Q&A: ideas to turn information into inspiration



	VOLUME 2 ISSUE 20

What was the age of the world's youngest author?

A. 4 years old
B. 6 years old
C. 9 years old
D. 12 years old

Click here for the answer.

13 June 1967 - Thurgood Marshall is nominated as the first African American justice to the United States Supreme Court

25 June 1950 - Korean conflict begins when North Korea invades South Korea.

27 June 1872 – Author Paul Lawrence Dunbar is born.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Hot reads in the summertime

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Summer's slower pace and lower demands mean — finally! — time to read what you want. The chance to read for pleasure may lead you to explore new content. Or this may be the perfect time to improve your enjoyment by becoming a better reader. Either way, Questia can help you use this summer to make reading a breeze.

When you don't have to work from an assigned reading list, you can make up your own. Questia's Reading Room is a great place to start. Here you can find fascinating reads of topical interest such as Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations and Painting without Permission: Hip-Hop Graffiti Subculture. Switch gears with A Cowboy Detective: A True Story of Twenty-Two Years with a World-Famous Detective Agency, Tramps like Us: Music & Meaning among Springsteen Fans and Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made. Or depart from the everyday with such intriguing reads as The Dragon Seekers: How an Extraordinary Circle of Fossilists Discovered the Dinosaurs and Paved the Way for Darwin or The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings.

Do you find reading a chore? You may simply need to ramp up your skills. In Brain Train: Studying for Success, Richard Palmer says "anyone can learn to read fast and efficiently" and offers tips to improve your speed and comprehension. Visit Mind Tools to learn how to break poor habits which make reading tedious and inefficient. Then, armed with your new competency, check out Listening to the Page: Adventures in Reading and Writing. Author Alan Cheuse's love for reading is positively contagious and may encourage you to become, like him, "a promiscuous reader."

Search tools for avid readers

Are you always on the lookout for a great read? A recommendation by a friend or acquaintance can be one place to start. But if you'd like to explore a wider range of choices or different perspectives, you may want to check out the resources available online – and there are many.

We've taken some of the legwork out of your treasure hunt by identifying several excellent sites to help you find and evaluate books of any genre and subject for readers of all ages. Click here to find a great book to satisfy your craving.
Do it Write

Want to be a better writer? "Read, read, read."

Those words come from author William Faulkner, who also said, "Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write."

Faulkner's advice, which is echoed by many successful writers, leads off a useful resource developed by the Chicago Public Library for writers of just about every skill level, type and genre.

To learn about the books CPL feels might help you develop your writing chops, click here. Ask Nancy

Dear Nancy,

Is there any way to "browse the shelves" of Questia to get a quick sense of a particular book?

Looking in London

Click here for Nancy's response.