Preface: why I read -- To get to go to the library -- How I choose a book: a thirteen-step guide -- Because there was always another page -- To finish a series -- Calmed-down classics of American literature for the anxiety-ridden -- Because we had to -- To break the rules -- Signs you may be a female character in a work of historical fiction -- To learn about (and from) the past -- For love -- Signs you may be a character in a popular children's book -- To make us cry -- Because I wanted free pizza -- To find the main point -- Because failure is most definitely an option -- But now Shakespeare! -- Signs you may be a character in a Shakespearean play -- To feel less alone -- To see ourselves across time -- Signs you may be an adult character in a YA novel -- To taste -- Questions I use to evaluate a new recipe -- Because someone gave me a book -- For comfort -- To feel superior -- To be shocked -- Town summer festival kickoff declared "success" -- To learn there's more than a single story -- Because it's fun -- To save my life -- To shake up your perspective -- The five peope you meet when you work in a bookstore -- Because someone is paying you to teach a class about vampires -- To learn how to die (and how to live) -- Because once more was enough -- To try again -- To motivate us -- To make us cry (II) -- Because we are what we read -- List of books and works mentioned

In this uproarious exploration of the joys of reading, a long-time teacher, lifelong reader and The New Yorker contributor shares surprising stories from her life and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students and shows us how literature can transform us for the better