For many, the end of summer is a sad event. It means the end of hot, sunny weather, the end of vacations, the end of long days and beach trips, and the end of a host of activities held exclusively in the summertime. But the fall holds its own charms. Autumn is the season of reflection, the...

When I was a little child, I used to love sitting with a book on my lap, flipping the pages and scanning the text with the avid gaze of a dedicated reader. I wasn’t, in fact, reading; I had had the books read to me so many times that I had memorized the stories, and I had learned to mimic...