I worry about exposing him to bands like Journey, the appreciation of which will surely bring him nothing but the opprobrium of his peers. Though he has often been resistant — children so seldom know what is good for them — I have taught him to appreciate all the groundbreaking musicmakers of our time — Big Country, Haircut 100, Loverboy — and he is lucky for it. His brain is my laboratory, my depository. Into it I can stuff the books I choose, the television shows, the movies, my opinion about elected officials, historical events, neighbors, passersby. He is my twenty-four-hour classroom, my captive audience, forced to ingest everything worthwhile. He is a lucky, lucky boy! And no one can stop me.

— Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius