[ottbmare]

I dunno. Our house is filled with thousands of books. I have a room full of nothing but books—history, mostly, but also art, science, gardening, conservative politics, some classics, theology, and more history. The kids each had a big bookcase for the bedroom and those were full. We didn’t have a working TV, and they saw their father and me reading all the time. Every room has books. I have a substance-abuse problem with books. I read to the children from the time they were tiny.

And still today neither of them are interested. They never liked to read. It is a mystery.

[mware]

One of my fondest memories of my father, was a week before Christmas he would begin reading A Christmas Carol, to all of us ( 7 of us). We would all find some place on the floor, except David who would usually be held by mom in a rocking chair) Before the end of the night's reading a few of the younger ones would have nodded off.

He would change his voice for each character, the scariest (and most fun) was Jacob Marley's haunting voice, and his most gentle was reserved for Tiny Tim.

I would not change that memory for all the tea in China.