BOOKS FOR ALL AGES: We’ve thrown together a collection of book-related articles throughout this week’s Summer Reading issue, including an interview with UCSB sociologist Victor Rios about his work on gangs and a few updates on Santa Barbara’s hometown authors. There’s also a profile of Max Kornell, a former graphic designer for The Independent who went on to teach 1st grade down in Los Angeles. This summer, Kornell — who is illustrated above in this self-portrait — published his first children’s book, Bear with Me, which is already becoming quite a hit. Read more about it and his signing this weekend here or at independent.com/books.