Second to my family, reading has always been the most important part of my life. I have had years and years of formal education, but personal reading has been the real well-spring of what I have learned over the years of my life.

My experience with books started in the third grade when one of my teachers started each day's class by reading aloud to us. It was in that class room that I first started checking out books to read on my own. I soon moved on to the school library and to the public library. As a 7th grader, I discovered the great pleasure of personally owning books when I discovered a used book store and started buying books.

By the time I retired from thirty-seven years of teaching in high schools, books had taken over my life and I started culling my collections to sell in a local antiques and collectibles mall. That worked out so well that I began to travel to find more books to sell. The places I enjoy traveling to most are the settings of my favorite books and that has led me to interesting places.

The most interesting people I've ever known are other avid readers and people who love books.