Research suggests that in social situations, we tend to unconsciously imitate the people around us in a phenomenon researchers have termed the chameleon effect.

Thomas Monson, the last President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was a lover of literature. He said of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic account, The Great Stone Face, "we adopt the mannerisms, the attitudes, even the conduct of those whom we admire — and they are usually our friends." So who are our friends?

For many of us our friends are the authors, and even the characters, in the books we read. Does this mean that we read to find friends? Do the friends we find through books influence us more or less that our day to day human friends?

In Harold Bloom's book, How to Read and Why, he answers the question his own book raises by saying "we read because it matters". An important reason among many for why it matters is because our friends have a lot of influence over us.

Hawthorne's book gives us even more insight into why it matters. It changes us. It also suggests that we can change who we are with changes in what we read. Picking good authors is important.

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