We Read to Know We're Not Alone . . .

I thought this quote was appropriate as a title since it's a reference to a movie about C.S. Lewis, because today C.S. Lewis justified my existence. If you've read my list of 100 things (or have talked to me just after I've finished an amazing book) you know that I get a little too into most of what I read. My favorite kind of book is the kind that I think about for weeks after I've finished it. (See #48 on aforementioned list.)
So today I was reading C.S. Lewis's An Experiment in Criticism (don't worry, it's for a class) and I wanted to hug him when I got to the following (which was on page 3. The paper on the book is definitely due on Friday. Yes I'm awesome.): "The first reading of some literary work is often, to the literary, an experience so momentous that only experiences of love, religion, or bereavement can furninsh a standard of comparison. Their whole consciousness is changed. They have become what they were not before."
This is how I feel! My favorite books were the ones that completely changed who I am (even if it's just until I read the next book). I know exactly what kind of experience he means! The rest of the book is pretty great too, but I'm glad that my reaction to some books places me among the literary in the eyes of Mr. Lewis.