"Why would you want to read books when you've got a perfectly good TV set right there?" -- Matilda's father, (Danny DeVito).
Ack! That falls under the "cruel and unusual" prohibition in the Bill of Rights. It may not be unusual, but from personal experience it can be cruel. A relative has the TV on pretty much all day; when visiting I retreat and read (book, Internet, FR, whatever!).
(Don't know who "Matilda" or her father are, but I recognize "Danny DeVito as an actor, comedian I think -- but teeeveee or movie?)