Why read books?

A few months ago I visited the Chequamegon Book and Coffee Company in Washburn, Wisconsin. Finding Louise Erdrich’s Books & Islands in Ojibwe Country seemed like serendipity, since I was on my way to Madeline Island, or Mooningwanekaaning, in the Ojibwe language. In this book Erdrich ponders the question of why she loves books. She writes:
Books. Why?

•             So I can talk to other humans without having to meet them.
•             Fear of boredom.
•             So that I will never be alone.