I must be lacking in the persuasion area of lending books. What I've found to work for me, though is to read books aloud together.

My after-college roommate had never read such classics as C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place.

After much (unsuccessful) pestering, we came up with the idea of me reading the books aloud while she cooked dinner and washed dishes. It became a fun family tradition and we read many, many books that way.

The best part is that we were literally "on the same page" and could stop to discuss the story or whatever tangential ideas came to mind. I highly recommend it.

I got the idea from a prior boyfriend, who read aloud Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, with special effects sounds and character voices -- a wonderful bonding experience!

posted to lostbookmarks.blogspot.com