I’ve always been the aunt who gives books (not mine!) for Christmas or birthdays. It became a cliche after a while. A few years ago, my niece shook her Christmas present and was like, “I wonder what it is – Lego and a book!” I responded with, “You’re sure?” She replied, “That’s what you always do!”

My sister was never as keen on reading as my parents were to us, so I tied in vain with a variety of good quality chapter books to get them to read. (Archie Comics, however, seem to do the initial...