Before about 550 years ago, did many people know how to read? Almost everyone knows how to read. People do it every day, and so we don’t really think about it very much. However, before about 550 years ago, very few people knew how to read. Then, in 1455, a German man called Johannes Gutenburg invented the first printed1 book. Reading then became more and more popular. However, learning to read is not easy and it takes many years in school to become a good reader. So then, you might ask yourself: Why do people read? Well, people read for two reasons. First, they read so that they can learn new things. For example, people read text messages2 to find out what their friends are doing, and they read to find out what time the next bus will arrive. They can even read (study) to learn how to become a restaurant cook, a teacher or a doctor. Many people also read for another reason: reading is fun. If you are a person who enjoys reading, there are many kinds of literature3 to choose from. You can choose to read nonfiction4 and read the biography5 of a famous singer like Paul McCartney, or a famous soccer player like Ronaldo. Or you might decide to read fiction6 , maybe science fiction7 , and read A Journey to the Center of the Earth, by French writer Jules Verne. Or maybe you just want to read some funny stories that make you laugh. So, maybe you want to get some information and learn something new - or maybe you read because you just enjoy it. Schools, the Internet, libraries and bookstores are filled with thousands of short stories, novels8 and biographies of famous people from all over the world, and there are millions of pages out there to teach you almost anything you want to learn. There’s no reason not to read!