““Occasionally, out of curiosity or goodwill, someone would speak to him, but his response would be so off the mark that they would disappear with a slight smile. He always thought he was responding honestly and openly, but people never seemed to warm to him. The pain of such encounters had driven him to the pages of books. No matter how poor he was at communicating with people, with books he could engage in deep, quiet dialogue. There was an added benefit: if he opened one during free time at school, his classmates would leave him alone and not try to strike up a conversation. Reading””
