Need for Effective Reading Culture

CULLED FROM http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/aina-ogungbeni-adigun-ogundipe.htm

The acquisition of reading skills has a beneficial effect on all school subjects, including social studies, science, mathematics, and so on. Poor reading skill can make a child develop a poor attitude toward school and can create self-esteem problems later in life (Fosudo, 2010).

Oke (1996) gives reasons why people read, including self-improvement, pleasure and relaxation, and a feeling of pride and prestige. According to Antwi (1985), studies show a relationship between reading/early literacy and a child’s emotional, mental health, and social behaviour. According to him, a study done in the US showed that reading was correlated with delinquency, independent of neighborhood, ethnicity, and family involvement, and was the same in both ethnic groups sampled and constant over the age range studied. The degree of seriousness of delinquent act was directly correlated to the degree of severity of reading problems. The study also showed that early in the primary grades, children who are struggling with literacy begin to experience failure and related negative effects in interpersonal skills. These effects can include task-avoidance and acting out, lowered levels of personal regard, and seeking of personal validation in venues that are anti-social.

In Nigeria, a study carried out by Henry (2004), reveals that 40 percent of adult Nigerians never read a non-fiction book from cover to cover after they finish school. The average Nigerian reads less than one book per year, and only one percent of successful men and women in Nigeria read one non-fiction book per month. The same study showed that 30 million Nigerians have graduated from high school with poor reading skills. Some Nigerians may not read because they are not working in the right field(s). If regular reading and studying is a required condition of your job or profession, this in effect means you read, even if it is under duress. The magnitude of this problem jeopardizes the future of our public schools. What is most frustrating is that much of this reading problem can be prevented if government, libraries, and teachers apply what is known as reading instruction or techniques. The vast majority of the world’s information today is not digitized; it is in print form, mostly in books. Reading per se among young adults is not exactly on the wane, but the delivery mechanism has changed. Communications with words is thriving, but in a new format, reading online (Okebukola, 2004). For many years, especially in the West, there have been doubts whether the written medium of narration would survive the onslaught of technology. Will children and adults who spend most of their time in front of a television or computer continue to read books? Similar fears were expressed at the end of the 19th century with the emergence of films and cartoons. Books survived that era and maintained their position as a parallel “technology”. Topo (2005) affirms that the need today is the thoughtful integration of book reading with high tech, i.e., the integration of multi-media activities such as photography, printing and drawing, sewing and crafts, 3-D and digital art, hip-hop, claymation, and online services in our libraries. This will reverse the decline in book reading among children and adults. Oke (1996) affirms also that a conscious effort should be made by all stakeholders in the educational system to promote the reading habit. According to him, equipping libraries is the first practical step in these efforts.

Poor Reading Culture

The way of life of a nation is influenced by the percentage of its citizen who are literate. Cuba, for example, is adjacent to the US and has the highest rate of literacy in the world. This is among the reasons why Cuba has a vibrant economy despite decades of diplomatic conflicts with the strongest nation in the world (Henry, 2004). Tracy (2008) asserts that being a former British colony, Nigeria’s literacy culture ought to be as standardized as that of the Britain. About 99% of British citizens can read and write. The same cannot be said of Nigeria. Henry (2004), states that out of the 814 million illiterate people in the world, developing countries, especially in Africa, represent a huge percentage. However, Latin America, Asia, and others are making frantic efforts to drastically reduce the illiteracy rate, but owing to the following reasons, the same cannot be said of Africa.

Tracy (2008) asserts that being a former British colony, Nigeria’s literacy culture ought to be as standardized as that of the Britain. About 99% of British citizen can read and write. The same cannot be said of Nigeria. Henry (2004), states that out of the 814 million illiterates in the world, the third world countries, most especially in Africa, have a huge percentage of these illiterates. However, Latin America, Asia, and others are making frantic efforts to drastically reduce illiteracy rate, but owing to the following reasons, the same cannot be said of Africa.

Poverty: In sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of poverty is deeply felt. Only a few people live above the poverty line. About 80% of Africans live under hazardous conditions. The per capita income of an average citizen in Nigeria, “the giant of Africa” with its abundant natural resources, is two dollars. This, in no little measure, affects the reading habits of Nigerians. Many are too poor to send their children to school. They lack money to buy books and pay school fees.

Corruption: Corruption has a profound effect in Nigeria. The government is trying to fight corruption, which has drastically affected Nigerians reading culture. Corruption is present everywhere in Nigeria, from government institutions to private organizations. In schools, for instance, many students prefer to indulge in immoral acts rather than face their studies diligently. Situations like trading sex for grades, sales of ungraded textbooks to students at high fees, using money to buy examination grades, and cheating in examinations abound in our institutions of higher learning. Those who engage in these infamous acts consider reading a waste of time.

Noise culture: A learning environment requires places for quiet study. Most schools are in densely populated areas, where distractions prevent the smooth flow of learning. Moreover, the “illiteracy syndrome” has an adverse effect on the psyche of many Nigerian citizens. Most people perceive noise to be an integral part of their culture.

Undue importance attached to wealth: Many Nigerian people celebrate mediocrity at the expense of intellectuals. This is manifest in our rush for material things. Some people abandon their educational careers for the pursuit of money. Many have abandoned their education in search of “quick money,” which they believe can be gotten in business or politics. Many people run away from the village schools to take up jobs in Lagos.

Lack of reading language: In many homes, the language of reading is introduced late; the first contact point of some children with this language is in school. As children grow older, reading and its associated activities become herculean.

Dearth of libraries: libraries play an important role in the promotion of reading habits. However, these libraries (school and public) are either non-existant or not playing their expected role. State and local government, and proprietors of schools (government and individuals) have not complied with library provisions in the National Policy on Education (NPE). Public libraries are not being established where they are needed. The few existing public libraries are neither adequately funded nor stocked with reading resources that can affect the lives of citizens.

Role of the Library in Reading Culture

The need to promote effective reading habits among the general populace of Nigeria has been receiving attention from organizations such as the National Library of Nigeria, the Reading Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Book Development Council. Since 1981, the National Library of Nigeria has been sponsoring the readership promotion campaign in the country. This is done as part of the strategies to ginger up the reading culture in Nigeria. The objectives of the readership campaign includes:-

(i) To encourage more reading Nigerians

(ii) To promote the increase in production of reading materials in Nigeria, both in quality and variety and

(iii) To identify the major obstacles those inhibits reading in the country and find ways of eliminating them.

The problem with the above objectives is that the readership promotion campaign has been restricted largely to Abuja, Lagos, and some few state capitals. The impact has not really been felt in other parts of the country because the National library has not been adequately funded to put the campaign in prints or electronic media.

The above observation notwithstanding, the library can play an important role in the promotion of reading habits among Nigerians. Libraries, especially school libraries, are fundamental to the design, implementation, and attainment of educational excellence. Libraries are an integral part of the educational development of school children and youth. Without the support of efficient libraries, schools cannot successfully achieve the goals of education, which are:

• The inculcation of national consciousness and national unity;
• The inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes of the individual and the Nigerian society;
• The training of the mind in the understanding of the world around, and
• The acquisition of appropriate skills and social abilities and competence as equipment for the individual to live and contribute to the development of the society. (NPE, 2004).

Libraries provide access to reading materials through which school children and youths can gain and improve their skills. Libraries help introduce the use of reading for information, pleasure, passing examinations, and personal growth through lifelong learning. Libraries provide materials that offer more extensive and varied information than classroom study alone. Voluntary reading helps develop reading skills and mastery of language, extends students knowledge, and assists them in their academic work. Students and youths who read are likely to have background knowledge, familiarity with new topics or subjects, and thus, find learning easier and interesting.

In Nigeria, literacy is recognized as a basic tool for personal and national development. The National Policy on Education (2004), places inculcation of permanent literacy and numeracy, and ability to communicate effectively as one of the objectives of school education. The library must provide resources to complement  education. These resources can take children and youth far above technical literacy to developing reading culture which makes permanent literacy attainable.

The role of the libraries in promoting reading is especially crucial in developing scientific, reflective thinking and creativity. Librarians can help children and youths develop critical and independent thinking through their exposure to a wide variety of instructional resources and learning opportunities. Apart from the development of creative and critical thought, the role of the library in the promotion of reading culture can be seen in the readers’ development of values, attitudes, and appreciation. These are difficult to teach in the classrooms.

In the process of encouraging or inculcating the reading habit in children and youth, stakeholders (parents, teachers, schools, librarians and other library staff) should avoid nagging, bribing, judging, criticizing reading choices, and setting unreasonable goals.

Promoting Reading Habits

Having considered some of the factors responsible for poor reading culture in Nigeria, it is pertinent to suggest strategies that can be adopted to turn the country to a reading nation and her citizens a reading people. Imbibing the culture of reading can assist in finding solutions to socio-economic and political problems.

Improved Funding: Fund is crucial to the development of education and libraries; it is a sine qua none of performance. Therefore, the Nigerian government has to improve its funding of the education sector, by increasing funds allocated to schools. This would affects provision of school library services. Funds should be earmarked for establishing, equipping and maintenance of libraries (public library inclusive). Sufficient fund should be provided to acquire adequate, current and relevant library materials – books, magazines, charts, transparencies; photographic slides, and computer instructional packages. Concerted effort should be made by the appropriate supervisory body to monitor effective utilization of funds allocated to the library.

Establishment of libraries: Efforts must be made by government at different levels to establish more libraries in their schools and for the private, club, communities, Religious bodies, organizations (NGOs and CBOs), Old Students Associations, professional bodies, and individuals should be encouraged to assist in the promotion of reading by establishing libraries or supporting already established school and public libraries. This can be done through stocking libraries with good reading materials that can impact on the lives of Nigerians. These libraries should also be provided with professionally qualified personnel to render services to the users.

Continued provision and access to books: provision of a varied collection of enjoyable and information-rich books is a major contribution of the library towards reading promotion. Availability and accessibility of instructional and pleasurable books stimulate development of reading and attainment of permanent literacy. It has been found out that school libraries are the principal source of books for supplementary instructional resources and voluntary reading. It must, however, be pointed out that many schools do not have libraries at all. Where they exist, the stock in these libraries is grossly insufficient to play the expected role.

Associating reading with pleasure: Children and students can be motivated to read and thus form good reading habit through storytelling, reading together (shared reading), formation of reading/book clubs as well as provision of conducive reading environment devoid of unwarranted noise and distractions. Storytelling is a basic and enduring form of literacy expression in Nigerian cultures. Librarians should encourage the integration of storytelling and the oral literacy tradition with the school curriculum especially in primary school. Telling children interesting stories encourages their attention and focus, develops their listening skills, and helps stimulate voluntary reading.

Another way of introducing pleasure or fun to reading is by reading together. Reading together can take place in the classroom, library, or at home. Parents, school librarians, teachers, and children can read aloud to themselves at home, in the class or library, getting to an exciting point in the story book before stopping. The interest generated will inspire many students to continue the story on their own. In the course of shared reading, the passage read aloud can be discussed and a new book can be introduced to the students before its shared reading commences. The experience of reading and hearing increases speed; facilitates comprehension, good pronunciation; develops reading and critical thinking skills. In addition, shared reading puts confidence in some timid children and encourages them develop a voluntary reading habit.

Excursions to libraries and exhibitions: Children/students in schools where there are no libraries can be taken on excursions to libraries in other schools or in their locality. They can also be taken to book exhibitions/fairs. During such visits, children would be introduced to the library and its resources. They will also be educated on the importance of books and reading to their education and future lives.

Encouragement of library usage: Teachers should encourage maximum use of the library and its resources by giving pupils/students assignments/projects that would necessitate  frequent visits to the library. Such assignments/projects must be practical. They may entail reading a novel and summarizing it, or using the library resources to solve an environmental problem.

Appropriate legislation: It has earlier been pointed out that the National Policy on EducationNPE statements on the provision of libraries have not been implemented by the stakeholders. Non-implementation stems from the absence of appropriate legislation to back up these statements. It is, therefore, been suggested that appropriate legislation be enacted to enforce compliance with the policy statements. Such legislation should stipulate stiffer penalties such as closure of school(s), for non-compliance with the policy statements.

Resuscitation of mobile library services: Promotion of reading habits should not be confined to students in the classroom or the physical library alone. Rather, consideration and extension of library services should be given to children and youth who, for one reason or another, are out of the normal school or library environment. This can be done through mobile library service, a formidable service provided by the public library. In the 1970s, Nigerian populace in the rural areas – farmers, nomadic fishermen, and cattle rearers, used to enjoy this service. Regrettably, since the 1980s, this important library service has become moribund.

To attain the objective of the universal basic education as well as carry out the goals contained in the NPE, states and local governments in Nigeria must revive the mobile library service. Once revived, the library would carry reading, vocational, and instructional materials to remote communities. The library would be able to serve the needs of school children, dropouts, adult illiterates, semi-literates, nomadic fishermen and cattle rearers, and other categories of people who wish to be associated with reading and education.

Conclusion

Education is a continuous process. It can be acquired formally through attendance at schools, workshops, seminars, or other forms of training. Traveling has been recognized as an important form of education. People can become educated by traveling to lands far away from them through leisure reading and thereby learn about other people, culture, and environment.

A reading nation is an informed nation. Nigeria can not be regarded as a reading nation because the younger generation of Nigerians does not consider reading a leisure activity. The poor reading habits of these younger Nigerians affect their performances at school and during examinations. Children/students with poor reading habits may engage in anti-social behaviours such as school violence, bullying, and examination malpractice.

To redress this  anomaly, several organizations and institutions, including the library, have taken steps to encourage and promote the reading habit among Nigerians. Library been the nerve centre of any academic institution, is charged with the responsibility of acquiring and providing access to a variety of instructional and information-rich materials in different formats. The library continues to discharge this responsibility and employ other strategies that can promote reading culture. Other stakeholders - government at different level, communities, organizations, parents and individual proprietors have their roles to play. All hands joined together, would lift Nigeria from her present state to becoming a nation consisting of people with very high reading culture.

The habit of reading should begin at an early stage and should be imbibed throughout one's lifetime. The complementary role of the library in inculcating and promoting reading habit in Nigerians should be appreciated. According to Douglas (2008), “The library becomes increasingly important in the new teaching, for not only does it supply enactment materials in all areas; it also supply materials at all levels of difficulties. It stores books, pictures, pamphlets, maps, films filmstrips, recordings and all other printed media which makes it a gold mine for each teacher and each pupil.”

Dyslexia and Reading Problems

What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a complex language problem. It has to do with the way the brain works, not with vision. It involves not being able to break a word down into the sounds that make it up, and not being able to write and think about the sounds in a word. Kids with dyslexia have brains that work differently to process language. They have problems translating language to thought (in listening or reading) and thought to language (in writing or speaking).

How common is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is the most common learning disability (LD); 80 percent of students with LDs have dyslexia. It affects more boys than girls

Why is early diagnosis and treatment so important?
When dyslexia is not found and treated early on, it tends to snowball. As kids get more and more behind in school, they may become more and more frustrated, feeling like a failure. Often, self-esteem problems lead to bad behavior and other problems. When dyslexia is not noticed or not treated, it can cause adult literacy problems. By identifying dyslexia early, your child will get the help they need to reach their potential.

• Get more facts about how reading and learning disabilities affect literacy, education, jobs and earnings from the National Institute for Literacy .

What if I suspect my child might have a reading disability?
If you suspect your child may have dyslexia, do not wait! Have your child evaluated. Your child should not have to fail for a couple years before being able to getting the right kind of help. You and your child's teachers can help your child overcome reading difficulties.

What are the signs of a reading problem in the early years?
Here are some warning signs that your child might have a reading disability:
Preschool:

• Doesn't know how to hold a book
• Can't tell the difference between letters and squiggles
• Can't recognize own name
• Only says a small number of words
• Doesn’t like rhyming games and can’t fill in the rhyming word in familiar nursery rhymes

Kindergarten:

• Can't tell the difference between the sounds that make up a word (phonics)
• Slow to name familiar objects and colors
• Can’t remember the names and sounds of the letters
• By the end of kindergarten, can’t write most of the consonant sounds in a word (it’s normal for vowels to be missing until later)

1st and 2nd grades:

• Has trouble pronouncing new words and remembering them
• Has trouble blending sounds together to say words
• Says reading is easier for their classmates
• Falls way behind their classmates
• Can't figure out unknown words
• Avoids reading
• Resists reading aloud

2nd and 3rd grades:

• Starts to withdraw
• Has some troubling behavior
• Seems to guess at unknown words
• Does not get meaning from reading

What do I need to know about how my dyslexic child will learn to read?
There is more than one best way to teach reading. Different children learn in different ways. It is important that your child learn to read in the way that will work best for them.

Find out what teaching method the school is using to teach your child to read, and why. If the method is not working, work with the teacher to change it.

Written and compiled by Kyla Boyse, R.N. Reviewed by faculty and staff at the University of Michigan

Sidney Sheldon's Mistress of the Game

 By Tilly Bagshawe

Plot

Kate Blackwell has died and left the company in the hands of her granddaughters, Eve Blackwell-Webster and Alexandra Blackwell-Templeton, who are both pregnant. Eve secretly vows revenge against her husband Keith, who deliberately destroyed her face during a plastic surgery procedure so she would never leave him, and Alexandra's family, who she believes ruined her plan to acquire total control of the family company, Kruger-Brent Ltd. Weeks later, Alexandra hemorrhages giving birth to Alexandra "Lexi" Templeton, while Eve painstakingly gives birth to a son named Max. While Lexi grows up showered with love from everyone in her household, Max is raised by his mother to hate his cousins and his father and to aim for total control of Kruger-Brent Ltd. one day.

On their joint eighteen birthday, Max makes it clear to Lexi that he hates her after she easily wins over Kruger-Brent's board members despite his attempts to charm them, and vows to make the company all his. Lexi's older brother, Robbie, is a successful pianist and wants nothing to do with the company and gives his share to Lexi. With Lexi standing to gain 2/3 control of the company when she turns twenty-five, Eve sends Max to seduce her, and they slowly form a romantic relationship. Lexi lets her guard down and willingly gives him the code to her safe, where he finds a memory card filled with racy pictures from her college days and leaks it to the public. The board members unanimously agree to terminate Lexi from Kruger-Brent for her bad publicity, giving full control to Max. However, after a year, Lexi's new company "Templeton" restores her professional reputation and outshines Kruger-Brent, which is failing due to Max's unsteady control.

When Lexi opens a branch of her company in Africa, her company comes into conflict with Phoenix Industries, owned by her distant relative, Gabriel McGregor. Although initially attracted to him, Lexi does not pursue him after knowing that he has a family, and is content to be business partners with him. However, after his family is murdered, Lexi consoles him during his depression and they slowly form a relationship. Gabriel begs her to let go of her obsession of taking back Kruger-Brent as they have enough to be happy about, but although she promises to, she does not give up. She destroys Kruger-Brent by buying off most of its companies, secretly stealing from Gabriel's charity fund to fund her plan. Eventually, Kruger-Brent goes bankrupt and Max commits suicide. The Kruger-Brent board members agree to sell Kruger-Brent, and are surprised when Lexi buys it and restores the company back to its power. She learns that she is pregnant and is about to tell Gabriel the good news, but he angrily breaks up with her after finding out about his charity fund before she can reveal the good news. They eventually reconcile when Gabriel finds out about her pregnancy and he realizes that he loves her and stops her from aborting, and they marry after their daughter Maxine is born.

Meanwhile, Eve is on her deathbed, hallucinating the ghosts of people in her past. She sends a threatening note to Lexi admitting that she knows what she did and has sent another note to the police. The police take Lexi to the police station after her wedding, but Gabriel, Robbie, and two of their loyal servants help her escape to her villa in Maldives, where the police have no jurisdiction, and she is reunited with Gabriel and Maxine. Lexi is hopeful for future knowing that, unlike Eve, she can still play the game.

Master of the Game (novel)

Spanning six generations in the lives of the fictional MacGregor/Blackwell family, the critically acclaimed novel spent four weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller List,and was later adapted into a 1984 television miniseries.

Plot

Kate Blackwell, matriarch of the Blackwell family and head of her father's multinational business empire, Kruger-Brent Ltd., celebrates her ninetieth birthday with her family and friends, but is more focused on the ghosts of her past who are there. She recalls how the company started, and the story is told through flashback through different members of Kate's family.

Jamie

A hundred years ago, Kate's father Jamie McGregor leaves Scotland for Klipdrift, South Africa to find wealth by mining diamonds. He makes a contract with a local Dutch merchant, Salomon Van Der Merwe, but is double-crossed after nearly dying to find an untapped diamond mine only to find out that the contract gives Van Der Merwe the entire mine while Jamie is paid minimum wage for his services. Jamie tries to protest, but he is beaten and left for dead in the desert. He is saved by Van Der Merwe's servant, Banda, who wants revenge on Van Der Merwe for raping his sister, who died giving birth to Van Der Merwe's child. They manage to pull off a dangerous heist and take millions worth of diamonds, and Jamie returns to Klipdrift under the persona Ian Travis, a widowed millionaire looking for business opportunities. He catches Van Der Merwe's attention and convinces him to let his daughter, Margaret, tour him around Klipdrift, and Jamie seduces her and impregnates her. When Margaret announces her pregnancy, Jamie reveals his true identity and refuses to marry her, shaming her conservative father. Margaret is kicked out, eventually giving birth to Jamie Jr. Meanwhile, Van Der Merwe becomes a social outcast and heavily borrows from the local bank, not knowing that Jamie owns it. Jamie tricks Van Der Merwe to borrow heavily, and then calls in all his debts when he knows Van Der Merwe cannot afford to pay. Jamie later finds out that Van Der Merwe committed suicide, but feels an empty victory.

Jamie's company Kruger-Brent Ltd., thrives in South Africa. He hires David Blackwell for his ambition and determination which mirrors Jamie's own. In an attempt to make Jamie love her, Margaret abandons her son with him, and Jamie slowly loves his son. Margaret twists Jamie's arm to marry her, threatening him with leaving for America with their son, and while her reputation is restored, Jamie acts cold towards her and openly keeps a prostitute named Margaret as a mistress. After a drunken fight with the mistress Margaret, Jamie mistakenly apologizes to his wife Margaret and has sex with her, resulting in their second child, Kate. Banda warns Jamie that the Bantu rebellion may harm his family and steals one-year-old Kate from her crib during a riot in order to protect her. However, he did not reach Jamie Jr. in time, and he was left to die in the desert. The news of this causes Jamie to have a stroke, and dies after five months of paralysis; Margaret runs Kruger-Brent with Blackwell's aid. During the rebellion, Margaret and Kate are taken as prisoners-of-war due to being South African citizens, and Kate realizes the need for power so she will never feel helpless.

Kate and David, and Kruger-Brent Ltd.

Kate grows up falling in love with Blackwell, despite their large age difference and his view of her as nothing more than a child, and vows that she will marry him one day. After her mother's death, she decides to get serious about running the company and goes to business school. Upon her return, she learns that Blackwell is engaged and is planning to leave Kruger-Brent for his fiance's family business, and secretly buys out his fiance's company, knowing that David hates sell-outs. She seduces him and they marry after two months.

At the beginning of World War I, Kate capitalizes on the war by planning to sell bullets and weapons, but is stopped by Blackwell, who is against it. He begins to realize Kate's obsession with the company, and enlists for the war and is gone for four years. Kate decides to push through with her idea when she sees the opportunity being wasted, and when David arrives, he is annoyed by Kate's actions. Kate becomes pregnant, and she realizes her own obsession when she is happier about good news about the company than a married life with David and their upcoming son. Two months before the baby's birth, David is killed in a mine explosion and Kate gives birth to Anthony "Tony" Blackwell.

Tony

With no one to stop her, Kate pours all her attention to Kruger-Brent and makes it a global success. She is a demanding mother to her son, expecting nothing but the best from him, but is disappointed to see that he stutters in her presence and would rather go into art than business. After World War II, Tony goes to art school in France and begins dating Dominique, a French model. During an exhibit, Kate pays-off a renowned French critic to bash Tony's work, despite his honest opinion that Tony could have been successful, in order to end Tony's career and push him to take over the business. Tony eventually finds out that Dominique is a model from one of Kruger-Brent's agencies and has been spying on him for his mother, and Tony gains the courage to stand up against her and leave.

Kate manipulates Tony into marrying Marianne Hoffman, as she wants both Marianne's father's patents and a grandchild who can take over the company since Tony will not. She pushes Marianne to carry out her pregnancy despite warnings from her doctor that her health makes it unsafe to bear children, and Marianne dies giving birth to twin daughters. Tony learns of Marianne's health issues and how his mother persuaded her to carry out the pregnancy and, after bumping into Dominique and her boyfriend, that his mother was responsible for the end of his career, Tony goes insane and tries to kill Kate, but misses. He is lobotomized and sent to an asylum, while Kate takes care of both the company and her granddaughters, Eve and Alexandra.

Eve and Alexandra

Eve, the older twin, is manipulative and evil, and despises Alexandra, whom she sees as an interloper, and tries to kill her several times. Kate decides to name Eve heir to Kruger-Brent for her Kate-like personality while Alexandra, clumsy but kind-hearted, will receive the charity foundations and will live a comfortably wealthy life. Kate eventually finds out about Eve's evil nature and disinherits her, quietly but obviously turning to Alexandra as her heir. Eve meets George Mellis during a party, and after getting raped by him, she digs into his past and finds out that they share similar backgrounds, and they plot to have Alexandra marry Mellis and then kill her, leaving George the heir of Kruger-Brent. Eve helps Mellis win Alexandra's love and Kate's approval, and they marry.

One night, Eve taunts Mellis to the point that he assaults her. She recovers without any scars due to the work of talented surgeon Keith Webster. Kate reconciles with Eve after hearing about her, and restores Eve to her will. Eve realizes that Alexandra's death will put her under her grandmother's suspicion and begs Mellis not to continue. However, Mellis wants to inherit Alexandra's share and goes on with a honeymoon ploy in a private yacht, where he intends to push Alexandra overboard and kill her. Eve hastily stops the plan by delaying Alexandra and posing as her sister to kill Mellis, but when the police find his body stabbed to death before drowning they suspect Eve to be responsible for Mellis' death. Keith realizes the truth when Dr. Peter Templeton, a psychiatrist Eve visited under the guise of a suicidal Alexandra, says that Eve's distinctive feature was a scar from her head from her assault. Keith threatens to confess to the police if she doesn't marry him, and although Eve marries him, she cheats on him openly with a younger man. With Keith's silence and Kate's decision to lie for her so Eve can be punished in Kate's terms, Eve is acquitted. However, Keith deliberately destroys her face during a laugh line removal procedure, making Eve devoted to Keith in fear that he will leave her and she will be alone, and Kate decides that that will be Eve's punishment. Meanwhile, Alexandra marries Dr. Templeton and they have a son named Robert.

The book closes after Kate's ninetieth birthday party with all her relatives present. Robert, now eight, is turning into a talented pianist. She tries to meddle with Robert's future, but is rebuffed by Peter. Kate relents, but offers to introduce him to a renowned musician, leaving the reader to wonder whether Kate will repeat her mistake on Tony's career.

IF TOMMORROW COMES

If Tomorrow Comes (novel)

If Tomorrow Comes is a 1985 crime fiction novel by American author Sidney Sheldon. It is a story portraying an ordinary woman who is framed by the Mafia, her subsequent quest for vengeance towards them and her later life as a con artist. 

Plot

Tracy Whitney, an intelligent operator for a prominent bank in Philadelphia, is at the peak of her young life: she is engaged to Charles Stanhope III, a wealthy heir from a prominent family, she is carrying Charles' baby, and she is expecting a promotion after her honeymoon. However, after she hears that her mother, Doris Whitney, has committed suicide after Joe Romano, the right-hand man of New Orlean's Mafia Don Anthony Orsatti, scammed Doris into letting him sell all of her assets in her small auto-parts company and left her with a huge debt and charges of fraud, Tracy hastily returns to New Orleans to try coercing Romano into confessing her mother's innocence. She brings a gun with only the intention to scare him, but things get out hand and she non-fatally shoots him when he tries to rape her, and she attempts to flee back to Philadelphia. However, she is arrested for attempted murder and allegedly stealing one of Romano's expensive paintings so she can pay her mother's debt. She is given an attorney named Perry Pope, who convinces her to take the guilty plea so that she will only receive a three-month sentence because if she doesn't, she will face a long trial with Judge Lawrence and risk ten years in jail if she is found guilty. She takes the guilty plea, and after Judge Lawrence sentences her to fifteen years in jail, Tracy realizes that Judge Lawrence and Pope work for Orsatti as well. Romano claims a large sum from the insurance from the painting, which he actually kept hidden, Tracy is snubbed by her boss, and Charles breaks up with her to avoid being connected to the scandal, abandoning her and his unborn child.

In prison, Tracy is assigned to a cell with two Mexicans, Lola and Paulita, and a large black woman named Ernestine Littlechap. She is subjected to the horrors of physical and sexual abuse from the other inmates, and miscarries her baby. During her recovery, she vows revenge against Romano, Orsatti, Pope, and Judge Lawrence for harming her and her mother, as well as Charles for abandoning her and his son and marrying another woman. She befriends Ernestine, who notices the change in her personality and makes everyone stop abusing her. Because of Tracy's status as Ernestine's pet, she gains the unwanted attention of Big Bertha, an equally large Swedish inmate and Ernestine's rival as "queen bee". Tracy gets a visit from Daniel Cooper, an eccentric private investigator assigned to look for Romano's painting, and admits that he knows she did not steal the photo and Romano is hiding it, but he refuses to help her. Tracy eventually becomes the warden's daughter's nanny, and although hesitant to love a child after the death of her own, Tracy slowly begins to love Amy. Ernestine is informed of her upcoming parole, and decides to help Tracy escape knowing that Big Bertha will rape and kill Tracy once Ernestine is no longer there to protect her. Tracy follows the plan, but Amy falls into a nearby lake and she misses her chance to escape to save Amy. Tracy is recognized for her good work and, being a behaved prisoner, she is granted an early parole. Her high-profile exit from prison is watched by many: Cooper is indifferent, Romano is aroused, while Charles looks at his wife and wonders if he made a mistake.

Tracy exacts revenge on all those who tricked her, and gets the help of Ernestine and her boyfriend Al. She uses her knowledge of her former bank to make Romano's bank account receive deposits from other people, and then make it look like he secretly made a large amount of money and was planning to escape to Brazil, and it is implied Orsatti kills him for his betrayal. Al plants evidence in Pope's home to make it look like he is cheating in poker games with Orsatti, and Orsatti kills him as well. While Judge Lawrence is in Russia, she sends him carefully coded letters that implicates him as an American spy, and is sentenced to ten years of hard labor. With the three gone from Orsatti's Mafia, a younger, ruthless mob is trying to force him to leave New Orleans, and Tracy boldly sends him a funeral wreath. She stalks Charles into a restaurant, but decides that his marriage is his own punishment when she sees how he and his wife ignore each other and look obviously bored and depressed.

With her mission of revenge complete, Tracy begins to face the hardships of having a criminal record. It is revealed that her boss was only kind to her because of her connection to the Stanhopes, and refuses to take her back. Tracy leaves for New York for a job opportunity one of the inmates told her about. She finds out that the job is a jewel heist and she reluctantly agrees out of desperation. She narrowly escapes the police but successfully steals the jewels. In the train, she is conned by Jeff Stevens, who pretended to be a policeman, but she realizes that Jeff couldn't be a policeman and that the store owner was making Jeff steal it from her so he can buy them cheaper, and she cons Jeff into giving them back with a real policeman in their presence. She meets Jeff once more in a cruise ship to England, and they scheme against two chess grand masters to win money; Jeff tries to leave with all the money, but she catches him and leaves with her half.

Tracy is introduced to Gunther Hartog, who helps her steal only from those who deserve to be stolen from, and she becomes one of the world's smartest criminals as all the evidence is there, pointed out by Cooper, who decides to help the police catch her, but there is never enough evidence to arrest her. Tracy pursues brilliant con schemes filled with humor and ingenuity all over Europe — such as stealing jewelry from an actress on the Orient Express, a valuable painting from a museum, reselling a gem to a jeweler for much higher than its worth, and tricking a Frenchman with fake US Dollar plates. During a heist, Tracy has a fever and nearly gets caught if Jeff did not rescue her and nurture her back to health, and the two begin to fall in love. After having collected enough money to live a luxurious life, Tracy and Jeff plan to marry and live together in Brazil as law-abiding citizens. In their last scheme, Cooper convinces the police to plant microphones in their hotel room, but the two outsmart them all and manage to steal a large diamond without getting caught. Tracy boards her flight to Brazil and finds Maximilian Pierpont, the elusive, ruthless businessman Jeff and Gunther had been trying to catch, sitting next to her. Maximilian shows an interest to Tracy, leaving the reader to wonder if she will steal from Pierpont in an open-ended conclusion

RAGE OF ANGEL

curtsey wikipedia

Rage of Angels is a novel by Sidney Sheldon published in 1980. The novel revolves around young attorney Jennifer Parker, as she rises as a successful lawyer after being framed for threatening the chief witness against a Mafia boss by mistakenly giving him a dead canary with a broken neck which in turn leads to a situation that promises to break Her life's dreams. As the story progresses, the protagonist is romantically torn between a famous politician, who helps her rise again and a Mafia boss, the man that framed her, swearing to destroy her after he finds out about her affair with the politician that had short-lived though long enough to gift her a son.

Plot summary

Jennifer Parker, an Assistant District Attorney for the State of New York, is a beautiful, inexperienced criminal defense attorney who foils a plot by Michael Moretti, the rising star of one of the most powerful organized crime families in America. Manhattan District Attorney Robert Di Silva, believing that Jennifer is truly responsible, fires her and vows to destroy her for her part in the fiasco with Moretti. Di Silva arranges for young lawyer Adam Warner to meet Jennifer in an attempt to persuade him that she is truly responsible for the bribe. Adam immediately realizes that she is not guilty at all, and falls for her. With Adam's help Jennifer begins to rise again; meanwhile Moretti, inspired by her determination to succeed, decides he would like to induct her as the Family consigliere (a mafia lawyer).

Adam, despite being married and groomed for the United States Senate, cannot help falling in love with Jennifer. When he tells her that his wife Mary Beth has asked for a divorce, Jennifer meets with her. Being so close to the Senate election, the two women decide it is best for Adam to wait until after the election. But Mary Beth sleeps with Adam one last time, in the process tricking him into impregnating her. Adam learns that his wife is pregnant, wins the election and Jennifer ends their affair. Jennifer, having previously discovered that she too is pregnant and not wanting to be hurt by Adam, accepts but does not reveal to him that she is carrying his child.

Jennifer gives birth and names her son Joshua Adam Parker. Only her assistant Ken Bailey knows of Joshua's existence. Jennifer returns to her practice and soon makes headlines as a successful lawyer. Meanwhile, Moretti constantly tries to spark friendship with Jennifer, which she rebuffs at every attempt, reminding him of his earlier tricks. Nevertheless, when her son is kidnapped by a criminal Jennifer is defending, she, in desperation, turns to Moretti for help. After helping her, he seduces her and Jennifer becomes the Family consigliere. Jennifer's son Joshua dies in a skiing accident. Jennifer and Moretti are soon being hunted down by the government; he shoots her, wrongly thinking she has betrayed him, and is killed himself in an FBI raid of his house. Adam is able to use his position to save Jennifer. Soon Jennifer watches on television as Adam is sworn in as President of the United States

How to teach… reading for pleasure

Culled from http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/dec/16/reading-for-pleasure-reluctant-readers-schools-resources
Studies have found that reading for pleasure is more important to a child's educational achievement than their family's wealth or social class. But how to inspire children to ditch the tech (e-readers excepted) and get into reading for fun?
Having a couple of nice books in the book corner won't necessarily cut it anymore, especially if your students' parents/carers don't have a reading habit. So, here are some great teaching resources and ideas which will help you to encourage all your students to become lifelong readers and turn your school into a reading school.
We start with some inspiring resources from the Scottish Book Trust. For fabulous ideas on creating a reading culture check out The big book bash. It's full of ideas from holding a whole school celebration to setting up blind dates with a book.

If you want to give parents some quick guidance on how to encourage their children to read these top tips sheets are really handy; this sheet is for three-to-seven year-olds and this one for eight-to-11-year-olds. Don't give up on the teens, here are some tips for helping young people aged 12-16. The books don't have to be too wordy, here are some great ideas for picture books for older readers – and their breadth and depth might take you by surprise.
Shared reading between older and younger pupils is a great way to increase confidence and reading skills of older pupils as well as helping early years and reception-aged children to experience the thrills of reading. This paired reading toolkit from the National Literacy Trust has some more great ideas on how reading with other children works.
Getting parents and carers to read at home with their children is vital. The Discover Centre, the UK's first hands-on story museum, has some engaging tips to help families enjoy books via these story book activity cards.
Librarian and children's author Dawn Finch has years of experience of engaging families in reading. Find tips on reading for pleasure with children and What shall we do today? A month of simple reading activities.
For the ultimate inspiration on what to read, send students to the Guardian children's books site. They'll find fantastic reviews and recommendations for books written by their peers, as well as inspiration from authors. Individual children can sign up and contribute their own reviews to the site, as well as getting opportunities to receive free books and question authors. Book groups can also join in the fun as a collective. The Guardian's book doctor is ready to deal with children's book-related problems, such as where are all the funny books for teenagers?
Also see the Book Trust's invaluable online bookfinder, to find the perfect book for all ages and tastes. And, there are more ideas on what books to give for Christmas from the Guardian's children's books team in the best in children's literature 2013.
nking of setting up a reading group for teenagers. Check out the Reading Agency's Instragrammer in Residence project for something a little bit different. Here are some great tips and hints for running a children's bookclub from the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), the iniative was funded by the Siobhan Dowd Trust. Also see this teaching sequence based on Alexis Deacon's Beegu for years 1 and 2, part of the CLPE's Power of Reading project. The sequence helps children to become deeply involved in the text through creative approaches and develop into more reflective readers, plus it is fully updated to include requirements for the national curriculum 2014. Books to support phonics within a reading curriculum is also a really useful list for a rich reading curriculum.
From book to film and back again is a fantastic guide from FilmClub exploring some of the greatest children's books from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to the action-packed Stormbreaker which have been adapted into films. The idea is to encourage children, especially reluctant readers, to read the original text for themselves after watching the films. Also find From watching to writing.
Random House has created some great teaching activities to inspire children to get into reading. For younger readers, find activity sheets on Shirley Hughes' classic creation Alfie and the Dinosaur that Pooped a Planet.
For seven-to-11 year olds, check out this resource on the fabulous Darcy Burdock books which, despite the pinkish covers, are perfect for boys as well as girls.
For Jacqueline Wilson fans we have activities on The Worst Thing About My Sister, the Victorian era pack, Hetty Feather and Jacky Daydream, where fans can find out all about the author.
Also find resources on RJ Palacio's Wonder, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne and Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co ghost hunting agency.
Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses series is a powerful hook to get reluctant teenagers reading, tackling the issues of racism and prejudice in a world set in an alternate historical reality. Find thought-provoking resources on the first book in the series Noughts and Crosses, and then Knife Edge, Checkmate and Double Cross.
This blog on Drop Everything and Read is an inspirational story about the magic of whole-school reading.
And finally, a date for your diary. The Guardian's Education Centre is running a full-day Reading for Pleasure conference aimed at primary school teachers on 20 March 2014. The lineup of speakers and workshop leaders is yet to be announced but will doubtless be as inspirational as ever. You can find notes on the Reading for Pleasure conferences which will soon be updated with the next itinerary.

Proper reading posture; How To Eliminate Neck, Back and Shoulder Pain When Reading or Typing

Sitting with the right leg height. When you sit in a chair for a long period of time, it is important that blood circulation to your legs continues. To this end, you should sit so that your thighs are parallel to the floor when your lower legs are perpendicular to the floor. In other words, the front of your seat should not cut off the blood supply in your legs. You can always use a little foot platform to lift up your feet and legs, if you need to have your seat higher than otherwise permissible.

Sitting back with proper neck, shoulder and upper back support. It is very important to support your neck and shoulders as you read. Hunching forward is almost guaranteed to cause neck and back pain and reduce your focus, concentration and the amount of time you can read. The proper approach is to sit back with your neck and shoulders supported. This means you are sitting against support just past the vertical position. You will note that your relaxed line of vision rises up when you do this. This is why E-Tool has the book raised up, so as to match your new, relaxed line of vision, now that you are sitting with proper neck and back support. Your seat and the back of your chair should be cushioned.

 

 Head Tilt. Do not bend your head down to read. You should not lower your head to read. This causes a lot of neck stress. Set the height of E-Tool properly for your seat, which you may be able to raise or lower.

Elbows. Do not raise your elbows awkwardly to type. Doing so will cause a lot of stress on your shoulders. Ideally, you should rest your elbows on side rests or side arms, adjusted so that the weight of the arms is off the shoulders.

Wrist position. Ideally, when you type, your forearms and the back of your hands should be all on one flat line. Your laptop can be in your lap, or you can use an extended keyboard if necessary, placed in a comfortable position, like on a lower keyboard tray or on a pillow in your lap. With an extended keyboard, your laptop can be on a table and at some distance from the extended keyboard. If you need to raise your hands and forearms substantially, tilt the back of the keyboard up to compensate, so that the flat line discussed above is maintained.

Forearms. Do not type with your forearms below your armrests. This is also very awkward. If you are sitting in an armchair, place your extended keyboard or laptop on a small pillow or attaché on your lap. This will allow you to use the armrests and type with level forearms. Your mouse can rest on a small side table. You can quickly place the keyboard or laptop on this side table or main table if you need to get up.

Lumbar support. Make sure your lumbar area is supported by a small pillow or bend in the back of your chair. Otherwise, you are going to have pain.

In-Line reading and typing. As you work you should not have to turn your head from left to right. The centers of your keyboard, screen and workspace (for books or papers) should all line up on the same centerline. Turning your head repeatedly is a sure way to hurt yourself and loose concentration and accuracy, especially when editing, transcribing or entering data, or taking notes from reading. Make sure you line up your work elements properly. See many more pictures at E-Tool.

By far the easiest and quickest way for anybody to improve his or her reading concentration is to remove physical discomfort when reading. Also, typing notes as you read greatly increases concentration and comprehension.

Why Reading is So Important?

Why Reading is So Important?
Everyone knows that reading is important, but have you ever asked yourself why that is so? In this post, I will list out 8 reasons why reading is important. I hope you can really find out the reason why reading is so important for you, so you can get a brand new desire to explore the world of reading.

1. Expose Yourself to New Things

Through reading, you expose yourself to new things, new information, new ways to solve a problem, and new ways to achieve one thing. Who knows – you might find your new hobbies within it. Who knows – you might actually explore one thing you really like and it may end up becoming your career and success in the future. Exploration begins from reading and understanding.

2. Self Improvement

Reading does help you form a better you, doesn’t it?  Through reading, you begin understand the world more. Through reading, you begin to have a greater understanding on a topic that interest you; for example: how to build self confidence, how to make plan better before taking action, how to memorize things better and more. All of these self improvements start from the reading; through reading, you create a structured path towards a better understanding and better actions to take in the future.

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.  -Charles W. Elio-

3. Improve Understanding

The more you read, the more you understand one thing: the A to Z of a thing. Let me give an example here: reading allows you learn more about crocodiles and their habits. That you need to be aware of places it usually lurks for, the purpose of staying away from being harmed or bitten. Or perhaps you can try by real life experience, in approaching the crocodile, to see what happen. It can also help you find out the truth of something, right? Reading also increases the understanding of the rules of life, in order for you to adapt, adopt and accommodate into the society better. To play well in a game, you first need to understand the rules well.

4. Preparation to Action

Before you take action on anything, where should you seek for help and guidance? Reading is an essential way which can help you out. In today’s world, getting reviews and feedback from other people can make a big impact on your next decision, and the pros and cons of each choice. Read about how to cook a meal; how to play chess; which place is nice for the holiday family trip; read the menu before ordering food, read the manual before using a new gadget. These all can help you become more prepared before you really get into it.
Read > Learn > Do > Achieve

Reading is a starting step of many things, which build a more solid stairs for you to climb up achieving something big out there.

5. Gain Experience from Other People

When you are reading, you are actually gaining the knowledge and experience of someone. It can hasten your success towards a goal, as you don’t need to repeat the same mistake while focusing on the right path in achieving one thing. It’s like a mountain of gems for you to discover in books, which contain people’s successes, failures and advice. Life is too short for you to keep repeating the mistakes that had been done by other people in the past, in order for you to reach the results that someone might already reached. There are more than four thousand billionaires and 12 million millionaires today. To become one of them, the first thing is to learn and get to know their past, what they did in the past that makes them where they are today. Reading is a great path to get to know them, and learn from these great people.

The art of reading is in great part that of acquiring a better understanding of life from one’s encounter with it in a book.  | André Maurois

6. Tools of Communicating

Communication is the most important tool which can be transmitted through reading. As you communicate through reading, you understand more, and thus you can communicate better with people. As with a person that knows nothing, he hasn’t had anything to share, and he probably doesn’t even understand what people are sharing. Through reading, you build a more solid foundation for communication. It is one of the most important tools we use every day to connect with each other. Whereas if you don’t read, you can’t even connect with the world and what people are talking about out there, including understanding what this article is all about. Reading connects you with the world.

7. Connecting Your Brain

When reading, you’re in full silence because reading connects directly to your brain. In silence, you seek for more; in silence, your brain is clear and focuses. Thus, you learn and grow, and therefore you feel and see from the point of view of the author about everything in life. Hence you shape a better self.

Because silence exists with total abandon, it is fearless. Because silence is fearless, it holds the power that can break through any barrier. | On Silence

8. Boost Imagination and Creativity

Reading exposes you to a world of imagination, showing you nothing is impossible in this world. By reading, you are exploring a different angle to see a thing you’ve known, on how different action leads to different results. Books are beyond imagination. It’s like a huge spider web, where you keep linking to more and more to things you knew, and things you just learn, structuring  new solutions and answers.
So in your opinion, why is reading so important to you?

How to Start a Reading Group

Culled from http://www.fastcompany.com/bookclub/group.html

Finding Interested Participants

Within Your Organization: Ask colleagues within your department, or from other departments throughout the company to participate.
In Your Community: Ask family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, members of professional associations to which you belong, colleagues in other organizations in your field, members of your church or synagogue, or members of other types of groups to participate. You might also explore one of the Fast Company Book Club Meetup events.

The Ideal Number of Participants

The ideal size for a lively discussion is around six to ten people, assuming that it is a highly participative group. When deciding how many members to include in your group, however, you must take into account other factors, such as hectic schedules, unanticipated conflicts, or varying interest in topics chosen. Such factors will mean that, often, 3 or 4 people may be unable to attend a given meeting. Hence, the best strategy is to have enough people join the group so that at each meeting you are assured approximately 6 to 8 participants. Consider having a total membership of 10 to 12 to insure optimum attendance at every meeting. (Within a company, you may choose to make the group larger, or have more than one group. If you do choose to have more than one group, you might consider focusing each on a topic or topics of mutual concern, such as teams, customer service, leadership, performance, etc.).

How Often Should You Meet?

For most groups, meeting more than once a month would be a struggle, and if you meet less, the group will never get any momentum going. If your group s purpose is professional or organization development, however, you might find that people are motivated to meet more often. It is a good idea to meet on some predictable day, such as the first Wednesday of every month.

Where Should You Meet?

If this is a group within one organization, you could choose a conference room within the company's offices. If it is a professional (and/or personal) development group not connected to any one organization or meeting outside the organization, you could rotate among members' homes or use library rooms, local community centers, conference rooms in offices, large bookstores, churches, synagogues, etc. Of course, online discussions are a possibility for all types of groups.

How Much Will it Cost?

There are various costs associated with having a reading group, depending on how you choose to do things. Obviously, the books cost money (quantity discounts may be available from participating bookstores and members of the consortium).
Also, if you are not connected to one organization and meet outside of work, and if you mail out reminders, there are the costs of printing and mailing. If you provide refreshments, there are more costs. An e-mail list or phone tree can be fairly simple to set up and easy to administer, thus saving on paper and mailing costs. And pot-luck dinners can be simple and cheap, plus may be a big help to busy members who find it difficult to find time to eat before the meeting.
If your organization is not covering the costs, you could ask members for a one-time fee to cover six months of postage, snacks, etc. Or, ask each member to supply self-addressed-stamped envelopes.

Members' Responsibilities

Of course, the most obvious responsibility of members is to read the book. Other ground rules should be discussed among the group at the first meeting. The discussion might include issues of punctuality. At what time will meetings begin and end? What are the expectations of group members regarding level and consistency of participation (what if members have to miss a session? what if they miss several in a row? what if someone only comes once in a while?) How will we deal with the cost issues? If outside of work, should members be allowed to bring their children? Are guests allowed?
It is a good idea to discuss all of these issues at the first meeting of the group and to make decisions, as a group, about such things as location, food, cost-sharing, how books will be chosen, whether there will be one facilitator or if the role will rotate among members, as well as the issues mentioned above.

The Role of the Facilitator

The facilitator may be the same person each time, or members may choose a rotation system for the role, depending on the needs and wants of the group. The facilitator is responsible for:

• Monitoring start and stop times
• Encouraging dialogue from all participants
• Reviewing the book carefully for specific discussion topics
• Identifying the next facilitator if the group uses a rotation for the facilitator role

Questions to ask at the first meeting

• Where will we meet?
• When will we meet?
• How will we notify people of meeting locations, times, and reading selections?
• What are the costs involved and how will we divide them up?
• How will we choose books to read?
• What are our basic ground rules?
• Will we have a single facilitator or will the role rotate among members?
• How will we purchase the books, individually or as a group?

WHY START A READING CLUB

 http://www.fastcompany.com/bookclub/group.html

Why Start a Reading Group?

Start a Book Club

Put the Leading-Edge Business Practices You Read About to Use in Your Work and in Your Organization.

Why Start a Reading Group?

In today's turbulent and rapidly changing work world, we are confronted with a constant blur of new information and new ideas. Surviving in this competitive world means keeping up with new ideas about the organizations in which we work and about the way work gets done.
Do ever you wish there was a forum in your organization for discussing the newest trends and ideas in the business world? Do you wish you could explore the leading-edge business practices you read about with others in your company? Do you wish you could set aside a few hours every month to connect with like-minded coworkers or to get to know others in your business community?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the answer is simple: Start a business book reading group in your organization or business community. Joining with others in a reading group not only provides impetus for keeping up with the latest business books, but even more important, being part of a reading group can stimulate your own thinking, providing the opportunity for greater insight on how new ideas or theories might be put to practical use in your own work and in your organization.

FORMING A READING LIST

Culled from  http://lifehacker.com/5807774/how-to-create-an-awesome-summer-reading-list

Before you jump straight into building your list, a few quick tips and considerations.

• First, tackle your reading backlog: If you have books you've been meaning to read for ages but haven't gotten around to them, sift through your pile to make sure you still want to read each of them; purge the ones you honestly will never read but which may have been weighing heavily on you or preventing you from finding new books. If you still want to read the books in your pile someday, you may just need a broader mix of book genres—keep this in mind when building this year's reading list.
• Look for the right types of books based on your available time: If you don't have a lot of time to read, consider looking for novellas, graphic novels, or collections of short stories, essays, or poetry. When searching for new books, you can filter for these book types. On the other hand, if you have a long summer vacation week coming up, add more engrossing or longer books to your list.
• Tap your friends: When it comes to book recommendations, your friends are a great bet. After all, they know you and share common interests.

If your friends aren't readers, or you'd like to branch out, you can find other like-minded readers via book recommendation engines and book trading sites, as well as online social networks and blogs (e.g., Lifehacker). Here's a look at your many options. Now on to the less obvious stuff that—hopefully—will yield you some great results.

Take advantage of social book sites

Sites suchas https://www.librarything.com/, https://www.goodreads.com/etc

Build your book list on the shoulders of giants

Speaking of book lists, another way to build your reading list—for this summer or for a lifetime—is by going through lists of great books that critics, authors, or scholars have curated. Robert Teeter's Great Books Lists is a master list of book lists. You'll find Harold Bloom's list of books for the Western Canon, Anthony Burgess' selection of the best 99 novels since 1939, the New York Public Library's Books of the Century, and many other book lists.

In hardcopy, check out For the Love of Books, edited by Ronald Shwartz, which features the most-loved books of 115 famous writers.

Find book recommendations from social networks and blogs

Social sites like Facebook or LinkedIn or sites with an active community of like-minded people (like Lifehacker) can also help you build a better reading list. A Mensa networking group on LinkedIn, for example, compiled this list of books members would recommend to anyone. And over 250 Lifehacker readers helped with the curating of this list of life-changing books.

Use your local library

Your local library is another excellent and often under-used resource. Specifically, take advantage of your local librarian—someone whose job is to recommend and help you find the right book(s). Help your librarian help you by coming in knowing your favorite authors, subjects, genres, or what your want to get out of your book selection. Some libraries' online sites also provide reading list recommendations and advanced services like Fiction Connection.

Explore, and be open to serendipity

Finally, don't discount pure luck. There's nothing like browsing a bookstore's shelves (or, better yet, bargain bin) and coming away with a new favorite author or book or two. (I discovered two of my favorite writers, Margaret Atwood and Mark Strand, at library book sales, taking a chance simply after reading a few passages).