Why do I read?I just can't help myself.I read to learn and to grow, to laugh  and to be motivated.I read to understand things I've never  been exposed to.I read when I'm crabby, when I've just  said monumentally dumb things to the  people I love.I read for strength to help me when I  feel broken, discouraged, and afraid.I read when I'm angry at the whole  world.I read when everything is going right.I read to find hope.I read because I'm made up not just of  skin and bones, of sights, feelings,  and a deep need for chocolate, but I'm  also made up of words.Words describe my thoughts and what's hidden in my heart.Words are alive--when I've found a story that I love, I read it again and again, like playing a favorite song  over and over.Reading isn't passive--I enter the story with the characters, breathe their air, feel their frustrations, scream at them to stop when they're about to do something stupid, cry with them, laugh with them.Reading for me, is spending time with a friend.A book is a friend.You can never have too many.
Gary Paulsen, Shelf Life: Stories by the Book
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