My family were in the second-hand book trade for many years so I've always been a big reader. 'All the knowledge in the world is here' my father would say, indicating the rows and rows of paperbacks in our little shop. I walked into a coffee shop in Dublin recently and was gratified to see three patrons other than myself reading actual physical paper books. Perhaps reading is becoming fashionable again.
I like the sound of your dad, seems clever.
Also, yep, paper books, that's all I read, no digital fuckassery for me.