Read Gilgen completed his BA at Brigham Young University, and his MA and PhD in Latin American Literature and Linguistics at the University of California, Irvine.  He taught Spanish at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and at the University of Wisconsin before becoming director of UW's L&S Learning Support Services (the language labs) in 1981.

His professional interests include instructional technology in higher education, especially in foreign language education.  He is currently president of the International Association for Language Learning Technology.

He has taught and written extensively on DOS, Windows, and WordPerfect since the early 1980s.  He is author of Que's WordPerfect for Windows Hot Tips, contributing author to several Que books including Special Edition Using WordPerfect Suite 8, Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 97 Professional. His most recent book is the Absolute Beginner's Guide to PowerPoint 2003.

Read created a Web site to display his wife's quilting projects. Even if you don't think quilting is your "cup of tea", you have to check out this site. It's more like artwork with fabric than quilting. You'll see what I mean. www.gilgenart.com