Frederick Douglas once said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” And that famous philosopher, Dr. Suess once gave this directive for a flourishing life: “Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.” One of the greatest gifts God has given to us is the ability to read. But in today’s world, constraints on our time and our increased focus on screens has crowded out reading for most of us and for most of our kids. We need to recover a love for reading, as good reading will shape and form us in good ways. It’s because we believe this to be true that we’re chatting with author Karen Swallow Prior about the power of good books to shape our lives, our kids, our families, and our youth ministries, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.