Why We Read

But that’s what art is for — for both the reader and writer to overcome their respective limitations and encounter something true. It seems miraculous, doesn’t it? That somebody can articulate something clearly and beautifully that exists inside you, something shrouded in impenetrable fog. Great art reaches through the fog, toward this secret heart — and it shows it to you, holds it before you. It’s a revelatory, incredibly moving experience when this happens. You feel understood. You feel heard. That’s why we come to art — we feel less alone. We are less alone. You see, though art, that others have felt the way you have — and you feel better.
— Khaled Hosseini