“The importance of reading is only secondarily about literature. . . .[Studies show that] reading transforms lives. People who read have higher levels of academic success, of economic success. People who read do more volunteer work, they vote more, they exercise more. When you read, you’re sustaining a meditation about other people’s lives. What is it like to be Oliver Twist or Robinson Crusoe? It develops tremendous capacity to understand that other people are actually as complicated, as sensitive, as wonderful as you are. By understanding  their inner life, you begin to develop your inner life.”
–Dana Gioia in an interview with Patt Morrison of the LA Times