What makes you a reader? In honor of Traci Chee’s instant New York Times bestselling debut The Reader, which is about a world without reading, we asked fans on Youtube to take a minute and reflect on what reading means to them. They answered with some of the most passionate, inspiring, and sometimes tear-worthy replies we’ve ever heard. Check out some of these #IAmTheReader book tag videos below to hear their beautiful replies!

“We see stories in everything that other people might not see. You’re exposed to so many different stories and so many different types of people and locations and there’s so much we learn from reading fiction or nonfiction that other people who don’t read don’t actually get to experience […] it really shakes the way you view the world.”

“Reading has impacted my life in such a positive way that I can’t imagine it not being in my life. I can not imagine who I would be today without reading.”

“My parents read to me every night. I grew to be even more of a reader than they probably ever hoped and dreamed, but I think it was so much to do with the fact that they had established that routine with me.”

“These past few years I’ve had to really grow up and become an adult, try new things and go out of my comfort zone. Books were there for me all that time […] I think my confidence levels have increased since I began reading.”

“When I need to be comforted, I read the Harry Potter series. If I just pick up one of the books and start reading, I just feel better. There’s just something super comforting about that.”

“Reading is an experience that you have by yourself but your love and passion for books is what brings you together with other people.”

“I was that kid who constantly had her nose stuck in a book […] Wherever I was, I probably had a book in my hands. I think that played a big part in shaping who I am.”

“Every aspect of my life is in some way touched by being a reader. All of it. All aspects are influenced or tied into books and reading and writing and the worlds I’ve visited.”

“I had stopped reading for a couple years […] I was isolated and I didn’t go out a lot and that made me scared to go out the times I had to go get food or do everyday things. It just made me really anxious […] One day I started reading more and it made me want to experience life and it made me curious about the world and made me love people and made me want to understand people and question everything.”

“Being a reader is magical. It means opening a book and quickly being whisked away into that world and into the story. You pour your heart into that book.”

Ready for the book that will remind you why you love reading? Get your copy of The Reader!