Lying open, face down on the wall in the bathroom beside the toilet, oft would be found your current read; sometimes accompanied by a cigarette, that was still going. Just shocking that I too smoke, don’t you think Mom?

Than, when I was in my late teens you gave me that Roger Zelazny series, The Chronicles of Amber, for my birthday. I’d never heard of them, but you said “you HAVE to read these“. To me it felt like you where bestowing secret knowledge.

And you were right. They were fabulous.

Some books just steal your imagination, eh? That’s why I love Charles de Lint you know. His books give me that same feelings of wonder the Zelazny books did. Though de Lint takes fantasy into an urban landscape instead. And the cool thing is that his characters too have secret ways of traversing their landscape.

Now, you will be happy to hear that Lex has definitely bestowed the reading seeds upon her girls. As well as an abject terror of spiders (ahem), she has littered their home with books she is reading, has read, wants to read next. I think her favourite thing to do is read, when, if, she can find the time. That and sleeping.

It will just take a little nudge at the right time now, me thinks.

The girls are at that stage where books are not a paramount aspect of their life. I definitely remember feeling much the same at their age. Still, you made sure that books were never far away, and something you clearly couldn’t go without. When you handed me those Zelazny books, you were making sure the seeds took.

There are more obstacles today though too. So many things to distract those girls. I swear Mom, you wouldn’t believe what has changed over the last 14 years. Lots to distract from reading books, discovering stories, and becoming immersed in lands created solely out of the imagination of the author.

Today, even I have succumbed to the allure of ebooks. For good reason though. Primarily due to their ease of transport, ease of acquiring, and definitely price. Ebooks are generally cheaper than their hard or softcopy counterparts. AND… I have no room for more books; there is that.

A book, is a book, is a book though, regardless of its medium. Just as a song, is a song, regardless of how it is played. There are differences, but each has their merits.

Words have the potential of opening up vistas. They crack open windows, and allow the air of the other into our everyday lives.

And, in order to feed the future, you have to first plant the seeds. It is that simple. You taught us that.

Love,