READING L.A.

Bob Smith, historian:

“One Worm,” by Jim Kalin (Russian Hill Press).

“Kalin takes the reader on a river trip with echos of Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness,’ except that this river is the Cuyahoga and his destination is a nightclub called ‘Hell’ in Cleveland. It makes me realize that we all live in Cleveland and ‘Hell’ is just around the corner.”

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Tony Christopher, theme park design executive:

“Arabian Nights,” by Richard Burton, edited by Jack Zipes (NAL Dutton).

“I’d love to adapt these tales into a spectacular Las Vegas show. Each deals with the perils and fortunes that people face in life where as one tale says, ‘Not every wise man is saved by his wisdom, nor is every fool lost by his folly.’ ”

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Joyce Gordon, reading specialist:

“There’s Room For Me: Literacy Workshop in the Middle School” By Janet Allen and Kyle Gonzalez (Stenhouse Publishers).

“I’ve been an educator for 32 years, and I know schools are challenged to find room for kids who can’t read and write. Yet by focusing on kids’ unique interests, Allen and Gonzalez open all the right doors.”

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Rose Uyehara, management analyst:

“The Island of the Color Blind,” by Oliver Sacks (Alfred A. Knopf).

“Imagine living in a world without color. Sacks does and writes beautifully about the islanders in Micronesia who are born with achromatopsia and live most effectively at night in a world of texture and shapes.”