Reading Because We Have No Choice

'I read because I have no choice. Flaubert once said that reading is like falling into a deep chasm from which you can't ever climb out. That sounds dire, but there's something to it. With the possible exception of girls or women and the partial one of music, art and travel, nothing has ever interested me as much as books. Moreover, I like to know things, I like to learn things, and books are the best way to do this. When you add to this a passion for interesting prose styles, what else can I do but read?'
--Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda, a Pulitzer-winning native of Lorain, from a recent online chat with readers.