"I think reading aloud in a family, after dinner as you sit around the table and the candles burn down until they sputter out; around the fireplace as you read on and on and someone puts more twigs on the fire; in the rowing boat as you drift along slowly close to shore; in a country field under the only tree, looking over the endless cornfields and the blue sky; in an old fashioned porch in the twilight of a summer evening; in the cosiness of a home or cabin as the rain slashes against the windows; in an apartment in a city above the waves of human voices below; in the bedroom as the whole family is ready for bed and in pajamas and robes, or already tucked in, listening sleepily together - is the most together thing a family can do. This is a far more uniting experience than being entertained by radio, TV or any sort of entertainment you go to, or sit and watch. You are plunged into the life of the characters in the book, you identify with another moment of history, another part of the world, another person's imagination and you exchange glances of amusement, excitement, appreciation, understanding - or you laugh aloud together. You interject remarks, or stop to have an exchange of views or a conversation based on the characters or the events in the book. Whether is is with small children, adults, or a group of varied ages, there are questions or thoughts that simply burst out at times as the book is shared together, and which open up opportunities for knowing each other and each other's responses and attitudes in ways which no other 'entertainment' could ever do. Attitudes and ideas come out which might never be brought out in ordinary conversation. It gives the family a background for thinking and growing in their concepts and understanding, together, rather than always separately."
-- From "The Hidden Art of Homemaking" by Edith Schaeffer
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