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Q. We have an English-style leather sofa that we have used and enjoyed for 15 years. The leather, a mottled brown and black, now appears dry and dull. Is it possible to give it some shine? I'd like to do the work myself. Columbia A. If the leather just looks dull and dry but hasn't cracked, you should be able to restore the luster by applying a rub-on leather conditioner. The treatment won't fix leather that's begun to crack, however. If you're not sure about how far gone the leather is, you can e-mail pictures (including...

I support the plea from Lecester Johnson and Terri Lee Freeman to increase funding to adult literacy within the D.C. budget [" Why D.C. should put literacy at the head of the line ," Local Opinions, May 12], and I thank the Academy of Hope and the Community Foundation for all they do to support many critical programs. However, oneaspect of the literacy crisis in the District deserves to be carved out. Nearly half the people categorized as functionally illiterate in the city read below the fifth-grade level, making it impossible...

The first time I read " Jane Eyre ," I was 32 and teaching it to an energetic class of high school freshmen. After months of male-oriented fare such as " The Odyssey ," " A Separate Peace " and " Lord of the Flies ," most of the girls soaked up this stirring story of a young woman's struggles, but predictably the boys cried, "Unjust! Unjust!" Revolt was a dangerous possibility (and I knew I'd be the Piggy character). I either had to persuade these guys to enjoy Charlotte...

It's been four years now since our last encounter with Robert Langdon, the be-tweeded hero who has Da Vinci'd and Demon-ed his way through three previous Dan Brown page-rippers. Brown's last book, " The Lost Symbol ," came out in 2009, smack in the vortex of a Brownado — a whirling era of "Da Vinci Code" European tour packages and Tom Hanks's second cinematic turn as the lank-haired Harvard symbologist. "The Lost Symbol" seemed of the moment and of particularly heightened American interest, set as it was in D.C. Tuesday marks...

It's been four years now since our last encounter with Robert Langdon, the be-tweeded hero who has Da Vinci'd and Demon-ed his way through three previous Dan Brown page-rippers. Brown's last book, " The Lost Symbol ," came out in 2009, smack in the vortex of a Brownado — a whirling era of "Da Vinci Code" European tour packages and Tom Hanks's second cinematic turn as the lank-haired Harvard symbologist. "The Lost Symbol" seemed of the moment and of particularly heightened American interest, set as it was in D.C. Tuesday marks...

Bernhard Schlink's highly regarded novel "The Reader" receives a graceful, absorbing screen adaptation by director Stephen Daldry ("The Hours"), who conveys a technically and morally complicated story with consummate skill and smoothness. Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes deliver fine performances as the tortured souls at the center of "The Reader's" wrenching portrait of Germany reckoning with its Nazi past. But the standout here is 18-year-old German actor David Kross, whose portrayal of a teenage Michael Berg suggests a promising...

As a D.C.-based artist and arts activist, I was pleased to read your article regarding art collecting [ Art on a Budget, March 30 ]. While there are any number of artists and art entities in our region, for future reference, Art Enables [ http://www.art-enables.org ] features wonderful and extremely moderately priced "outsider" artwork. -- Richard L. Dana, Bethesda

Beginning today, this page is the new home for news, sports and entertainment information on Loudoun County. Here you'll find top news stories from around the county, and links to news about Loudoun from around the Web. The Loudoun event calendar will continue housing information about community events in the area, and you can search for more nightlife events in Loudoun and elsewhere using the Going Out Guide. The guide also has reviews on the top restaurants in Loudoun and around the region.

Dear readers: The world has changed, and we at The Post must change with it. We have been privileged to have had the service of many talented ombudsmen (and women) who have addressed readers' concerns, answered their questions and held The Post to the highest standards of journalism. Those duties are as critical today as ever. Yet it is time that the way these duties are performed evolves. We will appoint a reader representative shortly to address our readers' concerns and questions.

When The Washington Post decided to have an important meeting about ways to improve the lives of children and families, it invited Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey and KidsPost reader Rosa Kirk-Davidoff. Rosa, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Oakland Mills Middle School in Howard County, regularly enters our contests and offers opinions on issues, including girls going to school in Afghanistan and if we should continue making pennies . On Tuesday, Rosa, who is vice...

"Seduction: a Novel of Suspense" (Atria Books), by M.J. Rose "Seduction," M.J. Rose's follow-up to her acclaimed "The Book of Lost Fragrances," seduces the reader from the very first page. Rose creates an enticing thriller based on French writer Victor Hugo's reaction to the death of his 19-year-old daughter, Didine. Hugo initiates seances in the hope of contacting her. "Seduction" also focuses on the present day with the return of Jac L'Etoile, the mythologist from "The Book of Lost Fragrances.

Crisp, flaky, lemony, effortless: These are the attributes that sum up readers' most-viewed Washington Post recipes online for April: 1. Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust . When you find the right dough to hold your favorite pie filling, the world's a happier place. This one is a perennial winner, from Rose Levy Beranbaum. 2. Everona Market Crackers . The first of two recipes featured in a DIY package of salt and cracker articles . This one's from Pat Elliott of Everona Dairy in...

Adapted from a recent online discussion. As promised Monday , some readers' definitions of unhelpful help with a newborn: ●Didn't cook. Didn't clean. Didn't hold the baby. Didn't do laundry. Went out when the baby was sleeping so I could "rest," when what I needed was someone to stay with him so I could rest. My husband worked, shopped, cooked, cleaned and did laundry for all of us while I made my way into insomnia and postpartum depression. ●When my second child was born, my...

A couple of weeks ago, Leona Lowery got a note in the mail that came very close to being a shot through the heart. It was from one of the directors of the prestigious Ihlombe! South African Choral Festival. The event's organizers knew Lowery's choir at Northwestern High School was working very hard to raise the money, the director wrote, but they just couldn't wait any longer. "They were about to drop us. They wrote this long letter telling us they have to pay the bills for the festival and...

While I'm away, readers give the advice. On envying friends' success: 1. Get rid of your TV — for mountains of reasons that become obvious when you think about it. 2. Cultivate a few friends who value giving and who believe living lightly on Earth is a better goal than acquiring. There are a lot of us. 3. Focus on what you can do to make the world a better place. Even a tiny improvement helps. I made the transition 30 years ago and still wake up with a smile...

While I'm away, readers give the advice. On dating outside your race: I never considered myself a racist, and I promise you many of my friends are of just about every race and color in the world. Then one day my daughter introduced me to her new boyfriend. He was about as nice a guy as you would ever hope your daughter would bring home. He was African American. It was then I found I indeed did have a problem. I banned her from dating him. That is not a...

To mark the Federal Diary's 80th birthday last month, we've been running a column from each decade since the Diary began . We asked for reader comment, and here are some of the responses. Glad I saw your recent column about the history of the Federal Diary. I hadn't known it started five months and eight days after I was born. Where does the time go? (How original of me). Since I joined the federal service in March of 1964 at the Goddard Space Flight Center, where I am still employed as a contractor (since 2005)

We recently asked Deal Hunter readers for pointers on yard sales, and some savvy bargain-hunters were quick to provide their tips. We excerpt some of their best advice: ●"Pick a specific geography on Friday night and formulate a route by searching Craigslist and [Washington Post] classifieds. You can . . . search homeowners' association Web sites," says Kate Schwarz of Fairfax. If you can't take an item right away, arrange for pick-up later or offer the seller extra cash to deliver it. ●Two readers — Jeff...

While I'm away, readers give the advice. On abusive parents who cover their tracks: My mother created a public persona to our community and church of a sweet, giving, loving, tender mother. This was a facade for the vicious, verbally, emotionally and physically abusive person she was and remains, albeit slowed and mellowed a bit by age. Two of her six children died prematurely due to alcoholism from the abuse that fractured their psyches. I moved 750 miles away so I'm...

While I'm away, readers give the advice. On getting through to your teenager without harping: One thing my father did all throughout my teen years was take a walk with me after dinner. He said HE needed to get some more exercise and was more likely to get it if he had company. I enjoyed having 45 minutes of his time every night. I knew I would have a chance to talk to my dad every evening. More to the point, I knew that time was important to him. I was important to...