wow this thread has kind of inspired me to hit the books, lets hope this doesnt fade away. When I was a kid books like the Hardy Boys (my school actually had the old blue hardcover books!), Tom Sawyer, and Robin Hood (not watered down versions either) helped make me a well above average smart kid, thus affecting my life, which I am grateful for. Im pretty sure I was a better reader back in 4th grade though than i am now, i dont read unless i have to because i dont have enough time. but i think im going to start trying to make time for this. Haha and the funny thing is I had a good grasp of Samuel Clemens' writing style in Tom Sawyer back in i thnk maybe first grade, I actually understood the book very well. And here I am a senior in highschool, and we are reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for english class. So I guess I really was way ahead of the average intelligence level back then, and I believe I still am but I think I'm losing my lead. Time to read!