It's hard to sum up why books are so important. Books were my best friends as a child, a comforting presence and a world I could revisit again and again. They expanded my imagination. They fed my curiosity. They taught me about places and people and language my small town upbringing could never have introduced me to. They have provided refuge in times of stress, joy in times of sorrow, empathy in times of loneliness, and knowledge in times of ignorance. Books are everything you could ever need them to be.