Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store - Pre Reading

Books can do a lot for people, but only if they enjoy reading them. If you take the time to get interested in a book, you can forget the things around you. If you are stressed, a good book can be a way to forget what made you stressed in the first place. It is an escape, in a way. Books can inspire people to do good things as well. If a character in a book can be a good influence on other characters, chances are, they might be a good influence on you. The reverse can also be true.  If a character in a book you are reading is a bad influence, they will probably influence you in a negative way, too.
Books also improve language. Writers use interesting words and make us think differently. If people read, they remember some of those interesting words, and go on to use them in conversations, broadening their vocabulary. Books take us to places that we would never go to otherwise. If you read a book that takes place in another time or place, it gives you ideas of what might have happened there. 
Books make people want to write. I know this to be true. As a child, I was made to read a lot of books. I now love both reading and writing. Reading books has allowed me to learn to write in different styles, and to write about different characters.
Sometimes when I am really enjoying a book, I will write a spinoff when I finish it. I usually keep the same story, but from a different character’s view. I do this for practice: it is surprisingly difficult to weave another character into a plot that is already established.
Also, the more people read, the better they become at reading. Last summer, I was in a program that required me to read at 600 words per minute and pass a reading comprehension test. At first, they started me at 100 words per minute. A few weeks later, I was at 600 words per minute. I had hardly noticed that the speed had gotten faster. If you practice reading, you will get better.

Books make people more confident, because they make you feel smarter. If people are more confident in who they are, there will be less bullying and other school problems. You can never read too much.