Reading | featured news

Many babies at 9 months old are just starting to stand up. Some take their first steps. But, reading? At 9 months? Really?

Scores on the critical reading portion of the SAT college entrance exam fell three points to their lowest level on record last year, and combined reading and math scores reached their lowest point since 1995. The College Board, which released the scores Wednesday, said the results reflect the record number of students from the high school class of 2011 who took the exam and the growing diversity of the test-taking pool -- particularly Hispanics. As more students aim for college and take the exam, it tends to drag down average scores.

In the midst of an essay on teaching long-form reading that’s well worth your time, Alan Jacobs sticks in a little tidbit about how the Kindle saved him from losing the ability to read books.

Last week, a consortium of Dutch publishers unveiled the so called “delay app”, which allows the reader to choose a story to read while waiting. It allows the user to chose a story from a well-known Dutch author to match the time you spent waiting, from 5 to 60 minutes. It still has some issues: the app contains a certain amount of stories so no new content can be added and it is only for the iPad and iphone.

College towns are prime spots for readers, according to a new study released by Amazon.com.

“Texas uses fourth grade reading scores to project the number of prison cells they’re going need 10 years later.”

Study shows reading scores improve when kids get a stack of 12 books at the end of the school year.

Amazon announces a new version of the Kindle, called the DX, aimed at reading documents and newspapers.

Bed has always been a place I can't get enough of: the sex; the sleep; cozy afternoons reading; lazy Saturday mornings listening to hyper neighbors mow their lawns.