Dear sons, it makes me so proud to know both of you are embracing reading.  I can’t stress enough how valuable and healthy this skill can be in your lives.  Reading exercises your brain in a way nothing else can, which improves your intelligence, helps you retain more knowledge, and keeps you sharper longer.  Reading is one of the best ways to learn new skills and self-educate, both of which can go a long way to achieving the self-sufficiency I’ve stressed to you before.  Being literate empowers you in more ways than I can even begin to express.  The older you get, the more you will be grateful for learning this skill and embracing it.

Reading is also fun.  There’s not much more entertaining than diving into a new world and meeting new characters in a well-written story.  If you read good books, you will rarely be bored, and your imaginations will grow immeasurably.  Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve reading books, and much of what has shaped me into the man I am today came from the pleasures of reading.  There’s nothing wrong with playing video games and watching shows/movies, but reading is a much better, much more beneficial, and much healthier activity.

One day soon, you’ll be old enough to read my books, and that thought both fills me with pride and terrifies me.  If you love the stories, of course, I’ll be delighted, but if you don’t, I’m not sure how I’ll feel.  I wrote them for you, hoping to share a heroic tale that would inspire you, and I care more about your approval than anybody else’s.  So when the day comes when you do begin reading them, I’ll be more nervous than with any other reader.  All I ask of you are two things: please be honest with me, and please be gentle.

Enjoy reading, guys.  You have both entered into a pastime that can change and enrich your lives forever.  You make me proud that you both enjoy learning so much and that you are beginning to absorb books.  I promise you I will provide you with as many as I can find, and you will have an endless source of entertainment and education.  I love you, boys.