Is it common for people to read in the bathroom? Are most “bathroom reader” books used there in the bathroom? What are the chances that a random used book purchased online has been used in the bathroom? Why don’t people just take laxatives if they’re constipated? I get it over with quickly so I don’t have the time to read in there.
I’ve always read while in the bathroom. It gives me something to occupy my mind. And no, I’m not constipated. But I don’t see a need to hurry, either. I prefer to let nature take its course.
I used to read books and magazines in the bathroom. Now I take my iPhone in with me and surf the web. And yes, I’ll post to the Dope while I’m in the bathroom, too.
I read in the bathroom all the time, and it’s not because I’m constipated. I might be in there long enough to read a chapter or two, or might just be in there long enough to read a paragraph.
Of course I also read while watching tv, eating dinner, talking on the phone, talking to family, etc. It’s rare when I’m not reading something.
I almost always read while in the bathroom, and in fact have several stacks of books right on the sink within easy reach. They sort of accumulate; every so often I’ll get around to hauling off most of them and putting them away, but they always build up again.
When I was a kid, the bathroom was the only place I got any privacy (7 people in a 1000 sq ft house) and it’s where Mom kept the Reader’s Digests. Old habits die hard, I guess…
Back in the 70’s a boss of mine would steal my newspaper and take it to the toilet to read. I swear every time afterwards I turned a page I could smell a fart.
I’ve always read in the bathroom. Usually I’ll have several books on the windowsill. When I subscribed to digest sized magazines, I’d sometimes read them on the pot, too. But I’ll read anywhere.
As for taking laxatives…well, I wouldn’t suggest taking laxatives unless you really NEED them.
I’ve always read in the bathroom. In fact, when I moved into my house, one of the first things I thought of for guests was ‘things to read while on the can’. That’s not pleasant but true.
I picked up two Far Side compilations and one John Callahan. (I didn’t go looking for them, I found them cheap at yardsales/Goodwill etc.)
Threw them in a basket with a book/mag or two. No complaints from guests.
Only this <My Dad> My god! BrassyPhrase! Did you just get these Far Side books for the bathroom???!!!
Me: Um…yes???
BrassyDad: That is so GREAT!
Many legends are told of what happened next.
But the scents killed the Talking Animals
If I pick up a book while I’m in the bathroom, I’ll stay in there forever. So, no.
The bathroom provides another opportunity to read. I don’t ‘get’ people who don’t read in the bathroom. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I just don’t get it.
I read in the bathroom all the time up until I had three kids under 5. Then I never had enough time to get more than a sentence or two read before there was crying or screaming or ominous silence that made me finish my business in a rush. Now I could read in there again, but I"ve gotten out of the habit.
No time.
I quite often take the newspaper to the bathroom at home. No one is going to bother me and I can leisurely leaf through the paper without distractions.
I was reminded of this episode:
(George Costanza) :“I want to return this book.”
(Bookstore Clerk): “I’m sorry, this book cannot be returned…it has been read in a bathroom”.
Reading in the bathroom is extremely common and I would guess that many, many used books have been in the bathroom. In my office, someone always leaves the current sports page in the stall, it’s there every morning.
If there is a behavior that bothers you, but that a very large percentage of the people on the planet do, then your only real choice is to get over it.
If I don’t have a book in there, I’ll read the back of shampoo bottles.
Yuck. Just the thought of ‘poop books’ skeeves me. So I pretend all the books I’ve ever read just so happened to never be read in the bathroom.
I don’t, because there’s no time and I grew up in a one bathroom house. It would be rude to loiter.
I parsed ‘bathroom reading’ as a new form of fortune-telling, though I wouldn’t want to be the one reading those lines.
Ahh, the timeless prose of Mssrs. Procter and Gamble:
“Lather. Rinse. Repeat.”
As Rufus T. Firefly said when locked in a bathroom, “Let me out! Or at least throw me a magazine.”