I believe it is an excellent question and I would really love to bring it back up. The aloud reading used to be a big and enjoyable part of the family activity. Parents used to read books to the children; siblings -- to each other... Even at school, teachers read to the students. In the elementary school, there used to be a discipline called Home Reading. As a kid, I kept a Reader's Journal.

I don't know how about you but I feel sincerely sad to see how this culture seemed to be dying. Because it is not about the reading alone; it's a moment of communication, of being together, exchanging the good vibes. I still love to read aloud but, alas, have nobody to listen to me.

Sparrow --- I bet you could volunteer at at a local daycare, preschool, elementary school .. and that would be a win-win for your wanting to read to someone --- they are ALWAYS needing people to volunteer for that kind of thing.

my daughters and i are reading alice in wonderland together. i picked that book, and then they will take turns picking a book out.

Oh, I wish! I once asked in the local library if they needed a volunteer, not necessarily to read but for whatever, and they said they actually had more volunteers than they needed. True, I always see quite a lot of high school young people check out and do other work. But I am a bit shy (or perhaps too much pride?) to ask again, in different places.

"Alice in Wonderland" is a great book. I wouldn't mind either read it or listen. What else did you read? I bet "Little Women". Do children read it today?

sparrow, check at a public school in your area --- i can almost guarantee they won't turn you away. public schools are almost always hurting for volunteers.

Under very specific circumstances I read aloud to my wife. Sometimes its from my book that has a passage I like and sometimes its one of hers. We discuss books we've both read - which is not very many - so we tend to discuss current events, say, out the the Sunday NYT.

Good question. Thx.

Sparrow, check also at your local bookstore. Like Barnes & Noble or one of the others. They have children's storytime and usually welcome readers. Also, there are a lot of sr. citizens programs out there looking for people to read.

My husband reads aloud to me and I love it. Believe it or not, we read the entire "Moby Dick" this way. It took over a year, but what a great shared experience.

I like the idea for "Alice in Wonderland."