Books, books, books. Our house is bursting with them, and for better or worse, when we visit our children there's reason to think it might be hereditary. I love getting lost in a good book, and could effortlessly recommend several hundred. The book challenge is seven. That seems cruel. I haven't counted these, but there might be more than seven.

I couldn't limit it to seven, and I couldn't do it on Facebook. So I'm showing them to you here, Paul, the books that shaped my childhood. (A future installment will cover the adult years.)

My mother introduced us to the Carnegie Library in New Castle, Pennsylvania, even before we could read, and it was a temple of science and magic and art and learning. I still remember the smell! And the date stamps and the library cards, and the librarians. It for me. We got our card as soon as we could write our name.