Mathew White wrote:

> I'm gathering a list of tips-very brief statements about what goes
> well when running an extensive reading component/program.... We're
> hoping to sprinkle these through a special edition on
> extensive reading in The Language Teacher.... Please send the tips to
> me at <matspaldingwhite@...> .... Of course, I'm sure the tips
> would be appreciated on this list as well.

Here are a couple for you, Mathew. Feel free to edit them down if
they're not brief enough. If anyone has a suggestion for improvement
(e.g., you think 200 books is enough for a genre library; or you have a
genre missing from the list below) please send it in.

If you have a large library--say 400 books or more--consider shelving
it by genre. Books can then be subdivided from easy to difficult
within each genre. The genres categories you choose will depend on
your students, their interests and age--some possible ones are
Adventure; Animal Stories; Comedy; Fairytales; Ghost & Horror; Human
Drama; Movies; Non-Fiction (which can be further divided into
Biography, Business, History; Travel, Sport); Romance; Science Fiction;
Short Stories; Thriller. Pencil the genre in the back cover of each
book to make reshelving easier. Consider shelving the very easiest
books separately and outside the genre divisions.

Jim Trelease coined the phrase "home run" book: a book so satisfying
that you are turned on to reading at a stroke. Books like these should
be where any learner can find them, so every library can benefit from a
special display of its most popular books. Ideally, there is a
prominent rack, carousel or shelf where these very special books can be
honored and displayed with their front covers showing. Mark home run
books inside the back cover to ease reshelving. What are the home run
books for your students at the moment? Two of mine are "The Cay" by
Theodore Taylor (Penguin) and "Eddy and the Movie Star" by Elizabeth
Laird (Macmillan).

Julian Bamford (Bunkyo University) Beginner/Low-Intermediate level
students mostly.

And a question for everyone on this list: what are the home run books
in your extensive reading library at the moment?

--Julian