My Dad was a big reader so 8 was probably the big motivator. Although I grew up in the 3 TV channels/no game box era so the inside distractions were pretty low. We were pretty poor for a while (Dad went back to school) and I went from Dr. Seuss to whatever Dad was done reading (War/Action/Sci-Fi). I will say 1st edition AD&D probably did a heck of a lot for my and my brother's reading comprehension.