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I rocket for books. Big time. I buy more than I can possibly read, but that’s OK by me. I like the way a new book feels and smells. I like anticipating when I’ll first crack it open, which is often as I sit in my car before I drive out of the parking lot. I visit a bookstore several times a week, often with my oldest, Maggie, 12, in tow. She’s book crazy, too. Currently, she’s immersed in Stephenie Meyer’s vampire love trilogy (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse). I have no issues with buying Maggie any and every book she wants. What parent doesn’t hope their kids enjoy reading? But it’s more than that for me. It’s a chance to share a passion: the joy of books that only those who have been so bitten and smitten can understand. I get it. Maggie gets it. That’s cool.This experience has had me thinking about how some brands could help encourage this sort of parent/child bonding via interest in the same trade up categories. I suppose we could call this “parent/child branding.” While not appropriate for, say, a beer brand, parent/child branding could be fertile ground for an outdoor gear brand or a technology brand. My love for books has only deepened because of Maggie. Plus, I spend even more than I used to as I underwrite her addiction in addition to my own.Perhaps my passion for books will inspire Maggie to buy them like crazy when she’s my age. And, if so, Doubleday, Simon & Schuster, et al will owe me a big thank you. I’ll gladly settle for some free samples.