why read?

i received quite a few comments on my last post, so i've dicided to write a follow-up post, dealing with a very similar issue. today's question is: why read at all?
for many people, this question is absurd. why wouldn't you want to read? but many others are asking themselves this strange question. after all, so many books are being made into movies nowadays, so you're not missing out on anything if you just see a movie version of a story , right?
WRONG. utterly, completely, horribly wrong.
as i clearly stated in the post titled "don't judge a book by its movie" , you are definitely missing out if you just see a movie adapted from a book, instead of reading the book itself. but there are so many other reasons why reading is important. i'll try to address a few of them.
writing and reading is a way of sharing ideas and viewpoints. even just from reading a simple book like the Brothers Grimm, one can discover all sorts of new ideas that he had never heard of before. this broadens people's perspectives, and makes them think. did you ever hear of that strange concept before? people actually thinking? it seems weird to us, because we're so used to all sorts of entertainment nowadays that require little to no deep thinking whatsoever. you know, things like movies and video games.
reading makes people smarter. ok, maybe i should rephrase that: reading makes people more knowledgable. the more you read, the more you know. it's as simple as that. of course, to be a wise person, you can't simply read a lot. you must take the knowledge you have learned and apply it, doing and saying the right thing at the right times. as i have so often said, a smart person isn't someone who reads a lot, and isn't someone who gets perfect grades. in my opinion a smart person is a person who doesn't do stupid things. but i digress.
to become a better writer, you must read more. this is a known fact. when you read, you pick up on all sorts of styles, without neccessarily realizing it. you realize the different ways words can be arranged, as well as add greatly to your vocabulary. all of this will make you a good writer.
the reason i like reading the most is because it's a sort of ... escape. there's no better way to put it. when i get bored, frustrated, or saddened by the world i'm in, i often pick up a book. reading is my way of leaving my world and exploring a whole new universe. a universe in which incredible things happen. sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes scary, but always incredible.
the feeling i get when i read can't be copied by movies. watching a movie doesn't give me the same sensation as reading a book does, especially a movie that is a lame copy of an amazing book. the only thing that comes close to reading for me is listening to a good story, told by a good storyteller.
so what about you, faithful readers? why do you like to read? why would you waste your time reading the words that some stranger has written down? what's in it for you? how does it help you? how does it make you feel? am i the only book lover in the world?