Local Post for None Readers Friends

People who can't read don't know about this unless you tell them. We take reading for granted.

I am disabled and spent a lot of time at home. I have stuff to do so I'm not idle.

I can set aside an hour or so to help someone learn to read. One-on-one. I have taught a couple of men who were in their forties or fifties (I didn't ask) since I started having to stay home.

I do not teach folks who cannot watch their tongue. No smoking in the house. Stuff like that.

I can teach someone who wants to learn. First they must admit, at least to themselves, that they cannot read and need help. It is amazing how well non-readers are at hiding the fact. That makes them pretty smart. I've been around people for years and did not know that they could not read.

My methods may be different from a professional. Because I teach older people, I explain a lot about words. I show them how the words are broken down. I explain the difference in how people say words. You know what we read is not how we say it. We do shortcuts and that means the words in books don't look like the words we hear.

So, if you have a loved one or friend who can spend some time with me during the hours that my wife is at work (10 hrs Tues-Fri right now), I will give it a whirl to try to teach them. It won't be a college degree but they will be able to read children's books and find the bathroom in a public place that does not have pictures.

It takes three for a person to learn to read: the learner, the teacher and most important, the one who gets them to the teacher.

As I said, I am not a professtional but I care.

Impact by Douglas Preston - Book Review

Impact by Douglas Preston, A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 2009, 364 pages.

I'm very mixed on this book. I would not read it again. The plot is very interesting but the book is laced with profanity. I therefore cannot recommend it to anyone of whatever age.

A strange thing has happened from outer space, in particularly a planet in our solar system. The story takes the star around the world but the mystery is ultimately solved by a surprising character. It involves politics, jungles, boats and planets so obviously there is something for everyone including some jabs at religion.

Mister Preston would be a writer I would follow if he could clean up his act and stop talking like someone from the back alleys.