Books

The Great American Read-Aloud gave books a voice, and it gave many shoppers something different to do at the Springfield Mall on April 24. The event was sponsored by the Delaware County Library.

Do children really read the books on those recommended reading lists? This year at E. T. Richardson Middle School in Springfield, the chances are good that they will. Tuesday, a group of 90 seventh graders compiled a Best Books list of their favorite books in four genres. "These are truly the books they have read and loved," said Gail Outlaw, an English teacher. The project was coordinated by Outlaw and librarian Jenny Pittman, who were looking for ways to nudge students into reading more.

Nearly 4 1/2 pounds of cocaine with a street value of about $1 million was discovered inside four hollowed-out reference books mailed to the Romance languages department of the University of Pennsylvania, narcotics investigators said yesterday. The discovery was made Friday by a graduate student in the language department's mailroom who noticed that the box containing the four books had been opened previously. Each of the hollowed-out books contained a plastic-wrapped package of the illegal drug, police said.

Reading. It takes you to a different place and a different time. It allows you to discover new worlds and meet new people. For the experienced reader, the unfamiliar is sometimes the intriguing. But for the beginner, the familiar sometimes has more appeal. Personalized children's books - which make the reader, his family and friends main characters throughout the plot - were developed more than 25 years ago. Educators thought they had found the key to opening the world of reading to youngsters.

Edwin Guthman's excellent column about making use of Philadelphia's history (Op-ed Page, Aug. 3) may be a bit late. How many people know or care that the Franklin Institute is deaccessioning the greatest collection of technical and scientific books of the 19th century? Anyone doing research will have to search the country for information that once was all in one place. Some books may disappear from public use forever. If the public knew of the plight of the institute and its historical library, it might come to its aid. But the books will be gone just when you have discovered Victorian Philadelphia.

A growing trend among schoolchildren today really bothers Dawud Salaam. "They have no homework," he said of his two sons. "How can you advance yourself if there's no homework?" Salaam recalls school days when students brought home textbooks and daily assignments. But the problem isn't the homework. It's the books. Or, more precisely, the lack of them. Salaam's sons - students at Benjamin Franklin High at Broad and Green streets in North Philadelphia - have classes in which books are used only in class, then collected at the end of the period.

The Rev. Jesse Brown, pastor of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Strawberry Mansion, blesses Richard Hayes, 5, one of a handful of children to make the trade. The exchange was held on the eve of today's Martin Luther King's Birthday observance.

If Barbara Tuchman's books breathe life into history, then audio recordings of them go a step further - they make history jump and shout. In fact, Tuchman, the author and historian who died last week at age 77, once said she used to read her works aloud whenever possible to make sure the writing was accessible and easy to understand. Now others have read her works aloud. Books on Tape has seven of her titles, Recorded Books has five. There's The Guns of August, which recounts the drama of the first month of World War I - August 1914.

The sports books of Nevada endured pretty much an up-and-down day on NFL games depending on whether the games were played early or late. The favorites went 5-3 in the early games, a result not good for the books, and 1-2 in the afternoon, which was good - to a point. Dan O'Brien, the senior oddsmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants, said although the favored Pittsburgh Steelers did not cover a three-point spread in their 24-20 loss to Indianapolis, bettors had some love for the Colts.

IT'S TIME FOR Tattle's favorite book list of the year: the annual list of "challenged books" released by the American Library Association. Why is it our favorite? Because it's a good measuring stick for how nutty the country has gotten. At a time when parents and teachers should be happy if a child takes a few minutes away from texting, sexting and Wii to read any book, these are the books most complained about by people who have nothing better to do than complain about books.