My father only had time to read the newspaper briefly in the morning and, on weekends, detective magazines. However, when I was having difficulty learning to read at school, which was using phonics, he took me to get a library card. My vocabulary soon surpasses my classmates, but I still to this day use the British spelling for some words, especially if I haven’t used them in a while. For example, I’ll use “manoeuvre” instead of “maneuver” unless I catch myself. Yes, I say, “Zee” instead of "Zed,"but I like throwing people a curve once in a while.
Following up on the library my mother, who grew up during the depression, got one book per year to own, as a birthday present, but haunted the library. I went there practically straight from the hospital after I was born. This was particularly effective since it allowed me to experiment on books of various reading levels which I might not have been bought. So I’d be interested in seeing how the number of books borrowed ties in with books owned as a metric.
We always had lots of books in the house and I’ve had a library card since kindergarten. I love to read! That said, I only remember seeing my parents read the newspapers. I certainly don’t remember either of them reading me a story ever. In my family Christmas turns into one big book exchange.
My parents were a high school drop-out (not from lack of brains - he had to help out the family when his dad died when he was 15) and a teacher. We had lots of books in the house, my parents both read all the time, and my three sisters and I are all voracious readers.