The problem with every story is you tell it after the fact.
they should let some people into the library by prescription only
Put a gun to my head and paint the wall with my brains.
The money is in television. Books are not the dominant medium of our time, so fewer people will create them. In a sad way, books have become a form of "comfort food" we expect to lull us to sleep.
If people thought you were dying, they gave you their full attention.
Isn't a kid alive who doesn't dream about rewarding her folks, or punishing them.