Castro and wife hosting book drive at Minute Maid Park

HOUSTON -- Astros catcher Jason Castro and his wife, Maris, are hosting the Castro's Kids Book Drive this weekend to benefit the Houston Independent School District.

People can donate new or gently used, age-appropriate books for children from kindergarten through 12th grade at the gates of Minute Maid Park on Saturday and Sunday. Those donating to the drive will be entered into a raffle to win Astros autographed memorabilia, courtesy of the Castros. Jason and Maris are contributing additional books, and will deliver the donations to select public schools in the Houston Independent School District.

"We're going to collect them all and we're going to have some outside donations as well, and Maris and I are going to contribute on top of that," Jason said.

Castro, who is just a few hours shy of a degree from Stanford, said his favorite book is Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," but lately he's found himself reading more non-fiction.

"['The Da Vinci Code'] was the first book that really kind of made me want to read more," he said. "I read more non-fiction and like reading books like 'Lone Survivor,' the story of Marcus Luttrell and the Navy SEAL team."