Subject 101:

Reading removes me for a considerable time from the petty and seemingly unrewarding irritations of living -- I did not choose to be born, and cannot say (in all honesty) that I get 100% enjoyment from life. So, for the few hours a day I read "trash" I escape the cares of those around me, as well as escaping my own cares and dissatisfactions. This is a selfish attitude, which I can justify only by saying that it contributes in no small measure to preserving what sanity I have. I'm not so sure, then, that I read for "reward" as much as for "escape."

Nell, p. 240

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