This collection of essays explores two interpretations of "reading and the individual." One interpretation concerns the effect reading has upon an individual's self-concept and his total personality; the second interpretation relates to the methods used in teaching reading, recognizing the peculiar needs, interests, desires, abilities, and backgrounds of the students. The volume is divided into two parts. Part One contains papers concerned with the kinds of individual differences found among students, ways of identifying and meeting individual differences in reading, and different patterns of classroom and school organization in which teachers may work to meet these differences. Part Two includes papers related to individualizing reading instruction for particular groups of students: retarded readers, nonacademic students, the mentally retarded, Afro-Americans, and Mexican-Americans. Three of these papers include suggestions for individualizing instruction in listening, spelling, and writing. (Author/DI)