly young Americans — appear to be reading less for fun, and as that happens, their reading test scores are declining. At the same time, performance in other academic disciplines like math and science is dipping for students whose access to books is limited, and employers are rating workers deficient in basic writing skills.
That is the message of a new report being released today by the National Endowment for the Arts, based on an analysis of data from about two dozen studies from the federal Education and Labor Departments and the Census Bureau as well as other academic, foundation and business surveys. After its 2004 report, “Reading at Risk,” which found that fewer than half of Americans over 18 read novels, short stories, plays or poetry, the endowment sought to collect more comprehensive data to build a picture of the role of all reading, including nonfiction.
In his preface to the new 99-page report Dana Gioia, chairman of the endowment, described the data as “simple, consistent and alarming.”
Among the findings is that although reading scores among elementary school students have been improving, scores are flat among middle school students and slightly declining among high school seniors. These trends are concurrent with a falloff in daily pleasure reading among young people as they progress from elementary to high school, a drop that appears to continue once they enter college. The data also showed that students who read for fun nearly every day performed better on reading tests than those who reported reading never or hardly at all.
The study also examined results from reading tests administered to adults and found a similar trend: The percentage of adults who are proficient in reading prose has fallen at the same time that the proportion of people who read regularly for pleasure has declined.
In an interview Mr. Gioia said that the statistics could not explain why reading had declined, but he pointed to several commonly accepted culprits, including the proliferation of digital diversions on the Internet and other gadgets, and the failure of schools and colleges to develop a culture of daily reading habits. In addition, Mr. Gioia said, “we live in a society where the media does not recognize, celebrate or discuss reading, literature and authors.”
Click title for full article.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Amazon Pitches a Wireless IPod for Books
I HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS HOT ITEM. I'M NOT CONVINCED OF THE PRICE POINT.
NEW YORK TIMES
By Saul Hansell
Amazon.com introduced its electronic book reader today at a packed event in New York. Unlike other products in this area, Amazon’s $399 Kindle is designed to be used without ever connecting to a computer. Instead it has a wireless Internet connection that lets users browse Amazon’s online store on the device and download a book in less than a minute.
Amazon is trying to do for books what Apple has done for music. It has linked its device tightly to its own online bookstore, just as the ITunes music store is tied into the iPod. Amazon has 90,000 titles for sale at launch, including books from all major publishers.
Best sellers and new releases will cost $9.99. That represents a substantial savings off of Amazon’s already discounted prices. Amazon is currently selling hardcover bestsellers for roughly $13 to $20 and trade paperbacks for $8 to $11.
The Kindle will also download and display newspapers, magazines and blogs. But in an era when most Internet content is offered free with advertising, Amazon has decided to charge monthly fees for these publications. The company says the fees will cover the cost of transmitting the information over the wireless network. Kindle users do not need to pay separately for a wireless data service.
Click title for full article.
NEW YORK TIMES
By Saul Hansell
Amazon.com introduced its electronic book reader today at a packed event in New York. Unlike other products in this area, Amazon’s $399 Kindle is designed to be used without ever connecting to a computer. Instead it has a wireless Internet connection that lets users browse Amazon’s online store on the device and download a book in less than a minute.
Amazon is trying to do for books what Apple has done for music. It has linked its device tightly to its own online bookstore, just as the ITunes music store is tied into the iPod. Amazon has 90,000 titles for sale at launch, including books from all major publishers.
Best sellers and new releases will cost $9.99. That represents a substantial savings off of Amazon’s already discounted prices. Amazon is currently selling hardcover bestsellers for roughly $13 to $20 and trade paperbacks for $8 to $11.
The Kindle will also download and display newspapers, magazines and blogs. But in an era when most Internet content is offered free with advertising, Amazon has decided to charge monthly fees for these publications. The company says the fees will cover the cost of transmitting the information over the wireless network. Kindle users do not need to pay separately for a wireless data service.
Click title for full article.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The Bargainist
Check out this site for one stop coupon shopping: http://www.bargainist.com
Amazon.com - Magazine subscriptions from $3
HOT! Posted 1 day, 18 hours ago
Amazon.com currently has a $5 instant rebate on select magazine subscriptions, making many only $3 and $5. The Bargainist Best Bets: Esquire, Marie Claire, and Wired. Discount is taken during checkout.
Ann Taylor / Ann Taylor Loft - Friends & Family Sale 25% off
HOT! Posted 14 hours, 43 minutes ago
Shop at any Ann Taylor or Ann Taylor Loft stores during their Friends & Family Sale for 25% of all purchases. Online shoppers use coupon code 10701080, and in-store shoppers use this printable coupon. Expires 11/18/2007.
Kenneth Cole - 50% Off markdowns coupon Posted 14 hours, 44 minutes ago
Shop Kenneth Cole retail stores for an additional 50% off all current markdowns. Use this printable coupon at checkout. Expires 11/30/2007.Urban Outfitters - 10% Off purchases coupon
Posted 3 days, 22 hours ago
Save 10% on purchases from Urban Outfitters with coupon code MYSTATE109. Save on apparel, shoes, and accessories for men and women, as well as home furnishings and decor. Expires 11/30/2007.Banana Republic - 20% Off purchases coupon
HOT! Posted 4 days, 20 hours ago
Save 20% on all purchases from Banana Republic with coupon code BRHOLIDAY. And don't worry, this coupon takes us through the holiday shopping with an expiration of 12/24/2007.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Free Movie Screenings!
CHECK IT OUT:
http://www.filmmetro.com/
Just register and pick the screening you want to see.
Remember, with most screenings it's first come, first serve. So get there early!
I signed up to see "August Rush" this weekend.
http://www.filmmetro.com/
Just register and pick the screening you want to see.
Remember, with most screenings it's first come, first serve. So get there early!
I signed up to see "August Rush" this weekend.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Novelist, playwright Ira Levin dead at 78
NEW YORK (AFP) - Ira Levin, the playwright and novelist who wrote "Rosemary's Baby," "The Stepford Wives" and "The Boys From Brazil," has died at the age of 78, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Levin died Monday at his home in Manhattan, apparently of natural causes, the newspaper quoted his son Nicholas as saying.
Able to write a variety of genres, from mystery and horror to Broadway comedy, Levin sold tens of millions of books despite producing only seven novels in four decades, the Times quoted his agent Phyllis Westberg as saying.
Levin was born in New York in 1929 and served in the US Army briefly in the early 1950s after leaving university. He went on to write for television before publishing his first novel, "A Kiss Before Dying," in 1953.
He also wrote for theater, notably adapting a novel by Mac Hyman into the 1955 Broadway comedy hit "No Time for Sergeants," and penning comic thriller "Deathtrap," in 1979, which ran on Broadway before also being made into a film.
Levin died Monday at his home in Manhattan, apparently of natural causes, the newspaper quoted his son Nicholas as saying.
Able to write a variety of genres, from mystery and horror to Broadway comedy, Levin sold tens of millions of books despite producing only seven novels in four decades, the Times quoted his agent Phyllis Westberg as saying.
Levin was born in New York in 1929 and served in the US Army briefly in the early 1950s after leaving university. He went on to write for television before publishing his first novel, "A Kiss Before Dying," in 1953.
He also wrote for theater, notably adapting a novel by Mac Hyman into the 1955 Broadway comedy hit "No Time for Sergeants," and penning comic thriller "Deathtrap," in 1979, which ran on Broadway before also being made into a film.
Alex Rider author sees 3 more books
By Mike Collett-White
LONDON (Reuters) - The author of the hit Alex Rider kids' spy series says there are probably three more books to follow the seventh instalment just published, but hopes of a movie franchise may have been dashed after just one film.
"Snakehead," the latest Alex Rider adventure, follows the 14-year-old super-spy on a treacherous mission to infiltrate ruthless gangs smuggling weapons, drugs and people across Southeast Asia.
In what Anthony Horowitz calls "the most scary chapter I've ever written," Alex is imprisoned at a centre where his body parts are to be removed for transplants.
"What makes it so horrible is the fact that people involved are so charming -- not my usual comical villains, but quite monstrous," Horowitz said in a telephone interview. "It is a very dark chapter."
The 52-year-old Briton said he deliberately wove real elements into his action-packed adventures, which are often compared to those of James Bond minus the sex.
In "Snakehead" there are clear references to the plight of refugees, tsunamis, the recent Live 8 anti-poverty pop concerts and ethnic tensions in Afghanistan.
"The success of the books is connected in part to the fact that they are always dealing with the real, recognisable world."
Horowitz said he would probably wind up the bestselling Rider series at 10 books, meaning three more stories that will take him another five years to complete.
Horowitz appearing at Tivoli Theatre, Downers Grove on 1/17/08
Click title link for full article
LONDON (Reuters) - The author of the hit Alex Rider kids' spy series says there are probably three more books to follow the seventh instalment just published, but hopes of a movie franchise may have been dashed after just one film.
"Snakehead," the latest Alex Rider adventure, follows the 14-year-old super-spy on a treacherous mission to infiltrate ruthless gangs smuggling weapons, drugs and people across Southeast Asia.
In what Anthony Horowitz calls "the most scary chapter I've ever written," Alex is imprisoned at a centre where his body parts are to be removed for transplants.
"What makes it so horrible is the fact that people involved are so charming -- not my usual comical villains, but quite monstrous," Horowitz said in a telephone interview. "It is a very dark chapter."
The 52-year-old Briton said he deliberately wove real elements into his action-packed adventures, which are often compared to those of James Bond minus the sex.
In "Snakehead" there are clear references to the plight of refugees, tsunamis, the recent Live 8 anti-poverty pop concerts and ethnic tensions in Afghanistan.
"The success of the books is connected in part to the fact that they are always dealing with the real, recognisable world."
Horowitz said he would probably wind up the bestselling Rider series at 10 books, meaning three more stories that will take him another five years to complete.
Horowitz appearing at Tivoli Theatre, Downers Grove on 1/17/08
Click title link for full article
Ken Follett is latest Oprah Winfrey pick
By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer
NEW YORK - Oprah Winfrey went for the big time Wednesday with her latest book club pick, choosing Ken Follett's 973-page "The Pillars of the Earth," an announcement that will likely mean hundreds of thousands more sales for an author with a huge, international following.
Follett, a 58-year-old native of Cardiff, Wales, is famous for spectacular thrillers such as "Lie Down With Lions," "Eye of the Needle" and "World Without End," published last month, and a sequel to "The Pillars of the Earth," which came out in 1989.
Follett has called "The Pillars of the Earth," a love story set in England in the 12th century, his favorite novel. According to his Web site, the book still sells around 100,000 copies a year in the United States alone.
"My publishers were a little nervous about such a very unlikely subject but paradoxically, it is my most popular book," Follett writes on his Web site.
"It's also the book I'm most proud of. It recreates, quite vividly, the entire life of the village and the people who live there. You feel you know the place and the people as intimately as if you yourself were living there in the middle ages."
A year after "Pillars" came out, Follett was so popular he agreed to a two-book, $12.3 million deal with the Dell Publishing Company. He reportedly has 90 million readers worldwide and recently signed with Penguin Group (USA), which released "World Without End," for a planned multigenerational trilogy set in the 20th century.
NEW YORK - Oprah Winfrey went for the big time Wednesday with her latest book club pick, choosing Ken Follett's 973-page "The Pillars of the Earth," an announcement that will likely mean hundreds of thousands more sales for an author with a huge, international following.
Follett, a 58-year-old native of Cardiff, Wales, is famous for spectacular thrillers such as "Lie Down With Lions," "Eye of the Needle" and "World Without End," published last month, and a sequel to "The Pillars of the Earth," which came out in 1989.
Follett has called "The Pillars of the Earth," a love story set in England in the 12th century, his favorite novel. According to his Web site, the book still sells around 100,000 copies a year in the United States alone.
"My publishers were a little nervous about such a very unlikely subject but paradoxically, it is my most popular book," Follett writes on his Web site.
"It's also the book I'm most proud of. It recreates, quite vividly, the entire life of the village and the people who live there. You feel you know the place and the people as intimately as if you yourself were living there in the middle ages."
A year after "Pillars" came out, Follett was so popular he agreed to a two-book, $12.3 million deal with the Dell Publishing Company. He reportedly has 90 million readers worldwide and recently signed with Penguin Group (USA), which released "World Without End," for a planned multigenerational trilogy set in the 20th century.
Potter role goes to experienced actress
LONDON (Reuters) - The role of Lavender Brown, Ron Weasley's girlfriend in the new Harry Potter film, has gone to an established actress, according to a source close to the film.
Around 7,000 young hopefuls auditioned in July for the role of Brown, who spends much of her time kissing fellow Hogwarts pupil Weasley in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
But the source said the part went to 20-year-old Jessie Cave, who has appeared with Helen Mirren in the film "Inkheart" and who is to star in the BBC's CBBC drama "Summerhill," which goes out early next year.
But Cave got the thumbs-up from Rupert Grint, who plays Weasley.
He told CBBC's "Newsround": "I was involved with the Lavender Brown audition and the whole Lavender thing. Her name's Jessie and she is really cool and it's going to be really funny."
Click title link for full article
Around 7,000 young hopefuls auditioned in July for the role of Brown, who spends much of her time kissing fellow Hogwarts pupil Weasley in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
But the source said the part went to 20-year-old Jessie Cave, who has appeared with Helen Mirren in the film "Inkheart" and who is to star in the BBC's CBBC drama "Summerhill," which goes out early next year.
But Cave got the thumbs-up from Rupert Grint, who plays Weasley.
He told CBBC's "Newsround": "I was involved with the Lavender Brown audition and the whole Lavender thing. Her name's Jessie and she is really cool and it's going to be really funny."
Click title link for full article
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Demon Barber, Meat Pies and All, Sings on Screen
NYT: SOME time in 1980, during the five months that the grim and glorious musical “Sweeney Todd” played the Theater Royal Drury Lane, a California college student visiting London bought a ticket. And another and another and another.
Tim Burton, obsessive watcher of horror movies and a worshiper of Vincent Price, had discovered “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” not to mention Stephen Sondheim. And after stewing in his imagination on and off for some 25 years, that encounter has been channeled into Mr. Burton’s new film version, scheduled to arrive Dec. 21, with Johnny Depp as Sweeney, Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett and the smoke-blackened streets of Victorian London as the setting for their danse macabre.
Click title for full article. Can't wait to see this one!!
www.sweeneytoddmovie.com
Tim Burton, obsessive watcher of horror movies and a worshiper of Vincent Price, had discovered “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” not to mention Stephen Sondheim. And after stewing in his imagination on and off for some 25 years, that encounter has been channeled into Mr. Burton’s new film version, scheduled to arrive Dec. 21, with Johnny Depp as Sweeney, Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett and the smoke-blackened streets of Victorian London as the setting for their danse macabre.
Click title for full article. Can't wait to see this one!!
www.sweeneytoddmovie.com
'Harry Potter' offshoot unveiled
NOW HOW THE HELL IS THE COMMON MAN SUPPOSED TO READ THIS?
LONDON, England (AP) -- J.K. Rowling has completed her first book since concluding the tale of teen wizard Harry Potter -- an illustrated collection of magical fairy stories titled "The Tales of Beedle the Bard."
LONDON, England (AP) -- J.K. Rowling has completed her first book since concluding the tale of teen wizard Harry Potter -- an illustrated collection of magical fairy stories titled "The Tales of Beedle the Bard."
Only seven copies of the book are being printed, Rowling said Thursday. One will be auctioned next month to raise money for a children's charity, while the others have been given away as gifts.
Rowling drew the illustrations herself and provided the handwriting for the five stories that make up the collection of fairytales.
"The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is mentioned in the final Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," as a gift left by headmaster Albus Dumbledore to Harry's friend Hermione.
"'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, and writing it has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years," Rowling said in a statement.
The volume, bound in brown morocco leather and mounted with silver and semiprecious stones, will be auctioned at Sotheby's on December 13 with a starting price of $62,000. Proceeds will go to The Children's Voice, a charity that helps vulnerable children across Europe.
"It's not about Harry, Ron and Hermione, but it comes from that world," she told BBC radio in an interview broadcast Thursday. "So it's been therapeutic in a way."
Rowling said she was working on a new book, "a half-finished book for children that I think will probably be the next thing I publish."
On Wednesday, Rowling and the makers of the Harry Potter movies filed a lawsuit against RDR Books, a small U.S. publisher that plans to bring out a companion volume based on the Harry Potter Lexicon fan Web site.
Rowling has said she plans to produce her own encyclopedia of the wizarding world and says the book would infringe on her intellectual property rights.Roman Polanski to direct `The Ghost'
LONDON - Roman Polanski will direct a film adaptation of "The Ghost," the best-selling political thriller by Robert Harris.
The book's narrator is a ghostwriter, hired to help a former British leader complete his memoirs, who becomes enmeshed in a web of espionage and political intrigue.
It has caused ripples in Britain for its parallels to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has known Harris for 15 years. Like Blair, fictional premier Adam Lang is a once-popular politician brought down by his close alliance with the United States in its "war on terror."
"There's a lot of psychological intrigue in the story, as well as espionage and politics, and most of the action takes place in an oceanfront house during the middle of winter — all of it classic Polanski territory," Harris said.
Clink link above for full article.
The book's narrator is a ghostwriter, hired to help a former British leader complete his memoirs, who becomes enmeshed in a web of espionage and political intrigue.
It has caused ripples in Britain for its parallels to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has known Harris for 15 years. Like Blair, fictional premier Adam Lang is a once-popular politician brought down by his close alliance with the United States in its "war on terror."
"There's a lot of psychological intrigue in the story, as well as espionage and politics, and most of the action takes place in an oceanfront house during the middle of winter — all of it classic Polanski territory," Harris said.
Clink link above for full article.
Friday, November 2, 2007
License to Wed
What they needed was a creative license to make this sickly, sweet film about two fools rushing in, with obtrusive priest (Robin Williams) en tow.
Leave this one on the shelf!
Leave this one on the shelf!
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