Deanne SpearsDeanne Spears is originally from Portland, Oregon. She now considers herself a native Californian, having moved to Los Angeles when freeways and smog were relatively new concepts. During her childhood and adolescence, she spent carefree summers i na mall farming community in northwest Iowa. After receiving a B.A. and an M.A. in comparative literature from the University of Southern California, she began teaching composition and reading at City College of San Francisco. She continues to tutor students in reading and composition and to conduct teacher-preparation workshops for the college. In addition to her primary interests - reading and studying Italian - she and her husband David enjoy cooking, watching movies (there are over 100 titles in their Netflix queue), kayaking in Princeton Harbor, camping (especially in the Gold Lakes Basin area of Northern California), and searching out inexpensive ethnic restaurants. Deanne is the author of Improving Reading Skills (7th edition, 2013) and, with David Spears, In Tandem: College Reading and Writing (2007), also published by McGraw-Hill. Read More Read Less