"I - uh. Hm." He clears his throat and blushes faintly. "Thank you?" He's pretty sure that's the appropriate response.

A-anyway. "I like reading a lot. I - uh. Even if we could afford certain types of entertainment my father didn't really think they were needed." So no cable television, even if she knew what that was. "So I would take books out of the library. I really enjoyed studying mythology, even before I knew about the whole 'the gods are real' thing. But I like fantasy books, too. Escaping to far-off worlds with magic and mystery and adventure..."

He sighs and shakes his head. "And they always skip over the boring parts, or the parts where the hero doubts themself. Most do, at least. Real life isn't as grand as the books say..." It's scary, scrabbling out survival amidst the muck of misery. He doesn't regret his life, just... he wishes he was more prepared.