“I read to be alone. I read so as not to be alone.”

“Think of this - that the writer wrote alone, and the reader read alone, and they were alone with each other.”

“Like most bookworms I read so as not to be alone, which often annoys those who are trying to make conversation with me.”

“i don't like to talk. every time i go somewhere with a friend they always expect me to talk to them. i like to sit quietly. when i watch a movie or read a poem i don't like to discuss it with anyone. i like to watch movies and then maybe sleep. no talking. occasionally i watch the same movie over and over again until i fall asleep. i prefer watching movies alone. i prefer reading alone. i prefer eating alone. i prefer walking alone. i prefer listening to music alone. i prefer singing alone. i prefer swimming alone. i prefer to eat small children alone. i like it when sean reads me poetry but i just like to listen quietly and not comment afterwards. sometimes i feel this makes him uncomfortable.”

“So much of one's life was spent reading; it made sense not to do it alone.”

“It is thanks to my evening reading alone that I am still more or less sane.”