I have some relatives that fit the profile. I'm thinking of one family in particular. There is nothing to read in that house except a few women's magazines. I think the wife buys them for the recipes. She likes to make fancy hors d'oeuvres for parties (but I doubt that she could spell "hors d'oeuvre").

I like to browse in other people's bookshelves, especially when I'm visiting for an extended time, such as a weekend. You can't be talking all the time—at least, I can't. I need a little downtime, a little quiet time, to clear my head. I can find something of interest in almost anybody's house, but not this one.

They don't even subscribe to a newspaper. Once, while visiting them, I went out early in the morning to buy a paper. Sometime during the morning, I discovered my paper was missing. While my back had been turned (I can't remember why, or for how long), the wife had gathered it up and put it in the trash. "I thought you were done with it," she said.

I remember once when their kids were little, discussing with their mother what we might buy the kids for Christmas. "Are there any books they'd like?" we asked. "No," she said. "If they want to read books, they can go to the library." I don't recall ever seeing any library books in their house either.

They do have a 42-inch digital plasma TV, however.