In Fahrenheit 451, during a conversation with Faber, Montag reveals why he thinks books will make him happy:
We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren't happy. Something's missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I'd burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help.
In other words, Montag believes books can bring him happiness because everything else in his society has failed. Neither his marriage to Mildred nor his job as a fireman nor his access to a wide range of entertainments make Montag happy. As such, Montag idealizes books as his last hope of achieving happiness.
Reading books also provides an opportunity for expression and creativity, two things Montag desperately craves. He tells Faber he just wants "someone to hear" what he says. He realizes his society is not interested in listening to the thoughts and opinions of its citizens and this provides Montag with another reason to believe in the power of books.
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