Reading is powerful. Not only can it pass the time, but it can transport you to a new place, time, and world. It can even help you learn more about yourself, especially when the stories you read have relatable characters. However, only dedicated readers understand how truly powerful reading is. Here are ten things only the most avid book worm knows.

1. Food vs. Books

It's Saturday afternoon. You've finished all your errands after spending the whole morning running around and now you're pretty hungry. You decide to go to the nearest cafe or restaurant to grab something quick. On your way, however, you walk past your local bookstore. You stop, look into the window, and then decide to go in. You're only going to look around anyway...that is, until an hour later and you're walking out of the store carrying two bags of books you plan to read over the weekend. Who needs to eat anyway, right?

2. Late Nights

Every bookie knows you have to end your day by lying in bed and reading the next chapter of that book you started the other night. But, for some reason, one chapter turns into ten until you hit the climax and absolutely have to finish! Before you know it, it's 4:00 a.m. and you have to be up in two hours for school or work. Sleep? What's that?

3. That smell!

You know the one I'm talking about — the smell of the pages when you open a book for the first time. It's the smell of a book that had been unopened; a story that has been unread; and an adventure that has yet to be started. To avid readers, opening up a new book brings with it the smell of home. Add the smell of freshly brewed coffee and you're in for a good day!

4. That feeling when you walk into a bookstore for the first time...

One of my favorite things to do when I go to a new town is to see if they have a local bookstore. Compared to Barnes and Noble, local, family-owned bookstores feel like walking right into the pages of your favorite book. They are usually filled with selves upon shelves of books- new, old, used, and rare. From the moment you walk in, you are hit with the smell that only books have and, if you're like me, you wind up spending countless hours perusing the shelves hoping to find a new book to add to your ever-growing collection.

5. Buying a new book...when you still have five to read...

This is one of my worst habits! If anyone walks into my room, every free space is filled with books I have yet to read. Yet, when I go to a bookstore, I inevitably end up buying at least one new one to add to whatever free space I could find. In all honesty, I'd rather spend my money on a new book than clothes...who's with me?

6. When a key character dies...

For anyone who has gotten invested in a story, you know exactly what I mean by this. Whenever a key character is killed off, a part of you dies inside; it's almost as if losing a friend or family member. Ok...maybe that's a slight exaggeration, either way, I'm one of those people who will slowly close a book when a character dies, set it aside, and silently cry into the nearest pillow. I'm not crazy...I swear...

7. Opening your favorite book after a hard day

Despite the emotional pain reading can cause, I always know I can turn to my favorite stories after a particularly hard day. I can't even begin to count how many times I've reread the first "Harry Potter" book after a day where I just feel like lying down and staring at the ceiling all night. It helps ground me again and get me motivated to get back to work!

8. "When is the next one coming out?!"

This is particularly true with series'. Authors have a knack for leaving us all wondering what the heck is going to happen next. And when you have to wait 6 months or more for the next book, it is perfectly justified to go crazy...you have my permission.

9. "The book was better."

In this day-in-age, it seems movies based on books are coming out all the time. For normal people, this may be great. But for book worms, this could be a bit horrifying, especially if it's a book you've fallen in love with. You may get hit with the anxiety of multiple questions: "Are they going to stay true to the story?" "Are they going to show my favorite part?" "Who's going to play the main role?" "Will anyone actually read the book first??" In the end, many of us usually sigh and agree that the book will always be better than the movie rendition.

10. Without books, you wouldn't be you.

In the end, most book worms will agree on one thing: books have helped us learn more about who we are and shaped us into in so many ways. Without the stories that we've all fallen in love with, we would all be very lost in this big, bad world.