LitBits: Why Do We Read?

LitBits Episode 2 has arrived! This time Adam tackles the big question laying behind all we do here at CenterForLit: why do we read? Without an answer to this question, nothing we do matters. In a world where more and more focus is being placed on skill and career-oriented education, why should anyone pick up a novel when they could increase their knowledge-base with a textbook? What is the deal with the human obsession for story? Is literature an unnecessary relic of the past?