I was raised in the Depression, and my love of books was fostered by the Public Library, which has remained my main “go to” for books to this day. At age 8 I was written up in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin as the child who had read more books of anyone her age in the city of Philadelphia in the past year — 150. This love of books continued when I then spent 15 years as a school librarian, a job that I loved. Now at the age of 95 and living in a retirement community, I still participate in book selection and ordering. I am happy to report that my children are avid readers and nothing gives me more pleasure than to give subscriptions to Highlight Magazine each year to all seven of my great grandchildren. -Pearl G. Heath, Rancho Bernardlo

My love of books began at an early age and has not waned over the years. My mother loved books and reading. Our home was full of books. We each had a bookcase full of books in our bedrooms. I was sick in the 3rd grade and one of my treasured memories is my mother reading to me while I was in the hospital She read Heidi and I still have the book.

My summers were spent in New Orleans with my grandmother. She went to the A&P every Saturday. While she was shopping, we could go to the wonderful Woolworth’s next store and buy a “treat.” I always bought a book; Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew or The Bobsey Twins were my favorites. I had those books until I went to college. I gave them to the girls across the street when I left.

I love my books. I have some of my mother’s childhood books and lots of mine. I’ve slowly given some to my grandchildren with mixed results. Robin Hood was a hit, but no one has fallen in love yet with the March girls and that makes me sad. -Judy Grant, Brawley

God bless our mother Maxine for reading to us three kids and then as we began to read on our own there were always books available. I collected and read every Hardy Boys novel. Then came every Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, including the Tarzan series, Mars and Pellucidar, to name most of them. One of my great pleasures of being retired is the freedom to read to my heart’s content. Sadly life gets in the way and so I must carve out reading time, which is icing on the cake of my day. Thanks, Mom! –Richard Schauer, Escondido

I have loved books since forever. My earliest memory of “reading” was that every morning my parents would read the Bible as I was growing up. This was a daily event. When I started to really read, I have to say that has a big bearing on my learning how to read and my love of reading. Too many people can’t read or are not interested in books and I think that is very sad. -Mrs. E.M. Billingsley, San Diego

In rural Nebraska where I grew up in the ’40s and ’50s there was a free library in town, but country kids could not check out books there unless our parents paid for cards for us. My mother had limited disposable cash, but she paid for cards for my brother and me. I checked out all of the books about horses and nurses that I could find. Visiting the library every other week became one of the highlights of my youth. -Marge Bock, La Jolla

Whenever I have a book in my hands, I’m always learning; I’m always forced to think and love the way it activates my brain. Reading adds to so many different aspects in my life. I feel I have become a much more interesting person on account of my interest in books, being able to decipher what an author’s message (theme) might be and observing how the writer engineers his or her craft into a beautiful art form. -Larry Belinsky, Fairbanks Ranch

For the last 20 years I have been affected by a progressive nerve disease which affects the use of my upper extremities. For about the last 10 years I have been unable to hold a book and turn its pages. My joy of reading was rescued in December 2017, when my wife told me about a reading device that she saw on the Oprah Winfrey show. It was called the Amazon Kindle. I immediately purchased one (for almost $500) and was able to continue my reading in a digital format. I now do all my reading on an iPad and continue to enjoy books the same way I did as a child when my mother would buy me the latest copy of F.W. Dixon’s Hardy Boys novels. When I read your column with the line about the feel and smell of books, it occurred to me that the digital format has provided abilities to read for many of the physically challenged. It is a particular benefit for people who have vision challenges, such as macular degeneration. -Gary Nelson, Kensington