Why I Read

I've been reading Twirl by Patsy Clairmont, and in writing about reading, she sums up well the reasons I like to read.  She writes, "It is a proven fact that we are better conversationalists when we read.  Our vocabularies are more expansive, and our word choices tend to be charged with meaning.  People are more likely to seek us out as good company.  We are more likely to be promoted in the workplace.  Books remind us we are not alone in our struggles, and they can help us to evaluate our own needs more objectively."
I know I am quiet and awkward much of the time, but ask me about what I'm reading, and I turn into someone else entirely-someone "rico y suave."  My reading excites me.  I love learning things about myself and the world around me and the world as it was long before  was in it.  I also love reading about other people and about their world.
I just came home from a lecture by a man who reads, marks, and highlights at least 6 newspapers a day, plus reads all kinds of written articles and essays, plus reads 6 or 7 books a week.  That is a man who always has something interesting to share.  I want to always have something interesting to share, too.