This answer is going to be a little personal and probably a little too long. Stop here if you're not in the mood for a long read.
When I was much younger, my family was under financial crisis owing to a business loss and we couldn't afford those monthly and fortnightly children's magazines. My cousin used to subscribe to a couple of them and I used to read them after our playtime as we lived nearby. She sometimes used to snatch it away from me saying she wanted to read it, but never actually did. It's the age I suppose and I don't hold any resentment about it now though it sure did hurt a lot then. I'm actually thankful for that reaction now.
You see, I started reading more after that and it shook my life, brick by brick. I started saving all my pocket money and started hitting second hand book shops and old paper marts where people used to throw away books and newspaper for money, weight equivalent. I made friends with those shopkeepers and bought magazines and books with all the money I had saved. I read books at random without knowing who the best-sellers were or which the popular series was at the time. I borrowed those expensive books from good friends in school and waited patiently till it was my turn to get the book. (There used to be a queue!) I ran away to the library at every chance I got and read any piece of paper I could lay my hands on along with assorted books from my father's library that survived some really greedy silverfish... and I believe it's the best thing I've done in my whole life. When life was hard on me from multiple angles of finance, puberty and personal relationships, I just disappeared into a book. I knew that I could escape into a book if there was an external conflict and later come across a wholly new perception that it might give me. I am now a collective memory and representation of all the stories I've read for hours together in my school library and residual moments, exceeding card limits and borrowing books on others' cards.
Years of being so wonderfully cooped in new worlds leave you with so much. For starters, I began to appreciate the time spent with myself. I can go for days without any human contact to validate my existence. I learnt to be independent and learn the means to get something I really want. I developed a sense of identity by picking and choosing from the ones I've read, (sub)consciously developing a conglomeration of characteristics, thoughts and ideas. I learnt to see multiple angles to any given situation, an open mind that allows thoughts to battle within thereby facilitating a creative vent. I believe in the existence of parallel universes, magic and time travel. I learnt to love people for their thoughts and not their faces and that everyone is a shade of grey. I developed an indescribable bond with my favourite authors and characters, people who never shunned me when everyone else was breathing down my neck.
These stories make me and break me. I'm left with choices for a mosaic of my own mess and there is nothing better than piecing together a new composition of myself only to be faced with the same process every single time I read a good book. I am thus constantly evolving and changing. I am not scared to discard notions I've held on to for a long time to embrace something new. It's not necessarily flaky but rather a process that builds me and gives me the courage to seek what I want and be honest about what I don't know.
Reading is important because it allows me to rebuild myself without guilt or remorse and accept myself for just who I am and currently, that's the most difficult battle for any given man walking down the street.
PS: If I have to talk about the tangible outcomes of reading, My English scores were always good, my communication and correspondence is confident and seemingly-social.(You develop it once you start talking to imaginary characters) My vocabulary is pretty decent and I began writing poetry, short stories, articles & a blog (Street of Smiles); and was also the editor for my school and college magazines. I always have an unread book in my bag much to the ridicule of my ex-college people and I am ever ready to indulge in conversations and discussions. I didn't quite 'prepare' for my TOEFL test and still got a 114 . It helps you greatly in the long run. But I don't believe all this to be half as important as the above and I'm thus adding this as a post script for those of you who might be interested in concrete results.
Thanks for putting up with this long post! :)