Well, you'd be doing him a huge favor if you started with the Old and New Testaments—he'll get a kick out of them.

Too conservative, man. You must teach him to see himself as a mere construction of all institutions of power—prisons, schools, madhouses, insurance companies, malls.

That might all be a little heavy for a seven-year-old. Perhaps you should start with some regional French classics. I love to read Canadian literature to my granddaughter.

You are doing her no favors—she must be exposed to the classics of Western literary culture.

Yes, if only to point out all of the oppressions they perpetuate.

You guys can read Bleak House to your grandkids if you'd like, and as much as I love Shakespeare and Blake—ah, Blake!—I will start with books that teach them about cultural regionalism.

I am so there. As I may have mentioned to you all, I do not circulate with French intellectuals, and even though that hasn't stopped me from dominating, I still don't like snobs.

Word.

Look, I know a lot of us elite thinkers have transcended our socioeconomic class through academic achievement. Don't ever forget where you came from.

Born in Philly, and proud of it.

I've had a few harsh words about my upbringing—it wasn't middle class, it was working class—but it was also nonconformist. Thank goodness.

I'll think about it. You know I studied theology and almost went into the ministry... thank goodness I pulled it together. The church is just not for me—the word I tend to use to describe it is "claustrophobic."

I hear you, Norrie.

I came this close to being a Methodist, like Mom and Dad, but I became an agnostic instead. I can never get enough of the Bible, though. That's where it all starts, man. I'm talking about literary culture, of course, and not life itself—but maybe that, too.