No, but one can feel desperate at any age, don't you think? The young are eternally desperate,— he said frankly. "And books, they offer hope " that a whole universe might open up from between the covers, and falling into that universe one is saved.

My Aunt Helen was my favorite person in the whole world. She was my mom's sister. She got straight A's when she was a teenager and she used to give me books to read. My father said that the books were a little too old for me, but I liked them so he just shrugged and let me read.