Essayist Joseph Epstein once described reading as a "lovely, antisocial, splendidly selfish habit." Selfish? I suppose so, but could one be so unselfish as to deny himself the pleasures of the mind and strengthening of the soul that come from reading? I'm reminded of Josef Pieper's concluding words of Divine Madness: "To be so 'unselfish' as to be ready to renounce the ultimate fulfillment, eternal bliss, is entirely impossible for us. Our will, as Thomas Aquinas has formulated many times, is unable not to desire such bliss." I realize reading and eternal happiness aren't exactly the same thing, but in reading we do get glimpses of that happiness.
