Read A Book

WASHINGTON -- The ruckus being raised by conservative Christians over the University of North Carolina's decision to ask incoming students to read a book about the Quran -- to stimulate a campus debate -- surely has to be one of the most embarrassing moments for America since Sept. 11. Why? Because it exhibits such profound lack of understanding of what America is about, and it exhibits such a chilling mimicry of what the most repressive Arab Muslim states are about. Ask yourself this question: What would Osama bin Laden do if he found out that the University of Riyadh had asked incoming freshmen to read the New and Old Testaments?

"Do you like horses? Then you will enjoy Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan. This is a book that is interesting and sad. First, Charlotte's parents ride a horse down the hill with a baby and they crash into a boulder on a stormy night. A great sacrifice happens to save the baby. To find out more, you should read the book." -- Michael Spanos Joppa View Elementary "I read a book called Grizzly by Gary Paulsen. I would not recommend this book for kids younger than third-grade because it might give them nightmares, but I would recommend it for older kids because it will help them get into chapter and non-picture books.

An interview with Peggy Moore, founding member of The Saturday Club book club. How did your club get started? I'm one of the original members. There are six members. ... We were friends, and we got together in September of 1992. It's called the Saturday Club, and we meet the last Saturday of each month from September to June. We do not meet during the summer. What book are members reading this month? Our latest is Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler. How did you chose that book?

SALISBURY - CANDIS Earp is beginning to get the hang of it. She's sitting at a table with five other Wicomico Middle School sixth-graders, and they're discussing Wilma Unlimited, Kathleen Krull's biography of Olympic runner Wilma Rudolph. It's the first of a few days Candis and her classmates will spend reading and discussing the book, and reading specialist Jane A. Long is asking the pupils to look at the cover drawing of Rudolph in full stride, then predict what will happen. "I think it'll be about a racer," says Candis.

An interview with the Rev. Richard Tillman, who has been leading the book club at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Columbia for 24 years. Do all of your book club members attend your church? A lot of folks come that are not members of the parish. ... We have a couple of Jewish people, a number of Protestant people. Do you concentrate on a certain kind of book? Not necessarily. We started years ago with Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People, which was a best seller 20-25 years ago. ... There have been some books that reflect a religious theme, but for the most part, they're more popular books.

Two years ago, as Margery Couper contemplated what she hoped would be the gloriously frivolous summer between high school and college, she was shocked to find that Goucher College had other ideas. As an incoming freshman, she had to read a book - specifically, Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - and arrive on campus in the fall prepared for an in-depth discussion with her new classmates. "I was pretty mad," Couper, 20, and now a junior, remembers with a laugh.

An interview with Ginny Van Brunt, co-founder of Steel Magnolias book club. What book are members reading this month? We're reading Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation. The story is about World War II from the [point of view of the] soldiers who have come back. Does your group focus on a certain kind of book? We all personally like a certain kind of book, but as a group, no. ... One of the things that the members like is the fact that because we all get to choose a book ... a lot of times we read a book we never would have picked up ourselves.

"The book I have just enjoyed reading is `The Gold Cadillac' by Mildred Taylor. This story is about an African- American family who purchase their first brand-new Cadillac in the early 1960s - a symbol of pride and success. The car takes the family on an emotional trip back in time."- Jannah Sutton Roland Park Elementary "I read a book called `The Monster' by Jeanne Willis. In it, a baby monster is scared of humans. His mom says there are no such thing as humans; they are only in stories.

Tonight, tens of millions are expected to watch the final episode of the second installment of "Survivor." Tomorrow, tens of millions will gab about the ending, second-guessing how it all came down to Colby and Keith and Tina, and how they knew all along that Colby (or Keith or Tina) would be the final winner. The rest of us - those we'll call the Conavida Tribe (roughly translated as "Tribe With-a-Life") - have two choices. We can draw ourselves up haughtily and sneer, "Oh, I don't own a television machine."

Editor's Note: Jerdine Nolen discusses the importance of variety in reading material. How do you travel great distances without ever leaving the safety and comfort of home? By reading a wide variety of books, you can embark upon incredible journeys as far as the final frontier (space) or far within the core of our own Earth. Reading gives us wings to fly or mining tools to dig. It also entertains, enlightens and informs us. Of course, we can do that by watching television, too. But TV shows are someone else's visual and auditory ideas.