Hardback Book Says "I Love You" Better than Words

This favorite 1987 book brings son and father closer—in fiction and real life

I miss my father. He passed away more than 20 years ago and I think of him, from time to time, when I’m by the bookcases that hold the hardbound books we shared.

See, Dad was a child of the Depression, not given to spending on himself. He loved reading, but would never dream of spending so much for a book. So when a new novel came out—this was in the days before the internet, before Amazon—I’d go to Barnes and Noble and buy a copy as soon as it went on sale. Thirty percent off the $23.95 price. A bargain.