I am a firm believer in the fact that books are a safe haven for some people. I am one of those people. "Out of My Mind" by Sharon Draper helped me to better appreciate myself as a unique individual and accept that I am different from those around me. This is similar to the experiences of the protagonist, Melody Brooks, an eleven year old girl with an eidetic memory suffering from a neurological and physical disability, causing her to be paralyzed and non-verbal. Books connect people to other worlds and places where they are able to find themselves. An author once said, "We read to know we are not alone." In my youth, that was my prerogative for reading. A few others have followed suit:

1. It's a conversation starter.

Need a way to kill the time with people you don't know? Discuss your Hogwarts houses, whether you're Team Peeta or Team Gale or even just your favorite or current series. It's sure to make the time go by faster.

2. It can be educational.

Reading a book by Bill Gates, Shonda Rhimes or any industry titans could be a good tool for teaching yourself how to network. Besides networking, books can teach you Spanish, cricket, crocheting and a million other things (whether you know about them already or not).

3. It's an affordable hobby.

The best investment a reader can make is a library card. All of the books in a library are free, but you have to return them. On the plus side, however, there are often clearance racks of books libraries don't want for sale at very cheap. And I mean prices like a dollar or fifty cents. Besides that, there are other places that give away or sell books, such as The Book Thing in Baltimore (where I once got 17 books for free on a wonderful Saturday) or second hand stores. P.S. The Book Thing is usually always open if you live in Charm City or are up for a road trip. Just check online first as they recently moved locations.

There are tons of reasons why reading is great (obviously!) but these are just a few that I feel apply to everyone. Go and find out why you like to read. You'll learn a lot about the world, and yourself, in the process.