He wants to write it like a police procedural, and has been reading novels by the best-selling crime writer Michael Connelly to study the genre.

WSJ: Seth Grahame-Smith: The Master of the Mash-Up

The global rankings are the result of two studies - the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).

BBC: Northern Ireland is 'best in Europe' at primary maths

The researchers looked at data on children featured in the British Cohort Study - a large group of people born in April 1970 - to look at the link between reading and maths scores at age 10, and earnings at ages 30, 34 and 38.

BBC: Maths skills add up to higher earnings, study finds

According to a recent study from the National Center for Education Statistics, African-American students continue to score significantly lower in reading and math than their white counterparts.

CNN: Obama: We must fix education in black communities

This was a small-scale study, but Prof Nicolson says the results are on a par with those achieved by the large-scale reading recovery scheme in the early 1990s.

BBC: News | Education | Catching up with reading

Because they're volunteer-based, and because each state uses different methods to measure reading level, doing a nationwide study would be difficult.

CNN: Learning to read? Try talking to a dog

According to a new study conducted by research firm PlayScience and Digital Book World, nearly 40% of parents who have e-reading children aged 2-to-13 plan on buying them some sort of e-reading device this holiday season.

FORBES: Buying Your Kids E-Readers, Tablets and Ebooks This Holiday Season

The McClellan Oscillator, a statistical study of money entering and leaving the New York Stock Exchange, closed at -317 on Wednesday, the most oversold reading since May 20, 2010, when it reached -420.

FORBES: Stocks Bounce Off Lows, So What's Next?