Do people look at you askance because you like to read books?

[Cat Whisperer]

A couple of assignments ago, I was hassled slightly by a co-worker who was a bit amazed that I always had a book with me, and read it at lunch and on breaks. She started reading one of the Tattooed Girl books, and she was very proud of how thick it was. Well, good for you! An avowed tv junky reading a book - yay! (No sarcasm at all - seriously, good for her.) I come from a reading family - I've never been ashamed of my two-book a week habit.

[MaltLiquor]

I will leave with this drunken thought.

If you can count how many books you have read, then you haven't read anything.

[Raguleader]

Originally Posted by Lynn Bodoni

Ha. I used to get grounded from recreational reading. I was allowed to read textbooks and other schoolwork, but NO RECREATIONAL READING. Especially science fiction. I didn't watch much TV, I almost never talked on the phone, and my parents almost never allowed us kids to go out without them anyway. So they had to ground me from reading.

Hah, me too. My parents took away my library card because I got in trouble in school (for reading instead of paying attention in math class). My classmates were rather amused by that, actually.

I think reading on the train is a very common activity because, geez, what else is there to do? I imagine a lot of folks who don't read recreationally per se will get a hold of an interesting book to pass the time while they're on the train until they can do something else. As opposed to those of us who might just sit down and read *because* it's something we want to do. Because sometimes the alternative, as mentioned several times in this thread, is to stare blankly at each other.

[Lynn Bodoni]

That's really rather rude. Their question and your response both. Though, did they really ask if you were too good to watch TV or is that just your parsing after many years have passed?

I mean, sometimes you'll watch crappy TV as a group because it's something you can talk over in the quiet bits and make comments about - it doesn't have to all be "watch this and focus on nothing else ever!" But your book? That's just for you.

Basically, yes, they were constantly asking if I thought I was too brainy to watch TV. Neither of them went to high school, though I will give them credit, they both got their GEDs in their forties. FIL had to get his GED in order to keep his job, and MIL got hers because she was helping him study, and she figured that she might as well take the test as well.

It was really a cultural thing...they were accustomed to having the TV on from the moment they woke up until everyone went to bed. They took the Sunday newspaper for the TV listings and ads, but otherwise didn't read it. In fact, the only book that I ever saw in their house was the Bible. They did have textbooks around, but those were for their granddaughter who lived with them, and nobody touched those books except for study.

The thing is, if someone asks me to come over for a visit, I do expect to visit with them. I don't expect them to turn on Three's Company and watch that instead of talking to me.

[amanset]

Cool, another thread about how awesome we are and how we should pity the less intelligent masses. It has been at least a couple of hours since the last one.

[Raguleader]

Originally Posted by amanset

Cool, another thread about how awesome we are and how we should pity the less intelligent masses. It has been at least a couple of hours since the last one.

Next thread: Do people look at you askance because you like to thread-shit?

[ThelmaLou]

To all of you hard core readers: please come and live with me at my house. Bring your books.

[yellowval]

No, I don't think so. Or maybe they do, but I don't notice because I've got my nose in a book. In my experience, most people see reading as a positive activity. Personally, I come from a family of readers. My parents and all three of my sisters are always reading something. My husband's parents are avid readers as well, but for some reason it didn't really get passed on to their kids.

[Anaamika]

Originally Posted by yellowval

No, I don't think so. Or maybe they do, but I don't notice because I've got my nose in a book. In my experience, most people see reading as a positive activity. Personally, I come from a family of readers. My parents and all three of my sisters are always reading something. My husband's parents are avid readers as well, but for some reason it didn't really get passed on to their kids.

That's partly it, too. My mother read, but she rarely read fiction. And she absolutely looked down on my sci-fi and fantasy; two of the loves of my life.

[Ann Hedonia]

Originally Posted by Raguleader

More when I was younger. The general negative reaction (when I get one) is "You read... for fun?"

I still get a bit of that nowadays, but the general tone is more of just head-shaking acceptance than anything else. I generally look at my co-workers who speak with quivering anticipation of their next trip to the gym to pump iron or to go out and play sports with a similar reaction. Both activities are, to me, at best a necessary commitment, something that I have to do because I am obligated to do so, while reading is something that is relaxing and fun for me. So I can understand how they feel that way, they're just geeks about different activities than I am.

I used to get negative reactions, not about reading in general, but about the material I was reading especially if it were something lightweight.........."If you're going to READ, why would you waste you time with THAT, why not read something IMPORTANT"..........like "if you want to climb mountains why not climb Everest instead of scaling that little hill".

By explanation I would go with the "movie analogy"

"Hey, YOU like movies alot don't you?"

"Yes"

"And I bet sometimes you're in the mood for a deep "important" movie and sometimes you're in the mood for fluff, right?"

"Yes"

"Well, I don't really like movies. On a rainy afternoon when you might think of watching DVDs, I would rather read a book. Just like you might be in mood for different types of movies, I might be in the mood for different types of books. I imagine my books are like your movies.............when I read a novel the actual act of reading is effortless and happens on a subconscious level, what I am really doing is seeing the story play out in my head, with my performers and sets and at a pace that works for me." In fact, this is one of the reasons I don't like movies, I don't have the control over the same elements that I do with books."

And they still usually don't get it, but I feel better for trying.

Of course, now that I use the Kindle exclusively this doesn't happen much, since no one can see what I'm reading

[Maeglin]

No, never, not once. Not even when I was a weird little kid. I've always read a lot, but now I am a doctoral student preparing for my field exams. I have been reading about a book a day for the past three or four months. I don't go anywhere or do anything without my book-and-chain. Aside from occasional sympathy from other people who've gone through this process, I've never taken shit from anyone about the size of my habit.

[TBG]

Not really taking any grief or anything, but some of my cousins used to be generally flummoxed that anyone could have a good time reading a book. To them books were something you read because the school forced you. Most of the rest of the family is pretty big into reading, though.

[suranyi]

Generally, no.

However, sometimes my wife will nudge me to indicate she'd rather I take my head out of my book and do something else.

Like wash the dishes, feed the baby, or make love. . .

[Imasquare]

Originally Posted by TBG

Not really taking any grief or anything, but some of my cousins used to be generally flummoxed that anyone could have a good time reading a book. To them books were something you read because the school forced you. Most of the rest of the family is pretty big into reading, though.

I wouldn't be surprised if being forced to read in school is what turns a lot of people off reading as adults. Really young children all seem to love books but ny the time they are in high school most don't.

[Guinastasia]

Nope, never, except for the few times my math teacher caught me with a book under my desk instead of paying attention in class.

Originally Posted by Lynn Bodoni

Oh hell yes. Especially my in-laws. My husband and daughter and I were over at their house, some years ago, and everyone was entranced by the crap that was on TV. I dug one of the books out of my purse and started reading. MIL and FIL asked if I was just too good to watch TV. I said no, I just wasn't interested in most TV, and especially not whatever was currently on (a sitcom of some sort, with the typical idiot plot).

Actually, you kind of implied that you did. "Especially not that garbage YOU'RE watching!" *shrugs* Some people just don't like to read, it doesn't mean they're troglydites.

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by Imasquare

I wouldn't be surprised if being forced to read in school is what turns a lot of people off reading as adults. Really young children all seem to love books but ny the time they are in high school most don't.

Aside from peer pressure saying "smart = totally uncool and target for bullies", jr. high and high school English classes can definitely damage interest in reading. There are several books I'd have enjoyed on their own merits that were basically ruined for me by those classes and the "teachers" constantly ramming alleged symbolism and deep hidden meanings into the actual text.

Fortunately, my enthusiasm for reading survived. My mother reports that I was literate around age 3, and I honestly do not remember not knowing how to read.

[ekedolphin]

Even though I'm an avid reader, I don't get hit with this as much as I'd normally expect. Now, when I carried my Kindle around with me everywhere, I'd constantly have people asking me what I'm reading (not why I'm reading), and after the 30th time, it was a struggle not to be abrasive in my reply. It's like, "What I'm reading is my own goddamn business, goddamn it."

My Kindle ceased functioning some time ago, but it's all good because I have a Kindle app for my smartphone. Now I don't get that question, because it's not always obvious that I'm reading at all.

[HoneyBadgerDC]

I have always envied readers. I read tons of trivia, short stories and articles but am lucky to finish 2 or 3 books a year. When I first leaned to read as a child I read constantly, encyclopedias memorizing all kinds of world stats. Today I enjoy the occassional autobiography but generaly can't sit still long enough to really read a book.

[CalMeacham]

When I was in elementary school (a parochial school) we couldn't run in the asphalt-covered playground at recess, which was a definite bummer. The nuns also confiscated "dangerous" toys. This left jumping rope, flipping baseball cards, and walking the circuit (a la the book The Great Escape) as the only acceptable activities.


So I brought a book and read. Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki.


The nuns confiscated it.

[Anaamika]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Actually, you kind of implied that you did. "Especially not that garbage YOU'RE watching!" *shrugs* Some people just don't like to read, it doesn't mean they're troglydites.

Yeah, I bring my Kindle to my in-law's house, but I only read it when everyone else is busy doing something, and all I have to do is watch TV. Not when the whole family sits down and watches TV together.

[salinqmind]

The first book I read was Harold and the Purple Crayon at age 5 and I never stopped reading (though of course I moved on from HanPC!). Classic introvert, nose in book at every opportunity. I preferred reading to roaming the neighborhood aimlessly looking for entertainment with the very few other kids who lived there. I have a Kindle now but have yet to put it to good use in a waiting room, I kinda like looking through the magazines. (Or sitting there doing nothing, intent on my own morbid thoughts...reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry asks Elaine what she did last night, and she insisted she did 'nothing.' "Nothing?" "Nothing, Jerry. I sat on my couch and looked at the wall and then I went to bed.")

[ThelmaLou]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Some people just don't like to read, it doesn't mean they're troglydites.

It's "troglodytes."

And in my book, it kind of does.

Reading (loving to read, knowing how to read and comprehend what you're reading) is the single greatest predictor of success in school and in life. Doesn't mean you have to carry a book with you everywhere. If someone doesn't like to read, I want to have a serious talk with their parents and their earliest teachers. Something went off track very early on... and that child (and later adult) will suffer for it forever.

I don't want to wander off into a debate, but if you put "reading predictor success" into your search box, you'll find tons of documentation supporting this. I'm immersed in writing on this very topic at the moment, so I'm familiar with this issue.

[/digression]

[Anaamika]

Originally Posted by salinqmind

The first book I read was Harold and the Purple Crayon at age 5 and I never stopped reading (though of course I moved on from HanPC!). Classic introvert, nose in book at every opportunity. I preferred reading to roaming the neighborhood aimlessly looking for entertainment with the very few other kids who lived there. I have a Kindle now but have yet to put it to good use in a waiting room, I kinda like looking through the magazines. (Or sitting there doing nothing, intent on my own morbid thoughts...reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry asks Elaine what she did last night, and she insisted she did 'nothing.' "Nothing?" "Nothing, Jerry. I sat on my couch and looked at the wall and then I went to bed.")

I find it funny you felt you had to make it clear you were not still reading "Harold and the Purple Crayon".

"Honest! I finished it! I mean, I was ten when I finished it, but I did!"

[WOOKINPANUB]

Originally Posted by amanset

Cool, another thread about how awesome we are and how we should pity the less intelligent masses. It has been at least a couple of hours since the last one.

Don't bother, amanset. Years ago I started a thread in the pit about people who love to tell everyone how much they read. I really don't have the energy to start another one but if you do it, I promise to back you up. Just don't misspell troglodyte like Guin and I did.

Okay, I know I'm in thread shit territory; I apologize.If anyone remembers or looks up the thread I'm referring to, you'll see it wasn't all that hateful and we all remained friends (in my mind at least). I just remember that at the time I felt like everyone couldn't stop themselves from bragging about how much they read and after seeing the "book snob" thread followed by this one, I got a little deja vu.

And to answer the OP in earnest: hell no. Why would they, unless I read at inappropriate times or constantly talked about reading ( if they themselves aren't readers).

[ThelmaLou]

I wasn't even thinking so much of us here. I work in the administrative end of the early childhood education field. We stress the importance of parents reading to their kids every day, even something really short. My mother read to me from one of those "365 Bedtime Story" books. The kids where I work are read to by their teachers every day (these are children <age 3). It's just so important to introduce them early to the joys of reading. That is the single most important skill they need for success in school. When I meet adults who "hate to read," I want to go back in time and slap whatever teacher/parent is responsible for that.

I'll go now...

[Ashley Pomeroy]

Originally Posted by Disposable Hero

Inspired by the book snob thread on the other side of the coin what negative reactions or just lack of understanding have people who are regular book readers come across?

I do remember a conversation at school that went something like:
"What are you doing?"
"I'm reading a book"
"Okay then, what's the fifth word on page 234?"

The idea was that when you read a book, you memorise every single word. Which isn't the case. The words create an impression in your mind, and you memorise the impression. It's like the difference between eating flour and water, and eating bread. You know?

The only times I've been a bit wary of showing people the front cover of the book I was reading involved (a) Ken Alibek's "Biohazard", which I picked up shortly after 9/11, (b) "Bravo Two Zero", which is the kind of thing you wouldn't admit to reading in polite company - I hid the cover and told them it was a biography of Stanley Kubrick instead, (c) "I Flew for the Fuhrer", a book by a Luftwaffe fighter pilot, which I read because I was playing Aces High, the online flight simulator. Not because I am a Nazi.

And I was flying the BF-109F a lot. It's got a good balance of speed, climb, manoeuvrability - poor firepower, though - but because it's an early-to-mid-war plane you get more points for shooting down P-51s and so forth. Which you can do, if they don't just dive away from you. See, the P-51 doesn't turn or climb as well as the BF-109F, so if you can lure an overconfident opponent into slowing down, you have him.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Seanette

Aside from peer pressure saying "smart = totally uncool and target for bullies", jr. high and high school English classes can definitely damage interest in reading. There are several books I'd have enjoyed on their own merits that were basically ruined for me by those classes and the "teachers" constantly ramming alleged symbolism and deep hidden meanings into the actual text.

Indeed. As a kid I loved to read - but with a few exceptions I detested the books we learned at school. I'd slog my way through some utterly super-boring crap at school (Great Expectations can slurp me) then go home and read three novels in a weekend.

[Disposable Hero]

Originally Posted by Ashley Pomeroy

The only times I've been a bit wary of showing people the front cover of the book I was reading involved (a) Ken Alibek's "Biohazard", which I picked up shortly after 9/11, (b) "Bravo Two Zero", which is the kind of thing you wouldn't admit to reading in polite company - I hid the cover and told them it was a biography of Stanley Kubrick instead, (c) "I Flew for the Fuhrer", a book by a Luftwaffe fighter pilot, which I read because I was playing Aces High, the online flight simulator. Not because I am a Nazi.

Definitely, sometimes its just not worth reading certain books in public as it takes to much explanation. Also I've learned that certain books need to be put in more discreet places on bookshelves when guests will be around:

"'The Rape of Nanking'? What're you reading about rape for?!?"

I do take a certain perverse pleasure in putting contradictory books next to each other, a history of the IRA and one about the British Army, or something by Richard Dawkins and a biography of Pope John Paul II for example...what can I say, I'm easily amused...

Originally Posted by WOOKINPANUB

Don't bother, amanset. Years ago I started a thread in the pit about people who love to tell everyone how much they read.

Of course people are justifiably irritated by people who boast about how much they read but this thread and the vast majority of replies are about how sometimes people get negative reactions just by the mere fact of being engaged in reading in public at all. And some people have never had any negative reaction, such is life.

Sometimes reading at all is apparently 'boasting about how much they read'.

Originally Posted by ekedolphin

I'd constantly have people asking me what I'm reading (not why I'm reading), and after the 30th time, it was a struggle not to be abrasive in my reply. It's like, "What I'm reading is my own goddamn business, goddamn it."

There you go, I always like people asking me what I'm reading, it makes for interesting conversations. But different strokes for different folks.

If I'm really invested in a book and don't want interrupted then I save it for private reading time.

[CalMeacham]

Definitely, sometimes its just not worth reading certain books in public as it takes to much explanation. Also I've learned that certain books need to be put in more discreet places on bookshelves when guests will be around:

"'The Rape of Nanking'? What're you reading about rape for?!?"

Don't leave a copy of The Rape of the Lock around, or they'll think you're really sick.

[HoneyBadgerDC]

I am not a big reader but a good share of the reading I do is in public places because I hate having nothing to do. At home I would be working on a project. Sometimes I welcome a question about what I am reading because I am really more in the mood for talking, other times I really want to finish a book and want to be left alone. I tend to smile, give a very brief explanation and go back to reading.

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by ThelmaLou

It's "troglodytes."

And in my book, it kind of does.

Reading (loving to read, knowing how to read and comprehend what you're reading) is the single greatest predictor of success in school and in life. Doesn't mean you have to carry a book with you everywhere. If someone doesn't like to read, I want to have a serious talk with their parents and their earliest teachers. Something went off track very early on... and that child (and later adult) will suffer for it forever.

I don't want to wander off into a debate, but if you put "reading predictor success" into your search box, you'll find tons of documentation supporting this. I'm immersed in writing on this very topic at the moment, so I'm familiar with this issue.

[/digression]

Or perhaps they have other talents. My grandmother never reads, yet she can crochet the most beautiful blankets. Or what about people who don't like to read books, but just magazines, newspapers, etc? My father does that, and he's been pretty successful. *shrug*

(I confess I'm a pretty lousy speller)

[Raguleader]

An interesting debate I've seen is reading vs. watching television or playing video games. Some TV shows and games, especially in the last couple of decades in the US, expect you to pay attention and remember details that become important later on. TV shows that are written like filmed books, and video games that combine choose-your-own-adventure with deep and intricate plots and characters.

I think that shows or games like that can be as rewarding as reading a good book. Shallower games and TV shows can of course be just as rewarding as reading a really lousy book. And sometimes that's what people want, in either case.

Oh, one minor pet peeve of mine is when someone asks me about a book I am very near the beginning of.

"Whatcha reading?"

"It's called Whatever The Name Of The Book Is."

"What's it about?"

"Dunno yet."

"How come you don't know what the book's about?"

"Haven't gotten that far yet."

[Batsinma Belfry]

Originally Posted by Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

I live in Tennessee.

The answer, by the way, is Yes.

I've lived all over TN. I only experienced book bigotry, while living in the South Nashville projects. Everyone read in the rural area, I grew up in.

[jsgoddess]

Originally Posted by Batsinma Belfry

I've lived all over TN. I only experienced book bigotry, while living in the South Nashville projects. Everyone read in the rural area, I grew up in.

Yeah, I grew up in very rural Ohio and reading was very commonplace. The library was always very busy.

[Lynn Bodoni]

Originally Posted by Imasquare

I wouldn't be surprised if being forced to read in school is what turns a lot of people off reading as adults. Really young children all seem to love books but ny the time they are in high school most don't.

My daughter hated to read when she was really young, because she's dyslexic. I had actually taken her to a psychologist, because she was quite unhappy and depressed about not being able to read as well as her classmates. After she was diagnosed, I took her to a reading tutor, who was able to teach her how to deal with the dyslexia.

I was an avid reader in school, but even I was turned off by some of the required reading. If a kid didn't KNOW that there were better reading options out there, I'm sure that s/he would never suspect that reading could be enjoyable.

Originally Posted by ThelmaLou

I wasn't even thinking so much of us here. I work in the administrative end of the early childhood education field. We stress the importance of parents reading to their kids every day, even something really short. My mother read to me from one of those "365 Bedtime Story" books. The kids where I work are read to by their teachers every day (these are children <age 3). It's just so important to introduce them early to the joys of reading. That is the single most important skill they need for success in school. When I meet adults who "hate to read," I want to go back in time and slap whatever teacher/parent is responsible for that.

I'll go now...

One of the discussions that I had with the in-laws had to do with the fact that I made sure to read to my daughter every day. They thought it was a waste of time, and that she was too old to be read to. I said that as long as she enjoyed it, I'd continue to read to her, even if it was a chapter a night from a kid's book. And because she was dyslexic, reading was not enjoyable for her, but she did enjoy the stories, and I think she enjoyed the fact that I would make sure to spend some time every night just reading to her, or making up stories for her. In fact, she's said that some of her favorite memories are when I made up stories when she asked for something about a butterfly, or a cat, or whatever.

In fact, the reason that Lisa tried to read for pleasure was because I would finish a chapter, and tell her that I was done reading to her for the night. Eventually, she decided that she would try to read the next chapter on her own. And now she's a champion reader.

And I still maintain it's rude to insist that someone come over, supposedly to spend time together, and then expect them to watch Three's Company instead of, you know, actually talking to them. This wasn't the first instance of them insisting that I come over and then they'd expect me to just shut up and watch TV, and not just any TV, but junk TV. I was acting in self-defense. My brains were leaking out of my ears. I was willing to talk and be social, but I wasn't willing to spend four hours on the couch while my brain dissolved. They'd pull this on us two or three times a week. They sneered when I brought over my crocheting to work on during the show, too. If I wasn't staring at the boob tube in complete slack-jawed absorption with the rest of them, I was a snob.

[Raguleader]

I think someone on the SDMB pointed out that some of the required reading in high school shouldn't be reading assignments to begin with, like Shakespeare. Imagine a high school 400 years in the future where kids are forced to read the screenplays for Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction.

[candide]

Just tonight someone told me that they had found a copy of an out-of-print book that I had recommended (The Jonah Man by Henry Carlisle) and had given it to their sister because they had enjoyed it so much.

Reading and music are critical to culture. Most of what we read, most music we hear, most of the shit we eat, can be dismissed as background. Most of the junk we consume is trash. But when we choose to experience art by reading or by eating or by listening, we are engaging our culture, we are participating in culture. By engaging culture, we propagate it.

The easiest way for anyone to participate in culture is to read. Once you've read it, though, you've got to talk about it. Talking about what you've read does not make you a snob, it makes you a participant in vibrant culture. Opinions about literature, about art, are critical. You become a snob when you become dismissive, when the only opinion that matters is yours.

I was wrong when I said reading is the easiest way to participate in culture. The easiest way is to listen with generosity and respect.

[TBG]

Originally Posted by Imasquare

I wouldn't be surprised if being forced to read in school is what turns a lot of people off reading as adults. Really young children all seem to love books but ny the time they are in high school most don't.

Originally Posted by Seanette

Aside from peer pressure saying "smart = totally uncool and target for bullies", jr. high and high school English classes can definitely damage interest in reading. There are several books I'd have enjoyed on their own merits that were basically ruined for me by those classes and the "teachers" constantly ramming alleged symbolism and deep hidden meanings into the actual text.

Fortunately, my enthusiasm for reading survived. My mother reports that I was literate around age 3, and I honestly do not remember not knowing how to read.

Yeah, if I wasn't already an avid reader by that point, I never would've become one after being forced to slog through The Scarlet Letter in high school. Sheesh.

[Cold April]

[quote=obfusciatrist;15408930]

Still, I don't go to a dinner party at a friends house without a book in my jacket in case everybody dies and I have to spend a quiet bit waiting for the police to arrive.

Me too, and I take my kindle to the mall in case the roof collapses and I'm trapped in an air pocket waiting to be rescued.

[Siam Sam]

Originally Posted by obfusciatrist

Still, I don't go to a dinner party at a friends house without a book in my jacket in case everybody dies and I have to spend a quiet bit waiting for the police to arrive.

Now in that case, I might be too busy pocketing the contents of their wallets.

[ThelmaLou]

One time I went to the park to walk in the morning and didn't put my kindle in my purse, 'cause I figured I'd be right back.

After my walk, I saw that my car had an almost-flat tire. I went straight to the tire-fixing place, and all they had to read while I waited an hour was old hunting, outdoorsy, and car magazines. Aagh!

So now I NEVER leave home without my kindle. It has over 150 books on it, and that makes me very happy.

[Mattie Blue]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

The TV! It drives me crazy that every waiting room I go to there just has to be a huge TV for people to sit and stare at, slack-jawed. Can't we just shut it off and have quiet for a while? People can entertain themselves in other ways.

+1.

I travel with both a book and an i-pod. I loaded some white noise cds (ocean waves, forest noises) to dampen the noise of the TV while I read my book. Yes, I get some odd looks from it, but it's totally worth it not to have to listen to Kathie Lee's screeching while getting the oil changed in my car.

[digs]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

I find it funny you felt you had to make it clear you were not still reading "Harold and the Purple Crayon".

"Honest! I finished it! I mean, I was ten when I finished it, but I did!"

My go-to "Recharge Myself" activity is sitting in a tiny little coffee joint (out of the way-- important that no one knows I'm there, and no one I know is going to walk in).

With a stack of kids' books. I just started teaching a tough semester, so this afternoon it's some comic books and an old copy of The Missing Chums (I gotta find out if they'll get rescued by Joe and Frank Hardy).

[Bohomite]

Actually had a conversation with a classmate about this.

I'm in college, and you'd think that reading is, well, essential. Nope.

I always bring a book to class to read before the professor starts, and for during our mini-breaks. Everyone else talks.

So one time this classmate comes over and says 'why are you so depressed?' I replied that I'm not, and asked why she had that impression. Her answer?

'Oh, you're always sitting alone reading.'

There was another time when my family were watching some typical sitcom on television (fat man has hugely attractive wife) and I got bored and started to read. For weeks afterward I was lectured by my mother on being too 'anti-social'.

Really, I think reading has come back into 'fashion' with all the Kindles and things that are out there. A girl at college once told me the last book she'd read was 'Sweet Valley High' when she was fourteen, and now she's constantly with a Kindle by her side.

[Boyo Jim]

They do, but they don't know it, because they don't know the meaning of the word.

[ThelmaLou]

I know a couple of adults (over 40) who have told me they've never read a whole book in their entire lives. (I assume they're not counting little golden books from childhood.)

[elbows]

When I was first traveling in SE Asia, years ago, I was spending more on English language books to read, than on guest houses, especially at the beach!

Back when I was, 'a pretty young thing', I was frequently being asked, (as a thinly veiled come on), 'What are you reading?' These conversations never went anywhere as I was usually reading something like, "The Buried Treasures Of Chinese Turkistan", or some other unlikely thing, that would leave them no obvious second line. Awkward silences would ensue.

And what about people who ask you some far fetched thing, only to be shocked you don't know! After all, 'You read all the time!'

[Slow Moving Vehicle]

Originally Posted by LVBoPeep

I don't get askance looks although I do get a lot of lack of acknowledgement that I AM reading as opposed to being available for conversation. I can work at my desk for hours and not be interrupted but the minute I pull out my kindle for lunch time, it's apparently chat time.

I am told I shouldn't complain because I could leave for lunch and not be bothered but I keep holding out hope that I can just take my lunch at my desk and be left alone. Yes, I realize it's hopeless.

Oh, God, yes, I get this all the time. I finally came up with the theory that non-readers ("Muggles") think that reading is so boring that you're only doing it because you have nothing else to do. So by chatting with you, they're actually doing you a favor, saving you from boredom so profound that you're driven to read a book, you poor bastard.

Originally Posted by Richey84

This. Although the cat gives me a nasty look from time to time.

That's just to remind you of your human inferiority.

[Cartooniverse]

Great thread. I find myself hyper aware of this these days. I own an iPad and have a book or two on it. I also have a book with me a lot of the time. When riding a crowded NYC subway, I have two different vibes going on.

I'm reading on my iPod. Very cool, very cutting edge, like a lot of other readers in the car. It mostly makes up for my Motorola Android telephone.

When I have my paper book with me as I did today on an endless run of subways and buses, I'm quite aware that very few people are reading paper books any more.

Really weird.

[Cat Whisperer]

Originally Posted by Slow Moving Vehicle

Oh, God, yes, I get this all the time. I finally came up with the theory that non-readers ("Muggles") think that reading is so boring that you're only doing it because you have nothing else to do. So by chatting with you, they're actually doing you a favor, saving you from boredom so profound that you're driven to read a book, you poor bastard.<snip>

I think the definition of an avid reader is someone who looks forward to going home and getting back to the good book they've started* (and is out of sorts if things come up and they can't get back to the book in a timely fashion).

*Assuming you haven't brought it to work with you to read during your lunch hour.