Why reading is important

From a very interesting Roger Ebert piece:
(http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/04/death_disports_with_writers_mo.html)

"Why do I think reading is important? It is such an effective medium between mind and mind. We think largely in words. A medium made only of words doesn't impose the barrier of any other medium. It is naked and unprotected communication."