STORIES ABOUT STORIES: CAMP STORIES, AND LIFE-CHANGING BOOKS

The third installment in a series of "Stories About Stories," in which I post segments from This American Life (and occasionally other sources) about storytelling itself.

"THE FAMILY THAT READS TOGETHER: The story of a book that changed a family's life, but only temporarily and not for the better. David Sedaris describes what happens when he finds a dirty book in the woods and shares it with his sisters. This story is published in Sedaris' book Naked. (9 minutes)"

"NOTE TWO: FEAR: Sure, kids today are sophisticated. But get them living in the woods for a few days, and they revert to some of the most stupidly primitive forms of entertainment known since the dawn of civilization. Specifically: they love scary stories. Every camp has a camp ghost story. We hear one. And we go with the Sioux cabin of ten year olds as they try an experiment in fear, in the dark, in front of a mirror in their cabin. (7 minutes)."