Includes bibliographical references.

Preface: why I read -- To get to go to the library -- How I choose a book: a thirteen-step guide -- Because there was always another page -- To finish a series -- Calmed-down classics of American literature for the anxiety-ridden -- Because we had to -- To break the rules -- Signs you may be a femail character in a work of historical fiction -- To learn about (and from) the past -- For love -- Signs you may be a character in a popular childern's book -- To make us cry -- Because I wanted free pizza -- To find the main point -- Because failure is most definitely an option -- But now Shakespeare! -- Signs you may be a character in a Shakespearean play -- To feel less alone -- To see ourselves across time -- Signs you may be an adult character in a YA novel -- To taste -- Questions I use to evaluate a new recipe -- Because someone gave me a book -- For comfort -- To feel superior -- To be shocked -- Town summer festival kickoff declared "success" -- To learn there's more than a single story -- Because it's fun -- To save my life -- To shake up your perspective -- The five peope you meet when you work in a bookstore -- Because someone is paying you to teach a class about vampires -- To learn how to die (and how to live) -- Because once more was enough -- To try again -- To motivate us -- To make us cry (II) -- Because we are what we read -- List of books and works mentioned.