# Do You Know Anyone Proud They Don’t Read Books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 25, 2023, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780 "2023-01-25T14:07:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/81 "2023-01-29T14:14:33Z")
When we moved into this house, I thought the libraries drive-up window a crazy luxury which. I never used. Instead, I would go inside and read the shelves. Now, I’m a convert to selecting books on-line and picking them up from my car. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/82 "2023-01-29T18:01:44Z")
I had a friend ( now deceased ) that while smart on paper ( high IQ, almost genius levels of resourcefulness ) but was hostile to the idea of reading books unless they were reference material of some sort. Additionally, he was like a Chameleon, depending who he was around. Around us, he was bright and articulate. When he retired and moved out into a more rural area, it was almost like he was deliberately inarticulate around the locals there. Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/83 "2023-01-31T15:05:26Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > My family has never, ever understood why I buy and keep books. When I moved into my current house, some older relatives transported some stuff for me in their truck. Both were amazed at the number of books I have, and one expressed her opinion that I have too many books. I’ve been to their house; I can’t remember seeing many books there. I really haven’t encountered people who are proud of not reading books, but I have encountered plenty who think it’s just fine to interrupt someone reading from an e-reader. Also, one of my coworkers was disturbed when I snagged a spare bookcase from an office that was being cleaned out; she didn’t understand why I needed more storage, or why I would clutter my office with more furniture when I already had a bookcase. (I had filled that one up with my own research books, along with sets of binders that I’ve compiled of industry-specific information.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/84 "2023-01-31T18:57:29Z")
I confess, I don’t read a lot of books. The irony is that I was an English literature major. I kind of go through fits and spurts, but the last spurt was chewing through some Nabakov (Pale Fire, Pnin) and a biography of Mike Royko about a year or two ago. Most of my reading is non-fiction on the computer. I’ve been meaning to get back to Infinite Jest, though. Got about a fifth of the way through it before life intervened. I was really enjoying it, though. I’m the same way with movies. I’ll have a fit where I get through several movies at a time, and then I’ll go many months without watching a movie. I haven’t even been in a movie theatre since about 2007. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/85 "2023-02-01T01:01:58Z")
Pretty much all of my friends are major book fiends, and quite a few have larger libraries than I do (but they’ve either made more money or had at least two people collecting). Still, I’m pretty proud of my little library. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/86 "2023-02-01T01:09:00Z")
Yep, my library includes books from my dad’s collection, as well as some I’ve had since I was a kid (I was very into rocks and minerals, so I have loads of books on that topic). I also kept most of my college textbooks that were specific to my major; the ones that aren’t at work joined my collection at home. Every now and then I’ll weed out a few books, but that’s rare. I have noticed that some of my younger colleagues don’t have proper textbooks; they have what are basically loose-leaf versions of textbooks in three ring binders. I guess they were lucky to get some kind of printed version. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/87 "2023-02-01T01:21:13Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > I have noticed that some of my younger colleagues don’t have proper textbooks; they have what are basically loose-leaf versions of textbooks in three ring binders. I guess they were lucky to get some kind of printed version. Those and spiral-bound have the advantage of laying flat, too. I’d have appreciated that a LOT with many of my textbooks. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/88 "2023-02-01T01:23:22Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Those and spiral-bound have the advantage of laying flat, too. Oh, definitely! I’ve resorted to using a photo or document scanning app instead of the Xerox when I need to make a copy of something out of a book. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/89 "2023-02-01T02:56:11Z")
Sometimes the instructor or teacher can order a specific package of topics, so you get only the chapters that will actually be taught in the class. They’ll do as loose leaf pages meant to go into a the ring binder. It’s probably more common in college courses. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/90 "2023-02-01T09:05:45Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > so you get only the chapters that will actually be taught in the class I was fortunate to only have to purchase one of those when I was in college; it consisted of selections taken from two textbooks. The resulting package was about as thick as a city phonebook (~2004), and was pretty difficult to use. Fortunately, most people in the class already had one or both of the books in question. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/91 "2023-02-01T13:55:33Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Those and spiral-bound have the advantage of laying flat, too. Yes! There aren’t enough good spiral-bound books. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780/92 "2023-02-01T15:09:15Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I have lots of digital books because I’m running out of room to put real books unless I decide to start double-rowing them. Did this long ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-proud-they-don-t-read-books/978780.md?page=4)