I love reading.

My grandfather was a retired English teacher. Upon entering his home there was a large bookcase immediately beside the front door and two more across the room. The upstairs bedrooms had two more bookshelves apiece. The basement bedrooms each contained large bookshelves. And the wall of the largest room in the house, which stretched the entire length of the basement, was one tremendous bookshelf from floor to ceiling. It was a small town but my grandfather's home easily contained at least twice as many books as the public library and he got new books constantly.

Shockingly, I typically received a book from my grandparents as a gift at Christmas and on my birthday.

I was reading J.R.R. Tolkien, Dick Francis, Louis L’Amour, Tom Clancy, E.R. Burroughs, compendiums of Greek mythologies, and C.S. Lewis while I was still in elementary school. Aside from mathematics, I thought public education was a complete waste of my time.

In our home the value of a book was determined by its cover. If the book looked pristine it was either new or boring. If the book was held together by duct tape then it would be an entertaining read.

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King

“It’s not that I don’t like people. It’s just that when I’m in the company of others – even my nearest and dearest – there always comes a moment when I’d rather be reading a book.” – Maureen Corrigan

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only the one." - George R.R. Martin.

"Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled "This could change your life." - Helen Exley